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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0816.PDF
JULY 22. 1920 THE FIRST HUNDRED As mentioned in the brief note in our last issue the dinner to the pioneers of aviation, over which Maj.-Genl. Seely presided •and which Wing-Commander H.R.H. the Duke of York honoured with his presence, at the Connaught Rooms on July 12, was a unique occasion, and those who carried the idea through are to be congratulated on the success of the function. It may be recalled that after the proposal had been put forward originally and dropped, the proprietors of Aeronautics resolved to assume the mantle. Their efforts met with such success that it was eventually decided to broaden the basis of the affair and to hand over the arrangements to a " Com- mittee of Hosts," including: Maj.-Genl. the Right Hon. J. E. B. Seely, Lord Desborough, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Sir Herbert 'Austin, M.P., Sir Robert Hadfield, Bart., Sir •Charles Wakefield, Bart., Sir Samuel Waring, Bart., Lieut.- •Col. Alan Burgoyne, M.P., and Mr. Ernest J. P. Benn. Of the first hundred pilots who secured their certificates in Great Britain, 75 survive to-day, their names being as follow, and of these the 46 whose names are preceded with an asterisk were able to accept the invitation :— *Lieut.-Col. J. T. C. Moore-Brabazon, M.P., Mr. A. Rawlin- .son, Mr. G. B. Cockburn, *Mr. C. Grahame-White, *Lieut.-Col. A. Ogilvie, *Sir A. M. Singer, K.B.E., Lieut. L. D. L. Gibbs, Maj. the Hon. Maurice Egerton, Mr. James Radley, *Capt. •the Hon. Alan Boyle, *Mr. J. Armstrong Drexel, Squadron Leader G. C. Colmore, Mr. G. A. Barnes, * Wing-Commander G. W. P. Dawes, D.S.O., *Mr. A. V. Roe, *Mr. A. E. George, ^Capt. R. Wickham, *Lieut.-Col. F. K. McClean, *Mr. E. K. Davies, Mr. Maurice Ducrocq, Brig.-Genl. J. G. Weir, *Capt. H. E. Watkins, *Mr. C. H. Greswell, Lieut.-Col. R. T. Snowden- Smith, Capt. H. Barber, *Mr. T. O. M. Sopwith, *Lieut.-Col. Sydney E. Smith, *Maj. A. R. Low, * Wing-Commander A. G. Board, C.M.G., D.S.O., *Mr. C. C. Paterson, *Mr. B. G. JBouwens, *Wing-Commander G. B. Hynes, D.S.O., Brig.-Genl. H. R. Cook, Mr. G. P. L. Jezzi, *Capt. O. C. Morison, *Mr. R. Macfie, *Capt. C. Howard Pixton, *Mr. H. J. Thomas, *Mr. E. V. Sassoon, *Capt. G. de Havilland, O.B.E., Lieut.-Col. D. G. Conner, Mr. J. V. Martin, Capt. A. H. Aitken, Mr. C. L. A. Hubert, Mr. G. H. Challenger, *Mr. G. R. S. Darroch, Mr. Archibald Knight, *Maj. W. H. Ewen, *Maj. Lewis F. Turner, Mr. W. R. Prentice, *Mr. E. C. Gordon England, *Maj. C. C. Turner, *Group Capt. C. R. Samson, C.M.G., D.S.O., *Group Capt. A. M. Longmore, D.S.O., *Brig.-Genl. F. Conway Jenkins, C.B.E., Commdr. R. Gregory, Brig.-Genl. E. L. Gerrard, *Wing Commander Harold Blackburn, M.C., D.F.C., *Mr. R. C. Kemp, Mr. R. W. Philpott, *Flight-Lieut. W. H. Dolphin, Mr. S. D. Massy, *Mr. F. P. Raynham, •Lieut.- Col. J. L. Travers, C.B.E., *Group Capt. T. C. R. Higgins, •C.M.G., Wing Commander W. D. Beatty, Lieut.-Col. R. B. Davies, V.C., *Maj. H. R. P. Reynolds, *Maj. T. H. Sebag- Montefiore, D.S.O., M.C., *Wing Commander H. R. Busteed, C.B.E., A.F.C., *Maj.-Genl. Sir F. H. Sykes, G.B.E., K.C.B., C.M.G., Mr. G. Higginbotham, Mr. H. Stanley Adams, *Maj. J. W. Pepper, and Mr. H. Salmet. The invitation was also extended to the following pioneers, who being British subjects were granted their certificates in France, and those marked with an asterisk were present at the dinner :— Mr. W. E. McArdle, *Lieut.-Col. R. Loraine, D.S.O., M.C., *Mr. Somers Somerset, Mr. H. G. Melly, Mr. H. J. Harding, Mr. E. Archer, Mr. C. R. d'Esterre, Lieut.-Col. C. J. Burke, Mr. E. A. Paul, Mr. John Weston, and Mr. G. E. T. Woodward. An impressive feature of the proceedings was a silent toast to the memory of the pilots, as well as other pioneers, who have passed away. These were :— Of the First Hundred Pilots.—The Hon. C. S. Rolls, Mr. •Cecil S. Grace, Mr. S. F. Cody, Maj. J. D. B. Fulton, Mr. L. F. Macdonald, Mr. J. J. Hammond, Mr. R. C. Fen wick, Maj. H. F. Wood, Mr. St. Croix Johnstone, Mr. B. H. Barrington- Kennett, Mr. R. A. Cammell, Mr. James Valentine, Mr. H. J. D. Astley, Mr. C. P. Pizey, Mr. Louis Maron, Mr. Gustav Hamel, Mr. Quinto Pogglioli, Mr. H. R. Fleming, Lieut. W. Parke, R.N., Mr. E. V. B. Fisher, Mr. Hubert Oxley, Mr. C. H. Marks, Mr. E. Hotchkiss, Mr. B. C. Hucks, and Mr. C. Gordon Bell. Other Pioneers.—Mr. E. T. Busk, Capt. W. B. Rhodes- Moorhouse, V.C., Mr. Laurence Hargreaves, Mr. D. G. Gilmour, Mr. R. T. Gates, Commdr. Neville Usborne, R.N., Sir Hiram Maxim, Maj. F. W. Goodden, Mr. Horace Short, Mr. W. Rowland Ding, Lieut.-Col. C. M. Waterlow, Mr. R. H.Barnwell, Lieut.-Col. C. F. Pollock, Mr. Jose Weiss, Mr. Cedric Lee, Lieut.-Col. John Cyril Porte, and Professor Huntington. In addition to the survivors of the first hundred pilots, nvitations were sent to rather more than a hundred persons, whose pioneering activities were not confined to piloting although in some cases they possess pilot certificates. Their names were as follow, although not all were able to be present. Mr. Patrick Y. Alexander, Capt. W. G. Austin, Miss Gertrude Bacon, Mr. W. L. Bairstow, Capt. F. S. Barnwell, O.B.E., Dr. Graham Bell, Mr. Robert Blackburn, Mr. Griffith Brewer, Mr. G. Blondeau, Dr. Barton, Maj. B. Baden-Powell, Mr. N. Pemberton Billing, Mr. F. Hedges Butler, Mr. G. Bradshaw, Sir Charles Bright, Professor G. H. Bryan, Mr. E. Bucknall, Mr. H. M. Buist, Col. A. D. Carden, Maj.-Genl. Sir J. E. Capper, Mr. R. O. Cary, Mr. R. L. Charteris, Mr. T. W. K. Clarke, Mr. G. L. O. Davidson, Mr. J. W. Dunne, Capt. G. M. Dyott, Lieut.-Col. J. Dunville, Lieut.-Col. H. R. Delacombe, Mr. Henry Farman, Mr. L. Howard Flanders, Mr. Henry Ferguson, Mr. E. P. Frost, Mr. C. R. Fairey, Maj. F. B. Fowler, Col. J. D. Fullerton, Maj. O. T. Gnosspelius, Dr. Glazebrook, Mr. Percy Grace, Mr. C. G. Grey, Lieut.-Col. Spenser D. Grey, Mr. E. V. Hammond, Mr. F. Handley Page, Mr. G. Handasyde, Mrs. Maurice Hewlett, Mr. G. Holt-Thomas, Lieut.-Col. T. O'B. Hubbard, Mr. Bernard Isaac, Maj. H. Jullerot, A.F.C., Mr. Henry Knox, Mr. F. W. Koolhoven, Mr. A. A. Dashwood Lang, Mr. F. W. Lanchester, Mr. J. H. Ledeboer, Brig.-Genl. G. Livingstone, Mr. Herbert Lloyd, Mr. J. D. McCurdy, Air Commodore E. M. Maitland, Mr. W. O. Manning, Mr. Fred May, Mr. H. P. Martin, Mr. F. W. Merriam, Mr. Louis Noel, Lieut.-Col. Mervyn O'Gorman, Major Henry Petre, Mr. Horatio Phillips, Mr. N. S. Percival, Lieut.-Commander H. E. Perrin, Professor Sir J. E. Petavel, Mr. G. Tilghman Richards, Mr. H. V. Roe, Mr. D. Lawrence Santoni, Capt. W. H. Sayers, Mr. Eustace Short, Mr. Oswald Short, Mr. F. Sigrist, Mr. J. H. Spottiswoode, Mr. Herbert Spencer, Mr. T. P. Searight, Maj. S. V. Sippe, Mr. Stanley Spooner, Dr. Thurston, Mr. R. Turnbull, Col. Templer, Mr. R. W. Wallace, Mr. E. T. Willows, Mr. Howard T. Wright, Mr. H. White-Smith, Sir Stanley WThite, Bart., Capt. W. E. de B. Whittaker, and Capt. W. Windham. The chair was occupied by Maj-Genl. Seely, H.R.H. the. Duke of York sat on his right, and amongst those also at the head table were : Viscount Burnham, Capt. Wedgwood Benn, Sir James Currie, Mr. J. L. Garvin, Maj. Carlo Graziani, Italian Air Attache ; Maj. Melvin Hall, U.S.A. Air Attache ; Maj.-Genl. Matsuo Itami, Sir William Joynson-Hicks, Bart., M.P., Lord Lee of Fareham, the Marquis of Londonderry, Lieut.-Col. Moore-Brabazon, Air-Marshal Sir Godfrey Paine, Commander Sable, French Air Attache ; Admiral of the Fleet Sir E. H. Seymour, Lord Sydenham of Combe, Maj.-Genl. Sir F. H. Sykes, Air-Marshal Sir Hugh M. Trenchard, Mr. H. G. Wells. After the toast of " The King " had been submitted and accorded musical honours, the Chairman proposed the toast of " The Queen, Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family," coupling with it the name of the Duke of York. He expressed the gratification of the company at the presence of His Royal Highness, who took such a deep and peculiar interest in aviation and had set such a good example to the young men of the country. His Royal Highness the Duke of York, in reply, said : "It is, I can assure you, a very great pleasure to me to be here this evening and to reply to the toast of ' The Royal Family ' which you, Mr. Chairman, have so warmly and kindly proposed. I thank you for the far too generous words that you have used about myself, and I appreciate greatly the cordiality with which the company have received your remarks. I am glad to be present on such a unique occasion as to-night, when we are assembled here to do honour to the fast 100 gallant pioneers of British aviation. It has needed the rapid evolution of aerial warfare for us to appreciate the intrepid heroism of the early pilots, who, in primitive machines, tended by the then unskilled mechanics with no past experience to guide them, and, may I add, with not a vast deal of encouragement from anyone, solved the problem of flying and sowed the ground for the great harvest of progress which the forcing power of the war caused us to reap. " I am a very indifferent pilot, but I know I have flown sufficiently to realise what difficulties had to be overcome by these men, and what courage was needed to surmount them, because I cannot deny that even, in a well-tuned and well- tested machine, after a course of instruction from a very experienced pilot, and thus with the margin of danger reduced to a minimum, there have been occasions when I was very glad to get down on my own feet, and I take ofi my hat to our honoured guests to-night for their pluck. The foresight and initiative of our first 100 pilots made it possible -yvhen the great 816
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