Wednesday 28th Aug 2024
St John’s Place, Lower Road, Bemerton, SP2 9NP
7.30-9.30pm
The pioneering the Royal Flying Corps lived their lives amidst a strange dichotomy as they moved from safety to dire danger, and back again in a matter of hours. This created a dreadful strain that could soon shred anyone’s mental health. On the ground, they were cloistered in simple but adequate accommodation several miles behind the lines. Farmhouses, barns, huts, tents even a canal boat were used, but they were all far better than the squalor faced by the infantry scurrying in their muddy trenches. But when they were flying over the front it was no laughing matter. They had to be good at their jobs, the pilots and the observers, or they would surely die. They needed first-rate eyesight and had to develop ‘air vision’ to see hostile aircraft before it was too late. Pilots had to be masters of their machines, to understand their capabilities and – perhaps even more important – their limitations. They had to fly accurately, but at the same time be able to fling their aircraft about like mad things in the tumult of a dogfight. They had to be quick-thinking and capable of split-second reactions where a wrong turn might mean death. Both pilots and observers had to be excellent shots, capable of snap-shooting accurately at a target that could be moving at more than 100 mph. They had to be courageous and not panic in the face of extreme peril. Death lurked in the skies, zooming in its winged chariots out of the sun, or bursting from the clouds. A moment’s loss of concentration, or tactical blunder, could consign them to being shot down and falling thousands of feet until the crunching impact of terra firma brought a terrible relief. But better that than a punctured petrol tank, the first flickers of flame, then the roaring inferno and the agonies of incineration.
Entrance for members is included in your annual subscription. For non-members, entrance is £10 (cash, card or cheque) at the door.
There is a small car park and lay-by opposite St John’s Place on Lower Road (for approx. 20 cars). Parking is also allowed on single yellow lines on Lower Road after 6pm. Alternative car parking is available at The Clubhouse, Salisbury and South Wilts Sports Club (SP2 9NY) and a pathway connects to St John’s Place.