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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0703.PDF
MAS 29 1919 The late Capt. P. T. Rawlings, D.S.C., the assistant pilot on the Tarrant trip lane. A tribute to Capt. Rawlings comes from Mr. Henry Edmunds, a life-long friend of the deceased officer. Mr. Edmunds writes :— " May I, as an old friend of Percy Town ley Rawlings, D.F.C., send you a few lines of appreciation ? I knew Rawlings since his birth, his father and I being neighbours. He was France Removes Restrictions THE French Minister of War last week revoked the decree of July 31, 1914, which prohibited aerial navigation all over French territory. No Landing Facilities at Cattewater THE Air Ministry has issued the following statement:— " It was intimated in a communique published on April 25 that Cattewater (near Plymouth) was one of the stations which it was proposed should be used jointly by Service and civil pilots as from May 1, when the ban on civil aviation was raised. the youngest of three children (all sons) of the same genera tion as my own children. In early life his mother passed away "As a boy, Rawlings was always interested in scientific matters, particularly photography and motors. He was educated at St. Andrew's, Eastbourne, under the guidance of the Rev. E. L. Brown ; then at St. Peter's, Westminster, where he gained a scholarship, and he afterwards acquitted himself with honours at Trinity College, Cambridge. " He was manly, open, and frank, fearless and honest, of an enquiring mind, and fond of experimenting. \ remember his pre-heating paraffin vapour electrically, as a fuel for explosive engines. " Before the War, after leaving Cambridge, he trained as an engineer at Woolwich ; and, later on, he had a Govern ment appointment in the Soudan. His two brothers have each served their country, one in the Army throughout the War, the other in the Navy, where he is now Commander Rawlings. " It was at my house at Brighton that Rawlings met Mr. W. G. Tarrant, who was spending the week-end with me. Rawlings had just returned from the famous flight in the Handley Page to Constantinople, where he bombed the ' Goeben.' I remember his describing vividly his im pressions of that memorable journey. If I recollect correctly, he motored down to Folkestone somewhat rapidly. He told me he believed the police were on the look-out for him for exceeding the speed-limit ; but he went from Folkestone by air, proceeding to Naples. It was delightful to hear him recount that remarkable voyage. Their fears lest they should not be able to cross some of the high mountain ranges with the heavy load they were carrying, and where, had anything happened, they would have been out of the reach of all human aid. How he availed himself of a special camera for photographing portions of his trip, the results of which he feared it might be unwise to disclose at that time, so he brought the negatives back with him, and I believe they wore kept personally until after the War. " He and Mr. Tarrant were mutually attracted to each other, and discussed with much seriousness the construction of a new type of bombing-plane, which eventuated in the great Tarrant machine. Rawlings joined Tarrant shortly after wards, and devoted all his energies to carrying on the work of design and construction. On several occasions he came down to see me, and related his experiences. He was full of confidence as to the future of his work ; and invited me to take my first flight with him. " Townley Rawlings was a gallant gentleman. Those whom the gods love are taken earlv." " It is necessary to point out that :—(1) Cattewater is at present in a prohibited area, being within the three-mile limit both of Devonport Dockyard and of Turnchapel railway station ; (2) It is a seaplane base and not a land aerodrome, and therefore does not possess facilities for aeroplanes to land." Relinquishment of Landing Grounds by R.A.F. THE following aerodromes and landing grounds have been relinquished by the R.A.F. : Kilconquihar (Fifeshire), South Ash (Kent), Bellasize (Yorkshire), Stanstead (Hert fordshire), Telscombe (Sussex), Goldhanger (Essex), Bangor (Carnarvonshire). —— —^————^—— *n/ w~*m A strange-looking Hun twin-engined bomber belonging to the Gotha family 703
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