Bournmouth International Aviation Meeting
The event formed part of Bournemouth’s centenary celebrations and was advertised as one of the greatest public entertainments ever staged in Britain. Held from 11–16 July 1910 at Southbourne, east of Bournemouth, it is generally regarded as Britain’s first major international aviation meeting. Unlike a modern airshow with aerobatics, jet displays and military formations, the attraction was simply seeing aircraft fly at all. But there were a number of competitions, these offered prize money running to thousands of pounds – a fortune for the time.
The airfield
The organisers effectively built a temporary aviation stadium, around three miles of hedges and banks were removed. There were Fifteen aircraft hangars erected, along with Four grandstands. Public transport in the form of electric trams carried spectators from Bournemouth and Christchurch, at the venue restaurants, bandstands and viewing areas were provided. All this at a time where an airfield itself was a novelty.
The First Aviation Fatality
The event is also remembered because of a fatal accident involving Charles Rolls.
On 12 July 1910, during the meeting, his Wright aircraft crashed. Contemporary reports and later commemorations identify the accident as Britain’s first fatal powered-aircraft crash. Rolls became one of the earliest well-known aviation casualties in the world.
Several other pilots suffered crashes and injuries during the week, highlighting how dangerous flying remained.
Although Bournemouth was first, the Lanark meeting a few weeks later was larger, attracted enormous crowds, and produced several notable flying achievements. Lanark also benefited from having no fatalities, which was unusual for aviation meetings of the era.
The Scottish International Aviation Meeting
The Scottish International Aviation Meeting held at the Lanark Racecourse from 6–13 August 1910. In 1910 powered flight was still a novelty. The Scottish International Aviation Meeting took place only seven years after the Wright brothers first powered flight and just one year after Louis Blériot crossed the Channel. Aviation was developing at an astonishing pace.
The event attracted pilots from Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Peru and elsewhere. Around 22 pilots entered, making it one of the most important aviation gatherings Britain had yet seen.
The scale of the event
For a town of only about 7,000 people, the crowds were extraordinary. More than 250,000 spectators attended during the eight-day meeting. A temporary railway station was built at the racecourse, with at least 14 special trains per day being run. There was also a dedicated post office and extensive telegraph facilities were installed for reporters and visitors.
Some estimates suggest over 144,000 paid admissions plus thousands of season-ticket holders.
It is quite the thing to think that quarter of a Million people attended this meeting, to watch aircraft stay in the air for minutes. I often wonder what these people would have thought today, when you can leave Lanark in the morning and be on the other side of the world before 24 hours has elapsed.