Launceston
Note: This map only gives a fairly rough location within the UK, but it is, as one of my ex RAF ground instructors used to say, "Close enough for government work".
LAUNCESTON: Temporary aerodrome
Operated by: Alan Cobham’s 1933 No.2 Tour of the UK, Cobham’s 1935 No.1 Tour
Location: Pennygillam in or near Launceston
Period of operation: 1st September 1933, 22nd August 1935
NOTES: It appears that Henri Salmet may well have made a display here on the 10th June 1912. However, in June 2015 my very good friend Maurice Wickstead told me that it now appears that Salmet landed in/near LAWHITTON, which is roughly 1.5nm SE of Launceston town centre. Henri Salmet was a famed French aviator and had been sponsored by the Daily Mail to make a tour from London to the 'West Country' in his 50 hp Blériot monoplane. The thrills and spills Salmet endured makes for very interesting reading - and worthy of a film.
It is also noteworthy to realise, in this day and age, that the arrival of a prestigious aviator in those days, to give a display of flying, invariably engendered a massive amount of civic pride. Usually a large civic banquet was held and quite often a public holiday declared so that the populace could witness such an amazing occurence. These early aviators who toured England before WW1 were regarded as 'super heros' and nothing like it has been seen since. Excepting that a balloon launch in the 19th century often had similar acclaim.
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