Early aviation in Lancaster - the Great War and after

This article continues to look at early stirrings of aerial activity in Lancaster and the vicinity.
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In the aftermath of the second Blackpool air show in 1910 Claude Graham-White stayed on as he was trying to win the Daily Mail prize for highest mileage flown in a year.

On August 13 1910 Graham-White flew to Morecambe; the whole town stopped, and people poured out of shops and offices to see the plane, which landed at Bare.

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Graham-White did not stay but took off and flew to Blackpool… (he did not win the prize money, sadly.)

Plane over Morecambe 1911.Plane over Morecambe 1911.
Plane over Morecambe 1911.

On July 14 1912 the first aircraft landed in Lancaster on a field at Scale Hall Farm, of which more later.

Robert B Slack flew from Southport to promote his aviation courses. His Bleriot monoplane spent the night in a marquee erected for the event. The airfield had no facilities: it was simply a farmers’ field.

Morecambe had an air carnival in July 1914.

The four-day event was marred by the weather and more worryingly the outbreak of World War One!

The first aircraft landed in Lancaster on a field at Scale Hall Farm.The first aircraft landed in Lancaster on a field at Scale Hall Farm.
The first aircraft landed in Lancaster on a field at Scale Hall Farm.
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Monsieur Salmet, the star aviator at the event, was duly mobilised and had to return to France. His Bleriot was sold to the RFC for £700 and saw service as aircraft number 626.

On his return to France, M. Salmet joined the French Army Air Service, and won the Croix de Guerre twice. He may have died in 1929.

The first aircraft to land at Scale Hall after the British declaration of war on August 4 1914 was Lt B C Huck’s Bleriot when he came to dine with Lord and Lady Ashton at Ryelands.

During the Great War there was a great deal of Aircraft sub-assembly in the Lancaster area, including wing production -for DH9s amongst other aircraft - as seen in pictures at Waring and Gillow taken around 1917.

The Morecambe Air Carnival, plus early product placement.The Morecambe Air Carnival, plus early product placement.
The Morecambe Air Carnival, plus early product placement.
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Following the Great War flight became more accessible to the public, usually in the form of joyrides, and normally at seaside towns.

Scale Hall airfield (RFC Station Scale Hall) was built for the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. It was located on a small patch of land between the electrified railway line between Lancaster and Morecambe to the south, and the Lancaster to Morecambe Road in the north.

In 1917 the airfield was briefly closed because of the explosion at the munitions factory across the railway line. In 1919 the - by then defunct - airfield was put forward as an intermediate station for an extensive air mail route system. This sadly came to nought; however, the field was still used.

Sir Alan Cobham’s ‘Flying Circus’ of around twelve planes travelled the UK visiting hundreds of cities in the summers between 1929 and 1935, in support of National Aviation Day. The public could inspect planes on the ground, and for four shillings could go for a short local flight.

Salmet (middle) and his Bleriot during the Daily Mails “wake up England” tour. (1912)Salmet (middle) and his Bleriot during the Daily Mails “wake up England” tour. (1912)
Salmet (middle) and his Bleriot during the Daily Mails “wake up England” tour. (1912)
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In 1929 the Lancaster Guardian offered twenty-four free flights in a prize draw for readers. In 1932 even the Deputy Mayor took flight! In the same year Bertram’s Circus visited Lancaster and teamed up with the flying circus for publicity shots. An Airspeed AS 4 Ferry aircraft is depicted in nearly all of them.

In the next article we will look at post war aviation activities in the Lancaster Area.