28/11/2024
New Book out now, by Terry Grace, the author of many of the local history articles we have published in The Bourne Valley Trader…….
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📷All proceeds to local charities Local interest book just published
A book detailing The Military Aeroplane Competition which was held at Larkhill in 1912.
To the general public, the announcement of the Military Aeroplane Competition was together with the formation of the Royal Flying Corps and to a much lesser extent the Air Battalion, the first sign, that at long last, the War Office, The Army and indeed the Government as a whole were beginning to realise the potential of the aeroplane in war.
For years, the War Office had been dragging its feet when it came to matters of aviation but in 1912, due to pressure from the press and a few of the prominent aviators and the general public, it seemed that the Government was finally waking up to the idea of how important the aeroplane was to become in a war which many realised was inevitable. To that end, the War Office announced that it would hold a competition, open not just to the UK but to the whole World, to find the best military aeroplane for what was to become the Royal Flying Corps.
So, in what turned out to be the worst August since meteorological records began, the Military Aeroplane Competition finally got underway at Larkhill, near Stonehenge and for three weeks, it became the centre of attention in terms of aviation. Despite the appalling weather, the competition drew large crowds of spectators, many of whom would have not seen an aeroplane before.
This new book discusses aviation prior to this event, the build up to the competition, how it was organised and run, the pilots involved, the aeroplanes entered in the competition, the judges involved, the winners and the losers, the politics and in terms of the future of aviation whether the event was a success or a failure and much more.
The book which runs to over 200 pages, is available at the Salisbury History Bookshop in Fisherton Mill, Salisbury. [email protected], 07772632517 or online at Amazon.co.uk. (search Terry Grace if not found by title) ISBN 979-8342643931
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DNS9RZXS/
