The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
R34 airship memories rekindled
A triumph from British aeronautical history — and the part played by a Fife man — is brought to life by his treasured mementoes, which are soon to be auctioned.
Spanning the length of two football pitches, the R34 airship made the first east to west air crossing of the Atlantic in 1919.
A DARING triumph from British aeronautical history, and the part played by a Fife man, are brought to life by his treasured mementoes, which are soon to be auctioned.
Spanning the length of two football pitches, the R34 airship made the first east to west air crossing of the Atlantic in 1919, a remarkable feat at the time which propelled the crew to celebrity status.
The flight was made only a few weeks after aviators Alcock and Brown had flown the first non-stop transatlantic flight in an airplane from the US to Ireland.
Among the 30 crew on board was 42-year-old engineer George Graham, who lived near Cupar, and a collection of his possessions has been put up for auction by his great-nephew, who lives in Perthshire.
A chart mapping the historic course of the airship from East Fortune near Haddington to New York and back again, photographs of the crew and the R34, a newspaper cutting and a military swagger stick which all belonged to Mr Graham go under the hammer next week in Perth.
The flight was obviously a matter of great pride to Mr Graham, who in an interview many years later recalled the part he played in making history.
“Our flight was a real achievement,” he said. “I get a bit annoyed sometimes when I hear people talking about it being the first time an airship flew to America. It was the first time anything flew to America.”
In the early hours of July 2 1919 the ship, gassed to its limit and loaded to its full capacity, was eased out of its shed slowly by 700 members of the handling party.
The engines were signalled to commence, the propellers roared into life and the ship was on her way to the US, with the strains of jazz coming from a gramophone.
Hours later it was discovered that a teenage crew member who was supposed to have been left behind because the dirigible was too heavy had stowed away on board.
When the airship arrived four days later, having travelled at an average 43mph, Major Jack Pritchard donned a parachute and dropped to the ground to became the first man to arrive in the US by air.
The items will be sold together on Thursday at auctioneers Lindsay Burns & Company, King Street, Perth, and have a pre-sale estimate of £150 to £250.
rburdge@thecourier.co.uk