Topsham Barrack Field
TOPSHAM BARRACK FIELD: Temporary Landing Ground
Note: I had thought to call this listing TOPSHAM BARRACKS, but have deferred to the address given in the 'Notice' below published in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. If anybody should know, presumably they should? Today it seems, this location is known as WYVERN BARRACKS.
Location: Just N of the A3015, just SE of Exeter city centre
Period of operation: From the 1st to the 5th June 1912
The then very famous French aviator, Henri Salmet, had been sponsored by the Daily Mail to undertake a Tour in 1912. The schedule for this Tour can be found in my article - 'The 1912 tour by Henri Salmet'. Routing west from London he had made his way across to South Wales, then he doubled back to cross the Bristol Channel before heading south-west via Exeter before touring the further reaches of the West Country.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
The newspaper article was published in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on the 1st June 1912.
The notice was published in the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette on the 3rd June 1913.
The newspaper article, divided into two parts to make it easier to read, was published in the Western Times on the 4th June.
NOTES: It needs to be remembered that in 1912, the majority of people in the U.K. had never even seen an aeroplane. So, despite Exeter being briefly visited the year before, the arrival of Salmet who was prepared to 'stick around' and give displays really was a major attraction. Indeed, everywhere he went to make a stay in his Tour, resulted in the event being one demanding significant civic celebrations. Slap up banquets in the town hall or a very posh hotel and huge crowds gathering, similar to modern air shows, just to see one aviator perform with his aeroplane, or machine as they were normally called in those days.
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