1.
Order of the British Empire
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There is also the related British Empire Medal, whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. Recommendations for appointments to the Order of the British Empire were at first made on the nomination of the United Kingdom, the self-governing Dominions of the Empire, nominations continue today from Commonwealth countries that participate in recommending British honours. Most members are citizens of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth realms that use the Imperial system of honours and awards. Honorary knighthoods are appointed to citizens of nations where the Queen is not head of state, occasionally, honorary appointees are, incorrectly, referred to as Sir or Dame – Bill Gates or Bob Geldof, for example. In particular, King George V wished to create an Order to honour many thousands of those who had served in a variety of non-combatant roles during the First World War, when first established, the Order had only one division. However, in 1918, soon after its foundation, it was divided into Military. The Orders motto is For God and the Empire, at the foundation of the Order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. In 1922, this was renamed the British Empire Medal, in addition, the BEM is awarded by the Cook Islands and by some other Commonwealth nations. The British monarch is Sovereign of the Order, and appoints all members of the Order. The next most senior member is the Grand Master, of whom there have been three, Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, Queen Mary, and the current Grand Master, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross,845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the number of members of the fourth and fifth classes. Foreign recipients, as members, do not contribute to the numbers restricted to the Order as full members do. Though men can be knighted separately from an order of chivalry, women cannot, and so the rank of Knight/Dame Commander of the Order is the lowest rank of damehood, and second-lowest of knighthood. Because of this, Dame Commander is awarded in circumstances in which a man would be created a Knight Bachelor, for example, by convention, female judges of the High Court of Justice are created Dames Commander after appointment, while male judges become Knights Bachelor. The Order has six officials, the Prelate, the Dean, the Secretary, the Registrar, the King of Arms, the Bishop of London, a senior bishop in the Church of England, serves as the Orders Prelate. The Dean of St Pauls is ex officio the Dean of the Order, the Orders King of Arms is not a member of the College of Arms, as are many other heraldic officers. From time to time, individuals are appointed to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of the junior post-nominal letters
2.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
3.
Barnstaple
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Barnstaple /ˈbɑːrnstəbəl/ or /ˈbɑːrnstəpəl/ is the main town of North Devon, England, and possibly the oldest borough in the United Kingdom. It is a former river-port, located at the lowest crossing-point of the River Taw, from the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool, since the merchants claimed that the town had been declared a free borough in Saxon times. This brought great wealth to Barnstaple, whose town centre still preserves a medieval layout, later the town became an importer of Irish wool, but its harbour silted up, and it developed other industries, such as shipbuilding, foundries and sawmills. Its Victorian market survives, with its glass and timber roof on iron columns. Barnstaple railway station is the terminus of a line from Exeter. Since 1974, Barnstaple has been a civil parish governed by town council, the parish itself had a population of 24,033 and including the satellite settlements known as the Barnstaple Town Area, it is 53,514. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete, but is retained by an American county, Barnstaple was formerly referred to as Barum, from a contraction of the Latin form of the name in Latin documents such as the episcopal registers of the Diocese of Exeter. Barum was mentioned by Shakespeare, and the name was revived and popularised in Victorian times, the name Barum is retained in the names of a football team, brewery, and of several local businesses. The former Brannam Pottery works which was sited in Litchdon Street was known for its trademark Barum etched on the base of its products, the earliest settlement in the area was probably at Pilton on the bank of the River Yeo, now a northern suburb of the present town. Barnstaple had its own mint before the Norman Conquest, the large feudal barony of Barnstaple had its caput at Barnstaple Castle. It was granted by William the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Montbray, the barony escheated to the crown in 1095 after Montbray had rebelled against King William II. William re-granted the barony to Juhel de Totnes, formerly feudal baron of Totnes, in about 1107, Juhel, who had already founded Totnes Priory, founded Barnstaple Priory, of the Cluniac order, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. After Juhels son died without children, the barony was split into two, passing through the de Braose and Tracy families, before being reunited under Henry de Tracy. It then passed through other families, before ending up in the ownership of Margaret Beaufort. See Feudal barony of Barnstaple for full details, in the 1340s the merchants of the town claimed that the rights of a free borough had been granted to them by King Athelstan in a lost charter. Although this was challenged from time to time by subsequent lords of the manor, the towns wealth in the Middle Ages was founded on its being a staple port licensed to export wool. It had a merchant guild, known as the Guild of St. Nicholas. In the early 14th century it was the third richest town in Devon, behind Exeter and Plymouth and its wool trade was further aided by the towns port, from which in 1588 five ships were contributed to the force sent to fight the Spanish Armada
4.
Church of England
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The Church of England is the state church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor, the Church of England is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It dates its establishment as a church to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. The English church renounced papal authority when Henry VIII sought to secure an annulment from Catherine of Aragon in the 1530s, the English Reformation accelerated under Edward VIs regents before a brief restoration of papal authority under Queen Mary I and King Philip. This is expressed in its emphasis on the teachings of the early Church Fathers, as formalised in the Apostles, Nicene, in the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Catholic martyrs and radical Protestant martyrs. The later phases saw the Penal Laws punish Roman Catholic and nonconforming Protestants, in the 17th century, political and religious disputes raised the Puritan and Presbyterian faction to control of the church, but this ended with the Restoration. Papal recognition of George III in 1766 led to religious tolerance. Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has used a liturgy in English, the church contains several doctrinal strands, the main three known as Anglo-Catholic, Evangelical and Broad Church. Tensions between theological conservatives and progressives find expression in debates over the ordination of women and homosexuality, the church includes both liberal and conservative clergy and members. The governing structure of the church is based on dioceses, each presided over by a bishop, within each diocese are local parishes. The General Synod of the Church of England is the body for the church and comprises bishops, other clergy. Its measures must be approved by both Houses of Parliament, according to tradition, Christianity arrived in Britain in the 1st or 2nd century, during which time southern Britain became part of the Roman Empire. The earliest historical evidence of Christianity among the native Britons is found in the writings of such early Christian Fathers as Tertullian, three Romano-British bishops, including Restitutus, are known to have been present at the Council of Arles in 314. Others attended the Council of Sardica in 347 and that of Ariminum in 360, Britain was the home of Pelagius, who opposed Augustine of Hippos doctrine of original sin. Consequently, in 597, Pope Gregory I sent the prior of the Abbey of St Andrews from Rome to evangelise the Angles and this event is known as the Gregorian mission and is the date the Church of England generally marks as the beginning of its formal history. A later archbishop, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus, also contributed to the organisation of Christianity in England, the Church of England has been in continuous existence since the days of St Augustine, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as its episcopal head. Despite the various disruptions of the Reformation and the English Civil War, while some Celtic Christian practices were changed at the Synod of Whitby, the Christian Church in the British Isles was under papal authority from earliest times. The Synod of Whitby established the Roman date for Easter and the Roman style of monastic tonsure in Britain and this meeting of the ecclesiastics with Roman customs with local bishops was summoned in 664 at Saint Hildas double monastery of Streonshalh, later called Whitby Abbey
5.
Boarding school
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A boarding school is a school at which most or all of the students live during the part of the year that they go to lessons. The word boarding is used in the sense of bed and board, i. e. lodging, some boarding schools also have day students who attend the institution by day and return to their families in the evenings. Many independent schools are boarding schools, Boarding school pupils normally return home during the school holidays and often weekends, but in some cultures may spend most of their childhood and adolescent life away from their families. In the United States, boarding schools comprise various grades, most commonly grades seven or nine through grade twelve—the high school years, other schools are for younger children, grades two through eight. A military school, or military academy, also features military education, in the former Soviet Union schools were introduced, these sometimes are known as Internat-schools. Some schools were a type of specialized school with a focus in a particular field or fields such as mathematics, physics, language, science, sports. Other schools were associated with orphanages after all children enrolled in Internat-school automatically. Also, separate boarding schools were established for children with special needs, general schools offered extended stay programs featuring cheap meals for children and preventing them from coming home too early before parents were back from work. In post-soviet countries, the concept of boarding school differs from country to country, the term boarding school often refers to classic British boarding schools and many boarding schools around the world are modeled on these. A typical boarding school has separate residential houses, either within the school grounds or in the surrounding area. Pupils generally need permission to go outside defined school bounds, they may be allowed to travel off-campus at certain times, depending on country and context, boarding schools generally offer one or more options, full, weekly, or on a flexible schedule. Each may be assisted in the management of the house by a housekeeper often known as matron. In the U. S. boarding schools often have a resident family that lives in the dorm and they also have janitorial staff for maintenance and housekeeping, but typically do not have tutors associated with an individual dorm. Nevertheless, older pupils are often unsupervised by staff, and a system of monitors or prefects gives limited authority to senior pupils, houses readily develop distinctive characters, and a healthy rivalry between houses is often encouraged in sport. Houses may also have common rooms for television and relaxation and kitchens for snacks, some facilities may be shared between several houses or dorms. In others, separate houses accommodate needs of different years or classes, in some schools, day pupils are assigned to a dorm or house for social activities and sports purposes. Each student has a timetable, which in the early years allows little discretion. Boarders and day students are taught together in school hours and in most cases continue beyond the day to include sports, clubs and societies
6.
Marlborough College
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Marlborough College is an independent boarding and day school in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church of England clergy, for the academic year 2015/16, Marlborough charges £9,610 per term for day pupils, making it the most expensive HMC day school in the UK. Fees for full boarders are up to £11,310 per term – the 28th most expensive HMC boarding school, the Good Schools Guide described Marlborough as a famous, designer label, co-ed boarding school still riding high. The school is a member of the G20 Schools Group, a sister school in Johore, Malaysia opened in 2012. Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, currently there are just over 800 pupils, approximately one third of whom are female. New pupils are admitted at the ages of 13+ and 16, Marlborough was, in 1968, the first major British independent school to allow girls into the sixth form, setting a trend that many other schools followed subsequently. The school became fully co-educational in 1989, the school has also been pioneering in other fields, making a major contribution to the School Mathematics Project and initiating the teaching of Business Studies at A level. Fagging was officially abolished in the 1920s, and Marlborough was one of the first public schools to do so, however, unofficial fagging did persist beyond this change for some time. In 1963 a group of boys, led by the future political biographer Ben Pimlott, wrote a book, Marlborough, the writer and television critic T. C. Worsley wrote about predatory masters at the school in his acclaimed autobiography Flannelled Fool. She wrote to John Vickers, the OFT director-general, saying and they are schools that have quite openly continued to follow a long-established practice because they were unaware that the law had changed. The college is built beside the Mound and this was used as the motte of a castle. No remains of the castle can be seen today, radiocarbon dating of core samples in the early 2010s indicated that the Mound dates from 2400 BC. This is close to the established for Silbury Hill. The main focus of the college is the Court and this is surrounded by buildings in a number of different styles. At the south end is the back of an early 18th-century mansion, next to it are the old stables, now converted into boarding houses. The west side consists of the 1959 red brick dining hall, the rest of the Court is surrounded by buildings in styles ranging from the Jacobethan to classical Georgian and Victorian prison. The latter, B house, was designed by the Victorian architect Edward Blore, whose works include the facade of Buckingham Palace
7.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
8.
Great Depression
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The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, in most countries it started in 1929 and it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4,1929. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%, by comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s, however, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the U. S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries, farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 optimism persisted for some time, john D. Rockefeller said These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come, prosperity has always returned and will again. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April and this was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered losses in the stock market the previous year. In addition, beginning in the mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U. S, by mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928, prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930
9.
Brooklands
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Brooklands was a 2. 75-mile motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the worlds first purpose-built motor racing circuit as well as one of Britains first airfields, the Brooklands motor circuit was the brainchild of Hugh F. Locke King, and was the first purpose-built banked motor race circuit in the world. Apparently drawing inspiration from the development at Brooklands, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built soon afterwards, requirements of speed and spectator visibility led to the Brooklands track being built as a 100 ft wide,2.75 miles long, banked oval. The banking was nearly 30 feet high in places, in addition to the oval, a bisecting Finishing Straight was built, increasing the track length to 3.25 miles, of which 1.25 miles was banked. It could host up to 287,000 spectators in its heyday, owing to the complications of laying tarmacadam on banking, and the expense of laying asphalt, the track was built in uncoated concrete. This led in later years to a bumpy ride, as the surface suffered differential settlement over time. Along the centre of the track ran a black line. By driving over the line, a driver could take the banked corners without having to use the steering wheel. The Brooklands Mountain Circuit was a section of the track giving a lap 1¼ miles long, running from the Fork to the rear of Members Hill. It was created in 1930 using movable barriers, on 28–29 June 1907, eleven days after the circuit opened, it played host to the worlds first 24-hour motor event, with Selwyn Edge leading three specially converted Napier cars around the circuit. A statement of intent had been made in 1906, and Selwyn Edge entered into a training program to prepare for the event. His car,804 was extensively modified, having a fuel tank, bodywork removed. Over 300 red railway lamps were used to light the track during the night, flares were used to mark the upper boundary of the track. Edge drove his car for the duration, with the drivers of the other two cars taking the more familiar shift approach. During the event Edge covered a distance of 1,581.74 mi at an speed of 65.91 mph. Women were not allowed to compete for several years, edges leading driver, was refused entry despite having been the first English-woman to compete in a motor race in 1903, and holding the Ladies World Land Speed Record. Edge completed 2,545 km at an average 106.06 km/h, the first standard race meeting would be held the next week, on 6 July. George E. Stanley broke the record at Brooklands race track on a Singer motorcycle in 1912
10.
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
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The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane, the first flight of the Cirrus powered prototype DH.60 Moth was carried out by Geoffrey de Havilland at the works airfield at Stag Lane on 22 February 1925. The Moth was a biplane of wooden construction, it had a plywood covered fuselage and fabric covered surfaces. A useful feature of the design was its folding wings which allowed owners to hangar the aircraft in much smaller spaces, the then Secretary of State for Air Sir Samuel Hoare became interested in the aircraft and the Air Ministry subsidised five flying clubs and equipped them with Moths. The prototype was modified with a rudder, as used on the production aircraft. Deliveries commenced to flying schools in England, one of the early aircraft was fitted with an all-metal twin-float landing gear to become the first Moth seaplane. The original production Moths were later known as Cirrus I Moths, three aircraft were modified for the 1927 Kings Cup Race with internal modifications and a Cirrus II engine on a lowered engine mounting. The original designation of DH. 60X was soon changed to Cirrus II Moth, the production run for the DH. 60X Moth was short as it was replaced by later variants, but it was still available to special order. Although the Cirrus engine was reliable, its manufacture was not and it depended on components salvaged from World War I–era 8-cylinder Renault engines and therefore its numbers were limited by the stockpiles of surplus Renaults. Therefore, de Havilland decided to replace the Cirrus with a new engine built by his own factory, in 1928 when the new de Havilland Gipsy I engine was available a company DH.60 Moth G-EBQH was re-engined as the prototype of the DH. 60G Gipsy Moth. Next to the increase in power, the advantage of this update was that the Gipsy was a completely new engine available in as great a number as the manufacture of Moths necessitated. The new Gipsy engines could simply be built in-house on a side by side with the production-line for Moth airframes. This also enabled de Havilland to control the process of building a Moth airframe, engine and all, streamline productivity. While the original DH.60 was offered for a relatively modest £650, by 1930 the price of a new Gipsy-powered Moth was still £650, a metal-fuselage version of the Gipsy Moth was designated the DH. 60M Moth and was originally developed for overseas customers, particularly Canada. The DH. 60M was also licence-built in Australia, Canada, also in 1931 a variant of the DH. 60M was marketed for military training as the DH. 60T Moth Trainer. In 1931 with the upgrade of the Gipsy engine as the Gipsy II, de Havilland inverted the engine, the engine was fitted into a Moth aircraft, which was re-designated the DH. 60G-III Moth Major. The sub-type was intended for the trainer market and some of the first aircraft were supplied to the Swedish Air Force. The DH. 60T was re-engined with the Gipsy III and was re-designated the DH. 60T Tiger Moth, the DH. 60T Tiger Moth was modified with swept back mainplanes, the cabane struts were also moved forward to improve egress from the front cockpit in case of emergency
11.
Bert Hinkler
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Herbert John Louis Hinkler AFC, DSM, better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator and inventor. He designed and built aircraft before being the first person to fly solo from England to Australia. He married in 1932 at the age of 39, and died less than a year later after crashing into remote countryside near Florence, Hinkler was born in Bundaberg, Queensland, the son of John William Hinkler, a Prussian-born stockman, and his wife Frances Atkins Hinkler. In his childhood, Hinkler would observe ibis flying near a lake at his school, after gaining an understanding on the principles of flight, he constructed and flew two gliders on beaches near his home town. He later met Arthur Burr Stone, at a show in Bundaberg and again at the Brisbane Exhibition where Hinkler worked with Stone to solve a problem with the Blériot. In 1913, Hinkler went to England where he worked for the Sopwith Aviation Company, during the First World War, Hinkler served with the Royal Naval Air Service as a gunner/observer in Belgium and France, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1918 Hinkler was posted to No.28 Squadron RAF with which he served as a pilot in Italy, Hinkler was an exceptional mathematician and inventor and made a lot of aviation instruments which were in use up until the Second World War. For example, one was a gadget to correct drift as airplanes fly a bit on their side. Furthermore, in WWI, Hinkler invented a machine gun adaptor for air gunners, back then, when the biplanes were flying upside down in combat, the hot, ejected shells would fall and burn the chest of the gunners as they fired. Hinklers invention had the ejected shells all flying off to one side instead, after the war, he worked as a test pilot for the aircraft manufacturer A. V. The Australian Government offered £10,000 as a prize for the first flight to Australia, Hinkler entered, in 1921, Hinkler shipped a tiny Avro Baby to Sydney. It was filled with fuel and flown non-stop to Bundaberg, Queensland, during the 1920s he competed in numerous aviation events and set many records, among which was a non-stop flight from England to Latvia. He was a pilot of the British Schneider Trophy seaplane competitor and this reduced the England-Australia record from 28 days to just under 15½ days. The aircraft used was an Avro Avian, registration G-EBOV, the flight was little noticed before Hinkler reached India but then media interest intensified. One paper nicknamed the flyer Hustling Hinkler and he was the subject of the Tin Pan Alley song Hustling Hinkler Up in the Sky, for the flights in 1920 and 1928 Hinkler had already won two Britannia trophies and the gold medal of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Hinkler is quoted as telling the Australian Prime Minister Stanley Bruce at this time, You know, one day, people fly by night. He was invited by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to be seated on the floor of the House in recognition of his achievement. After visiting the cities of Australia and returning to England
12.
Royal New Zealand Air Force
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The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air force component of the New Zealand Defence Force. The RNZAF fought in World War II, Malaysia, Korean War, Vietnam, the RNZAFs air combat capability ended in 2001 with the disbanding of the A-4 Skyhawk squadrons. The Air Force is led by an air vice-marshal who holds the appointment of Chief of Air Force, the RNZAF motto is the same as that of the Royal Air Force, Per ardua ad astra, meaning Through adversity to the stars. New Zealands military aviation began in 1913 when the New Zealand Army was presented with two Blériot monoplanes by the United Kingdom and these machines were grounded after a young woman was given a joyride. Both aircraft were handed back after war broke out. In the Great War, New Zealand aircrew flew as part of the British Royal Flying Corps, New Zealand pilots serving with British forces saw service in all theatres. Fifteen became aces, the top scorer being Keith Caldwell with, depending on how counted, the government assisted two private schools to train pilots for the conflict. The Walsh brothers flying school at Auckland was founded by Leo, from 1915 pilots trained on the Walsh Brothers Flying Boats including Curtiss machines, aircraft of their own design and, later in the war, the first two aircraft made by Boeing. In 1916 Sir Henry Wigram established the Canterbury Aviation Company at Sockburn, Christchurch and he gave the aerodrome, later Wigram Aerodrome, to the government for defence purposes. At the end of the war many New Zealand pilots stayed with the new Royal Air Force, others returned to New Zealand and, serving part-time, provided the nucleus of the New Zealand Permanent Air Force. At the close of hostilities Great Britain offered an Imperial Gift to each of the Dominions of a hundred war-surplus combat aircraft, New Zealand was the last to respond and least enthusiastic. Several of the aircraft were heavily modified—a 504 becoming a 3-seat floatplane. The importance of aviation in war was recognised, largely thanks to the efforts of visionary parliamentarian Sir Henry Wigram. It was initially equipped with the surviving Avro 504K, the DH. 4s, DH. 9s and these operated from an airfield outside Christchurch at Sockburn. In 1926 Wigram donated £2,500 for the purchase of modern fighters, Sockburn was later renamed RNZAF Station Wigram, a name adopted by the suburb which grew up around the airfield. It is the site of the present Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum, a trickle of new-build Bristol Fighters and other new types joined the NZPAF in the late 1920s and early 1930s. A Lewis gun-equipped De Havilland Gipsy Moth floatplane took part in operations against rebels in Samoa. The NZPAFs first action came in 1930 when the Moth dropped a bomb made out of a treacle tin on to a ship suspected of gun-running
