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| July 23rd | The First Aeroplane Flight Over Cornwall |
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The first flight over Cornwall occurred on this day in 1910 when Claude Grahame-White (1879 – 1959) flew a Box Kite over the three fleets of ships in Mounts Bay which had been assembled to salute the accession of King George V to the throne and await his inspection. Grahame – Wright had been taught to fly by Louis Bleriot and he took off from Eastern Green in a fifteen minute flight passing over some 200 ships assembled in the bay which included the flagship of the Royal Navy, ‘HMS Dreadnought’, and the King’s yacht, ‘The Enchantress’. Thousands of people gathered on the beach at Marazion and lined the Penzance Promenade to observe this magnificent achievement. The following month Grahame – Wright flew a bi-plane over Washington, landing close to the White House. In 1911, Grahame-White established a flying school at Hendon Aerodrome which was requisitioned by the Admiralty in 1916 and was then absorbed by the RAF in 1919. He made his fortune from property development in the United Kingdom and North America and then retired to Nice where he died in 1959. |