Scotstoun
SCOTSTOUN: Temporary exhibition of flying venue
Operated by: B C Hucks and M Manton
Location: On the old Glasgow Agricultural Society Showground, about 0.5nm NW of Victoria Park and roughly 3.5nm NW of Glasgow city centre.
Period of operation: 25th, 26th and 27th June 1914
A MICHAEL T HOLDER GALLERY
We have Mike Holder, a great friend of this 'Guide', to thank for both discovering this venue and researching what is freely available to illustrate it, plus adding the maps.
Advert One was published in the Daily Record on the 22nd June 1914. The advert Two was also published in the Daily Record, but this time on the 27th June, the last day of the flying display. I suppose we might wonder why the second advert was published (?), but of course in those days the main method of disseminating to a wide public the current news, especially of events, was the newspaper.
GOING TO TOWN ON THE SUBJECT
This article, in eight parts, was published in The Scotsman on the 26th June.
This illustrates an aspect of those times that I have never thought about. As a private pilot training to fly in 1988/89, learning the importance of how to read and interpret the different two main meterological charts was very much part and parcel of the course. Indeed, I had to pass an exam on meteorology. I very much doubt those early aviators had access to such visual information, especially on a short term basis*. And anyway, they were flying locally so needed to judge for themselves what was likely to happen in the next few hours at best.
*This lead me to investigate further and was surprised to find that the 'Met Office' was founded on the 1st August 1854. The first published weather forecasts came along in 1861. So, they may indeed have seen the very general picture(s) published in newspapers. It appears that the shipping forecast by the BBC did not start until 1925. In more recent times the ways in which weather information can be obtained is often remarkable, but, on general forecasts I often think - why don't you look out of a window! Better still, go outside and look around.
The photo of Manton flying here was obtained from Bing Images. The short article was published in the Daily Record on the 27th June.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT
This Article Two in three parts, was published in the Daily Record on the 29th June, two days after the event took place.
AND FINALLY
These two views are from my Google Earth © derived database. Much more importantly we need to bear in mind that the crowds who assembled here had, in many cases without much doubt (?), ever seen an aeroplane flying. Even if they had, certainly not one performing loops and, albeit for just a very short time interval, inverted flying.
Another important aspect which may well have influenced Hucks decision to use this venue, is that it had its own railway station with extra services being laid on to serve events taking place.
Regarding these two aviators, and Hucks in particular, is that it was B C Hucks who performed the first loop ever seen by a Briton aviator in the UK, at HENDON in September 1913. Not even a year before. Marcus Dyce Manton is sometimes described as being B C Hucks 'understudy'. However, by this time he was most certainly a most accomplished aviator in his own right, and no doubt, why Hucks had invited him to participate in this important event.
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