Malmesbury flying sites
MALMESBURY: Church tower launch site
Operated by: Eilmer (a monk based at the Abbey)
Location: Probably St Mary’s Church and grounds near to town centre?
Period of operation: One day in or around 1003? A more reliable estimate is probably 1010?
NOTES: I was pretty chuffed having discovered this account: Records, (apparently reliable), show that a monk named Eilmer launched himself from the Abbey tower in a form of primitive hang-glider and flew for about 200 metres therefore achieving a glide ratio of roughly 1:4 which is surely a pretty good result. By the standards of today it obviously wasn’t a particularly good landing because having broken both his legs - he presumably didn’t walk away from it! It seems he was put off flying by this experience which seems a shame as his ‘flying apparatus’ was obviously roughly on the right tracks because unlike most other early flight attempts it didn’t fold up or for other reasons plummet almost vertically. It seems a pity we don’t appear to have an AAIB report on the landing accident. Who said the AAIB are thorough in their investigations?
The main reason we know about this, is because a written record was made - in Latin of course. In those days it was mostly the religious factions who had pretty much a cartel on reading and writing, and this may well go a long way to explaining why so few other flying attempts are recorded in the years until the late 18th century. Assuming of course that any other attempts were made?
Many years later I discovered the book ‘The Balloon Factory’, (Sub-titled ‘The Story of the Men Who Built Britain’s First Flying Machines’), by one of my heros of aviation writing, Alexander Frater. Mr Frater, unlike myself, actually visited Malmesbury to see what he could find out about Eilmer, (also known as Elmer, Elmerus or even Oliver!), and met Ron Bartholemew, (who had worked for BOAC later BA), and who had set out to thoroughly research the history of Eilmer, producing a ten page pamphlet on the subject – for sale in the Abbey. Please read the full account, as it seems my first entry on this location as a load of b****cks! Oh great! Here I was thinking I’d got the first ever documented flight in the UK sussed - and I’d got nearly everything wrong!
For example, it appears Eilmer, a much respected mathematician, astrologer and scientist, ‘a man of good learning’, conducted his flight in 1010. Plus, he probably launched himself from the bell tower of St Mary’s church. I say this because by that time in my research I had become a tad cynical and made a couple of checks. It transpires that it could not have been Malmesbury Abbey as we know it today, for a pretty good reason - the present Abbey hadn’t been built then! It was in fact built in the 12th century and consecrated in 1180. Also, there is much dispute over where he came down; PLUS, this accident did not put him off flying! Indeed it seems he planned another attempt, realising his design needed a tail, but the Abbott him from making any further attempts at flying. Perhaps telling Eilmer in monastical terms the equivalent of, "Sod that for a game of soldiers mate, you're grounded!"
HAVING SOME GOOD SENSE?
Heh ho! Thank gawd I had the good sense to produce only a ‘Guide’ - at least the site is correct – Malmesbury that is, and I am principally trying to identify sites, the Abbey being built over the Saxon site. Incidentally, and speaking as a pilot of sorts, it seems that Eilmer had realised that a gusting wind would give him more lift, (quite right too), so he waited for a day when the wind was up. Great theory…very bad idea! High winds, as we realise all to well today, create turbulence with associated specific dangers such as ‘rota effect’, ‘curl-over’ etc. Hardly ideal conditions for your first attempt when learning to fly.
But, this does make me wonder why exactly, in England we don’t have a large memorial, or similar, to Eilmer? Islamic people by contrast are very keen on keeping alive the memory of their first flying heroes. For example, probably the first ever “successful”, (he badly hurt his back it seems), gliding flight ever recorded was by the astronomer and poet Abbas Ibn Firnas, from a tower in Cordoba, Spain, in AD 852. An airport near Baghdad is named after him. In the 12th century it is claimed Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi constructed a very effective ‘hang-glider’ of sorts and flew clear across the Bosphorus, landing in Anatolia. Today Hezarfen Airport, one of three serving Istanbul, is named after him.
OTHER EARLY FLIGHT ATTEMPTS
Incidentally, it is thought by some today that Eilmer might well have been inspired by tales of Hezarfen in particular, possibly brought back by returning Crusaders? Although I have portrayed these accounts as being ‘set in stone’ rather like news reports from the BBC, CNN, Reuters etc, (who never get anything wrong of course!), I would highly recommend that you look into the subject more closely. There were others who tried ‘flying’ experiments, mostly unsuccessful it appears, but I was intrigued by this account in the book by John Harding, Flying’s Strangest Moments.
Unfortunately he doesn’t set a date but infers it was in the 12th century, after two previous flying attempts in Instanbul (then known as Constantinople). The first being by Ismail Cevhari also in 1010 which proved fatal who jumped off the Galata Tower. One up then for Eilmer of course. John Harding recounts that in 1159 a second attempt was made which, according to the 17th century historian Richard Knolles; “In steed of mounting aloft, this foolish Icarus came tumbling downe headlong with such violence, that he brake his necke, his armes and legs, with almost all the bones of his bodie.” This was a very common occurrence for most early flight attempts; Glide ratio 1:1, result usually fatal.
But it seems: “A third attempt was more sophisticated – spectacularly so, in fact. Lagari Hasan Celebi (a contemporary of but no relation to Hezarfen) is reported to have constructed a seven-pronged rocket powered by around nine pounds of gunpowder. After lighting the fuse, he rose high in the sky off Sarayburna before landing in the sea by means of a primitive parachute. After the event he was received by the Sultan and rewarded with seventy silver coins.” If this tale can be substantiated, why isn’t this man the ‘grandfather’ figure of astronauts?
Getting back to how we English (British evn for that matter) deal with our aviation memorials, with regard to Eilmer there is a stained-glass window in the Abbey dedicated to him and there was a pub in Malmesbury called the ‘The Flying Monk’, on the site of which now stands, quite appropriately I suppose, a shopping centre. When it comes to naming airports after our national heroes we English take an interesting stance. For example an ex-pat pop star who most people thought had ‘lost the plot’ – John Lennon, and a brilliant but dysfunctional and alcoholic footballer – George Best. Oh yes, and a mugger – Robin Hood.
MALMESBURY: Private airstrip?
NOTES: Sometimes the only clue I have found for the existence of a flying site comes from roundabout evidence – and this is a good example. In his excellent book The Triple Alliance Neville Doyle gives this account regarding the history of Spartan Air Lines with whom Flt Lt Maynard Dudding had been flying with. “Flt Lt Maynard Dudding had by now moved on and was soon to lose his life when the Miles Hawk aircraft (G-ACNX) he was flying hit a small tree whilst landing in a field near Malmesbury on April 12th 1935. He was an instructor with Surrey Flying Services at the time.”
Was this just a casual ‘one-off’ visit – or possibly an established site used on a regular basis? In those days and for many years before and after it was common practise to call in to see somebody, or even get a pint at a convenient pub, if a convenient field was available. The idea of getting PPR (Prior Permission Required) to land hadn’t been even dreamt of.
This said it stands to reason that somebody planning a visit would write or telephone in advance. If the pilot was an A.A. member, they could if they wished, call in at an A.A. Approved Landing Ground along the way and leave a message in the box provided. A passing A.A. patrolman would then go to a phone box and relay the message.
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