Port Tennant bog
PORT TENNANT BOG: Temporary Landing Ground
Location: About 2nm E of Swansea city centre
Period of operation: 24th to 25th May 1912
In 1912 the Daily Mail sponsored six aviators, (as pilots were called in those days), to give 'exhibitions of flying' around the U.K. Two embarked on extended tours, which were unheard of in that era, and created immense public interest. These were the then famous French aviator Henri Salmet, and the equally famous British aviator Claude Grahame-White - the latter calling his tour "Wake Up England".
We need to remember that powered aviation did not appear in the U.K. until 1909, so to stage two extended tours, when powered aviation was still in its infancy in the U.K., was a very bold initiative indeed. Very few people had seen an aeroplane, let alone one flying, so the appearence of one really was sensational. Crowds, often of thousands, would assemble at the pre-arranged venues and often wait for hours, (even for a second day, if the aviator was delayed), to see the hero and his wonderous machine, (as aeroplanes were called).
Having arrived at a venue nominated for a night-stop, the aviator would invariably be treated to a civic reception and a sumptuos gala banquet held at the town hall or a grand hotel. It really was, altogether, a most notable occassion.
Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide' has undertaken a detailed study of this Tour by Salmet, and a full schedule can be found in my article - "The 1912 tour by Henri Salmet".
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
Note: The newspaper excerpt is from the Alnwick Mercury, published on the 1st June 1912. The area view is from my Google Earth © derived database.
In the 1st of June 1912 issue of Flight magazine, this report was published:
" On Friday afternoon, at a quarter top four, M. Salmet started from Cardiff for Swansea, and news that he was on his way caused an almost complete stoppage of work there, everyone turning out to see the aviator arrive. He first descended in a marsh, which from a height looked like a beautiful green field. With the aid of workmen from a nearby factory he managed to get on his way again and afterwards circled above the Bay before landing on the sands. By the time the aviator had finished demonstrations at Swansea it was too late to proceed to Llanelli, but that stage was completed on Saturday. A crowd, estimated at 25,000 people, gathered to see the aviator start from Swansea, and the police had all their work cut out to keep a clear course for the machine."
In those days very few aerodromes existed, and indeed for a tour such as this, Salmet has almost none available. The only exception being SHOREHAM west of Brighton. The people charged with finding a suitable location for him to land on invariably had, understandably of course, virtually no conception of what constituted a suitable Landing Ground. In effect Salmet had to make his own mind up, in double quick time, to decide if the nominated venue was suitable. On a few occasions he didn't like what he saw, and landed elsewhere - but always close by.
There was of course always an element of risk involved, as in this case. A boggy meadow can easily look, from the air, entirely suitable - the 1939 picture above amply illustrates this. Perhaps the best well known example is when Alcock and Brown, having flown across the Atlantic with astonishing accuracy in their navigation in 1919, decided to land in a 'meadow' next to the Marconi radio station on the west coast of Ireland, to send news of their record breaking flight.
That 'meadow' turned out to be a bog and they ended up with nose of their Vimy stuck in the mire. Fortunately Salmet did not suffer that indignity. The interesting aspect is that planks were laid out - presumably enough to enable him to get airborne for a second landing on the sands.
It is disappointing that only a few newspapers of that time have been scanned and digitised. Presumably he had quite a reception in Swansea?
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