...s and 1930s, at least as it related to aerial warfare. It's just that virtually all of the others were sensationalistic trash in comparison to What Happened to the Corbetts, as I have previously argued.4 Otherwise I like Haigh's take on it. And what happened to Nevil Shute? After moving to Australia in 1950 and buying the country's first dishwasher, and writing a few more books, he died in 1960. And after that? The decline of Shute's reputation is...
...hich was the real key to victory has been forgotten and even 'stolen' -- really? I know North has heard of the 'Blitz spirit' because he has an entry for it in his index, so I'll be curious to see what he can mean by this. Seems to me the idea is quite thoroughly entrenched in British culture by now. Anyway. I don't know much about North, who has a PhD in (I think) political science, but all his previous books appear to be as polemical as this so...
...And there's a whole chapter on aviation and another on war. Clare Brant. Balloon Madness: Flights of Imagination in Britain, 1783-1786. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2017. A fascinating look at the cultural importance of balloonmania: spectacle, literature, fashion, the sublime and aeronationalism. Needs a sequel! Fernando Esposito. Fascism, Aviation and Mythical Modernity. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015. A much-needed analysis o...
The Australian mystery aeroplane scare of 1918 had its parallel in New Zealand, where there were even fewer real aeroplanes to confuse the issue: no military aviation at all and just two privately-owned flying schools. Here I'll track how the scare was reported in the press (repeating myself, somewhat) from the start of 1918 up until late March/early April, when there seems to be a qualitative change in the coverage; in following posts I'll exami...
...ora was one of the initial destinations specifically mentioned in the Central Flying School's orders, this is probably the immediate cause for the search. Benson duly reports that the Army's 'plane arrived from Melbourne' the previous Saturday [20 April 1918] but then left for Yarram Yarram; two captains, three 'ratings' and a signaller arrived the same day. It doesn't sound like he was informed of all this beforehand, but reports that he 'kept a...
...kes it harder to believe that she won't be around Paul Kelly, "From St Kilda to Kings Cross" (that's the one in Sydney, not London). I want to see the sun go down from St Kilda Esplanade Where the beach needs reconstruction, where the palm trees have it hard I'd give you all of Sydney harbour (all that land and all that water) For that one sweet promenade I'd give you all of Sydney harbour (all that land and all that water) For that one sweet prom...
...e, W.1. T.: Mayfair 2379; Quayside, Cowes, I.O.W.T: Cowes 277; Miraflores, Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A; Belair, Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A. Clubs: Royal Automobile, Royal Motor Yacht, Authors', Overseas; Royal Mersey Yacht; Aero of America. Who’s Who 1938. London: A & C Black, 1938. Claude Grahame-White (1879-1959) was an aviation pioneer and the most famous aviator in Britain before the First World War. Among his many achie...
...hears 'an aircraft' overhead, though it could not be seen; it appeared to fly north. A Zeppelin was was reported over Breydon Water at 11.55am. At 10pm, the Alien Officer and three customs officials at Tilbury, on the Thames, see ‘three “cigar-shaped objects”’ pass overhead. At 11.30pm, a RNAS armoured car section at Oxted, Surrey, sees an airship to the south, flying west, along with 'the usual "motor-car carrying two brilliant headlights and a...
...rsion.) What does that site actually claim? It's about the history of Millwall Football Club, of all things. But the evidence presented by Gazza is potentially persuasive. The connection to Millwall FC is that their former home ground, the Den, is visible in the photo, and that there is no cover over the north terrace. As this cover was built in 1938, the conclusion is that such a picture could not possibly have been taken on 7 September 1940, as...
