Postern Piece
POSTERN PIECE: Temporary early flying experiments
The local view was obtained from Google Earth ©, and the local area view is from my Google Earth © derived database.
Operated by: Mr Albert Edward Grimmer
Location: Near to and on the east side of the B530, just north of Ampthill town centre
Period of operation: Easter Monday 1913 initially and probably a few times afterwards?
NOTES: We have Mr Graham Frost, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for finding a link to this story.
THE STORY BEGINS
Mr Grimmer had a cycle business in Ampthill, the 'Flit Cycle Company', and had become very interested in the early developments in aviation. So much so that in late 1912 he brought a crashed Blériot XI from a waste merchant in Blackfriars, central London, and towed it home. He repaired it, re-covered it with the help of his wife, refurbished the engine, and on Easter Monday decided to make some 'flying experiments', despite having had no flying instruction. These being basically just 'hops', just as the earliest pioneers had made. And performed at POSTERN PIECE just north of Ampthill.
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
I invited Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to see if he could find anything? At first he told me he could not find anything, then discovered a most valuable source of information, hidden away as it were, in the book Richard Shuttleworth by Kevin Desmond. The reason being that the two aircraft that Mr Grimmer owned, the Blériot XI and Deperdussin, were offered to Richard Shuttleworth after WW1 in return for removing a large quantity of empty oil cans from his garage premises.
These were both restored to flying condition and remain in the Shuttleworth Collection at OLD WARDEN to this day, very occassionally still flying in very calm conditions. I suppose the "tail heaviness" resulted from Mr Grimmer not being schooled in centre of gravity issues when he rebuilt the Blériot XI? Nor perhaps, in how to correctly rig it for flight?
AN INTRODUCTION TO MR GRIMMER
The photo shows Mr Grimmer with his wife on a bicycle he made for her, due to her rather petitie stature. As stated above, he had a bicycle business in Ampthill, where he both made and repaired them, plus getting involved with automobiles. The short article illustrates this latter aspect, published in the Bedfordshire Times and Independent on the 7th November 1913.
SO, WHERE WAS POSTERN PIECE?
FURTHER INFORMATION
These two excerpts are from Richard Shuttleworth by Kevin Desmond, also illustrating the singular path in aviation Mr Grimmer was making for himself. Based in Ampthill, he had probably never visited HENDON for example, only some 30 miles away to the SSE where, in those days so much aviation activity was taking place, including schools offering flying instruction.
A NEW LOCATION
For a reason not now known, Mr Grimmer then decided to take his Blériot XI to HOLLY HEDGE FIELD, about 1.5nm south west of Flitwick town centre. Who knows, perhaps he was aquainted with the farmer? We have added a seperate listing for HOLLY EDGE FIELD so do please have a look.
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