Mount Pleasant Farm
Note: Although it might well not give the exact location of this venue, this map does give a fairly accurate position within the UK.
MOUNT PLEASANT FARM: Temporary aerodrome
Operated by: Gustav Hamel, presumably on behalf of the Grahame-White Co
Location: N of Hinstock, beside the A529, roughly 5nm SSE of Market Drayton
Period of operation 18th July 1912 (During and as part of the attractions at the annual Flower Show)
NOTES: The account given by Derrick Pratt and Mike Grant in their first volume of ‘Wings Across the Border’ makes for fascinating reading. The organising committee for the 1912 event had pencilled in one of the new-fangled but crowd drawing and crowd pleasing flying displays.
Originally the Hon Charles S Rolls, (of Rolls-Royce fame), had been invited. As holder of Pilot Certificate No.2 he was an obvious draw for the event. But how many people now know that he was far more famous for his ballooning exploits than as a fixed wing pilot? This said who also now knows he was the first British pilot to fly across the English Channel in both directions? This was on the 2nd June 1910.
On the 12 July 1912 his Short-Wright biplane broke apart in mid-air at about 200ft at an aviation meeting in Bournemouth thereby setting another aviation record - the first British pilot to die in an aircraft crash. (See entry for SOUTHBOURNE).
Consequently the squire, Capt. The Hon. Gerald Clegg-Hill invited Gustav Hamel to take C S Rolls place which he duly did, arriving with his Blériot monoplane by train! Hamel had been flying at Hull on the previous Monday and Loughborough on the Tuesday but arrived late the same evening at Market Drayton station, complete with his aeroplane. I find these goings-on absolutely staggering, the stamina required seems unbelievable today. For example he had mechanics to erect and rig his aeroplane, but just think of the work load and conditions these poor individuals were putting up with!
Schedules such as this must surely have been very demanding on Hamel himself, because, generally speaking a civic reception would be involved, usually with a banquet, much fan-fare and similar extravagance, all of which takes a toll after several weeks on tour.
It appears that sometimes he often flew between venues if they weren’t too far apart. Failing this, if a greater distance was involved, (as in this case), the aircraft was taken apart and generally for the most part transported by rail. Often the final leg was transport by very basic petrol-powered trucks, or horse-drawn carts.
THE DISPLAY
By 3.15PM the weather was fine and Gustav performed a four minute flight at 200ft around the showground which seemed to well satisfy the crowds attending. At 6.15PM he performed aerobatics, (steep turns, dives and climbs?), and a couple of circuits of Market Drayton at 500ft before attempting the climax of the show….a climb to 2,000ft when he switched off the engine and, dare-devil that he was, entertained the crowd to an enthralling and very exhilarating, (presumably for all involved including Gustav?), glide down to a perfect landing.
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