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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0737.PDF
OCTOBER 7, 1926 he hoped that in future there would be a succession of such pioneers coming among them. The flight to Australia and back was not the first of Mr. Cobham's great flights. He held the record of being the first civilian pilot to make an organised flight to India, over a distance of more than 16,000 miles. Shortly afterwards he made a flight to South Africa, covering more than 17,000 miles. That day they welcomed him back from a flight which extended over 28,000 miles, through great diversities of climate, in the heat and terrible weather, over wide expanses of dangerous sea, covering a distance that exceeded the whole extent of the circumference of the world. Mr. Cobham, by his achievement, had done more than politicians sometimes did to bring the people of the Empire more closely together, both in bodv and in mind. The thanks of the country were also due to the wives and famines of both Mr. Cobham and of both the mechanics, for without them this great achievement would have been impossible. A word of sympathy was also to be said for the mother of Elliott, who so tragically lost his life in Iraq. They In a cordial speech of welcome, Sir Charles Wakefield said that Mr. Cobham needed no assurance that his fellow country- men welcomed him. In every corner of this kingdom and Empire men and women had been watching the progress of this wonderful flight, and at this moment were saying to one another, " I wish I could be there." Sir Samuel Hoare had spoken for the Government. As a private citizen, he (Sir Charles) would speak for all those citizens of the Empire who were with them that day in spirit, though distant in terms of space. The flight, he said, had demonstrated that Great Britain was not decadent. The spirit of adventure that looked to the heights, and the secret of mastery that achieved them, were still part of our national heritage. He was proud to have had his name associated with this splendid achievement, which was from first to last a personal triumph for Mr. Cobham, and would have a unique place in the history of Imperial aviation. Every heart responded to the great deed planned, attempted, and achieved. In the years to come ENGLAND—AUSTRALIA—ENGLAND : Everybody Happy ! Mr. Alan Cobham (smiling), Sir Samuel Hoare (also smiling) and Sir Charles Wakefield (smiling also) on the Terrace of the House of Commons at the conclusion of the big Flight. must not forget also the wonderful machine in which the flight was achieved. The D.H.50 had now broken every record for long-distance flight, and was a wonderful tribute to the excellence of British workmanship. " Lastly," concluded Sir Samuel, " I should like to say a word of thanks to Sir Charles Wakefield, without whose support this flight might never have taken place at all. Sir Charles Wakefield bears a name greatly honoured in the City of London. Time after time he has supported British flying, and I cannot do better, it seems to me, in thanking him today, than to say I hope that in every enterprise he supports he will always have such splendid helpers to carry it out as he had in the case of Mr. Cobham and his two colleagues. May British flying always have the support of far-seeing and generous patrons like Sir Charles Wakefield, for if we have that support, backed up by the help of public opinion generally, British flying will progress much more quickly than would otherwise be the case. In your name I end by offering your congratulations to our three friends, and by wishing them good luck in every future flight they may make, either separately or together. I ask you to give them three cheers." The Mayor of Westminster then offered congratulations on behalf of the citizens of Westminster. Cobham's landing on the waters of the capital river of the Empire after his great pioneering flight of survey would take rank among the historic moments of our national story. We, who had the privilege of witnessing what others would record with pride, thanked him and congratulated him on the triumphant conclusion of a great Imperial task. Then, midst more cheering, Mr. Cobham rose to reply, saying that day was a very proud one for him. It had been in his mind ever since he started that when he got back he would like to land on the Thames, if only in order to bring home to the British public that flying was not such a stunt as some people thought it was. The flight to Australia was no stunt, remarked Mr. Cobham, it was done to try to find out what they could, and he assured them they had found out a lot in the face of severe difficulties. He could never have carried out the flight if it had not been for the hundreds of people who had helped him, particularly the designers of the machine, the makers of the engine, the all-important floats, and the hundreds of people along the route to whom he wrote. " There must have been," said Mr. Cobham, " a hundred people to whom I wrote, asking them to do something for me without offering anything in return, and because they believed in aviation or in what I was trying to do every one of them helped me. Some of them had never seen an aeroplane before." 653
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