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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0190.PDF
FLIGHT, FEBRUARY 27, 1931 The "Bluebird " (Gipsy II) arrives at Croydon. (FLIGHT Photo.) MRS. VICTOR BRUCE'S RETURN ON Friday, February 20, Mrs. Victor Bruce started herround of official welcomes at Croydon aerodrome.She arrived from Lympne with an escort of othermachines a few minutes before midday, and was congratulated by Mr. F. Montague, Under-Secretary of State for Air, who in a short speech went over the chief features of her magnificent flight. There was a fairly large gathering on the aerodrome with representatives from most of the large aeronautical bodies, including Col. Shelmerdine, our new D.C.A., Lady Elibank, the chairman of the British Aviation Hospitality Association, Col. Thwaites, Secretary-General of the Air League, the Lady Mayoress of Croydon, and Commander Perrin, secretary of the Royal Aero Club. Lady Elibank also represented the Women's Automobile and Sports Association. Those who escorted Mrs. Bruce up from Lympne were Miss Winifred Spooner in a Bluebird, Miss Amy Johnson in her Puss-Moth, Sqdn.-Ldr. Ridley, Mr. Norman Blackburn and Messrs. Woodhead and Field, all on Bluebirds. The whole welcome was carried through in a quiet and sensible manner and there was none of that hysterical public heroine worship ; actually there could not have been more than 100 people present, but those who were were thoroughly enthusiastic and fully realised the excellence of the flight which Mrs. Bruce had made. After the usual few speeches had been made and the press photographers had been satiated, there was a general trek towards the Aerodrome Hotel, where the select few were fortified with refreshments. It seemed rather a pity that there was not a little more order and organisation about the whole show, as actually no one could know what was going on or where they were supposed to go. The speeches of welcome were made into Mrs. Bruce's ear under the Shelter of her machine, and no one else heard them. However, to have things like this was far, far better than if the occasion had been exploited by some newspaper magnate in order to boost his sales, and in doing so turned the welcome into an orgy of press publicity. In the evening the British Aviation Hospitality Association and the Women's Automobile and Sports Association — hereinafter called the B.A.H.A. and W.A.S.A. respectively—held a dinner in Mrs. Bruce's honour at the Mayfair Hotel. It was a curious coinci- dence that there was another dinner being held in the same build- ing in honour of an exploit on a " Bluebird," and that was the dinner to Sir Malcolm CampbellDinners at the Mayfair usually are excellent, and this one was no exception ; some 200 were present, and the toast listwas short. Looked at from any angle, Mrs. Bruce's flight is really oneof the most meritorious that has been made by a woman. After less than 40 hours' experience she set off—havingplanned the flight before even learning to fly, mark you !— and succeeded in covering nearly 20,000 miles without breakingthe machine to such an extent that it could not be repaired. The country she flew over was in many places that sort ofcountry that many would have said was impossible, and included every variety of climate, but, in spite of all thesedifficulties, she got through, and to all intents and purposes she never lost her way. Readers of FLIGHT will have followed the flight througkstep by step as it was made, and there is no need to recapitu- late it here ; it will therefore suffice to mention the main route,so that readers may better be able to follow Mrs. Bruce's speech. She started from London and went via Munich andVienna to Constantinople, thence to Konia, Bagdad, Bushire, Jask, Karachi, Allahabad, Calcutta, Rangoon, Bangkok,Korat, Hanoi, Fort Bayard, Hong-Kong, Amoy, Shanghai, Seoul, Osaka, and Tokyo. Then by boat to Vancouver andonwards to San Francisco, Louisville, St. Louis, Chicago, The welcome at Croydon: Mr. Montague shaking Mrs. Bruce's ham-- while behind her are her husband and father. On the left are Co'. Shelmerdine and Lady Drogheda, and on the right Col. Saunders of Auto Auctions, Ltd., the Bluebird agents. (FLIGHT Photo.) 1S2
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