Penrhos Park
PENRHOS PARK: Temporary landing site with two known accounts of use?
Note: These two maps and the Google Earth © picture were kindly provided by Mr Michael T Holder.
Operated by: Mr Robert Loraine (1910) and Mr Hewitt (1912)
Location: Roughly 2nm SE of Holyhead town centre
NOTES: Looking at most books published today regarding epic early sea crossing flights only one is generally recorded. That made by Blériot flying across the English Channel on the 25th July 1909 . It was most certainly epic and historic but at the time just a notch on the programme of even more epic flights. A flight across the Irish Sea was far more dangerous. And for the far more brave perhaps?
One report says Lorraine took-off on the 11th September 1910. It appears he had flown from BLACKPOOL, to RHOS-on-SEA, (near Llandudno), after the end of the famous BLACKPOOL Flying Meeting held in August.
Crossing the Irish Sea, he almost made it too, but came down in the sea near Howth Head, (near and ENE of Dublin), He was flying a Farman biplane type which he’d crashed at BEAULIEU (HAMPSHIRE) a week before taking part in the BOURNEMOUTH Flying Meeting in July. The methods of construction in those days generally meant that repairs could quite quickly be made, in all but the most serious of crashes.
One report says he was only 40 yards from dry land! He had tried to find somewhere to land south of Howth Head but was unable to do so, deciding to fly around to the north side. However, with his aircraft now descending and "breaking apart" a ditching was the only option. I imagine the term ‘beach’ at Howth Head is being used in the loosest way too. Also, the report that his machine was "breaking apart" is quite incorrect.
A NEWSPAPER REPORT
Thanks to Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', in November 2020 he unearthed this article in The Shields Daily News published on the 12th September 1910 which provides a lot of detail.
AVIATION.
______
IRISH CHANNEL FLIGHT.
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A COOL AIRMAN.
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CALMLY SWAM ASHORE.
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"Lorraine started from Penrhos Park, Holyhead, the seat of Lord Sheffield, between ten and eleven o'clock yesterday morning on an attempt to fly across the Irish Channel. On ascending, he was heartily cheered by the crowd of spectators, and, steering his biplane in a straight line across the bay towards the countryside, he gracefully turned and shot out in the direction of the North Stack, where he picked up his course for the perilous journey. In about eight minutes he had disappeared from view, and the next news received concerning him was on the arrival at 12hr20 of the Royal Mail steamer from Kingstown, which reported passing the aviator when he was about twenty miles across the Channel. He was then flying at a terrific speed, and the indications pointed to a successful journey. Later, he was observed by an incoming north-western steamer."
____________________
AVIATOR SWIMS ASHORE
"Mr Robert Lorraine, the actor-airman, all but accomplished his long-cherished project of crossing in his Farman biplane from Holyhead to Dublin, but he failed by only a hundred yards, (My note - for younger readers - 92 metres), to reach the Irish Coast, says a Dublin correspondent."
"Mr Lorraine started on his journey at eleven o'clock yesterday morning, and within the hour was close to Howth, in Dublin Bay. Then ill luck overtook him; something went wrong with his Gnome engine, and his machine started to fall. He was unable to check the descent, and he came down into the sea, whereupon he calmly swam ashore, landing on the rocks by the Bailey lighthouse. The biplane, which was picked up by a passing steamer, was only slightly damaged."
NOTES: This was, by the standards of those days, quite likely true. Aeroplanes generally had a fairly short life, and the corrosive effects of being in salt water were probably seen as not being important.
THE IRISH SEA
As pretty much every private pilot knows, making their first flight across open sea, (as often as not a short crossing from England to France), the 'donkey' never seems to running smoothly. When making my first flight across the Irish Sea, (via St Davids Head to Rosslare), I certainly felt a sense of trepidation. This is not a kindly stretch of water. Fearsome currents and of course subject at both ends to Atlantic swells. Ditching in those waters, (never a happy prospect of course), is quite likely to have fatal consequences. Despite having life-jackets and a PLB, (Personal Locater Beacon), the prospects are not good.
This being why, in those far off days, making such an attempt was quite rightly viewed as being a most dangerous enterprise.
SEVERAL DECIDE TO MAKE THE ATTEMPT
Two years later it seemed that there was almost a queue developing of aviators intent on making the first, and equally remarkable flights, over this dangerous stretch of water. On the 18th April 1912 Leslie Allen made an attempt although it seems he probably passed over rather than landing here. Mr Allen seems to have disappeared without trace somewhere over the Irish Sea.
Fully knowing this Mr Hewitt, having just flown here from RHYL, set off on Friday 26th April at 10.30hrs watched by a large crowd. Without even a compass in those days, basically navigating by the sun as it occasionally broke through the haze and low cloud, he made landfall at Bray Head - some fifteen miles off course. The first ever pilot in a powered aircraft to cross the Irish Sea! Having discovered exactly where he was he then flew up the coast and landed near the Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park, Dublin at 11.15.
Almost needless to say, he was flying a Blériot design but had covered three times more distance than Blériot himself did crossing the English Channel over a far more dangerous stretch of water. In many ways this set the pattern, for more even more dangerous exploratory flights, for years to come. It now seems hard to believe but a British trans-Atlantic flight atempt, (going the hard way East to West, was planned for 1914! A massive European war got in the way of that attempt of course.
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