Rare 'Royal Engineers Balloon
School' Commemorative Medal. c.1907
To view larger images click on
pictures below.
Rare medal produced for the Royal
Engineers Balloon School to commemorate the first public flight of the military
airship, 'Nulli Secundus' on the 5th October 1907.
The front bears the image of the 'Nulli
Secundus' in flight, over what is believed to be Farnborough. Surrounding this
is the caption, "Balloon School Royal Engineers". The reverse is decorated with
the busts of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The caption reads, "H.M.
Edward VII. King - H.M. Alexandra. Queen - Proclaimed 1901". Diameter: 32mm.
Good condition (slight discoloration).
In 1878, the War Office formed an
establishment at Woolwich to develop military ballooning and during the wars in
Sudan and Bechuanalan in 1884-5, balloons were used by the British Army for
observation purposes. Following this, the Royal Engineers established a
balloon school in Chatham, Kent in 1888. Two years later, the school was
relocated to Aldershot when the Royal Engineers formed a permanent balloon
section and depot.
The semi rigid airship, 'Nulli
Secundus' ("Second to none"), formally known as 'British Army
Dirigible No. 1' was Britain's first military aircraft. Its initial
design was carried out by Colonel James Templer (who formed the first
British military ballooning establishment at Woolwich in 1878) and was
completed by Colonel John Capper (head of the Royal Engineer's Balloon
Factory) and the American, Samuel Cody (the pioneer aviator who also
designed the man-lifting kite and the the first aeroplane to fly in
Britain - piloted by himself). The airship was built at the balloon
factory in Farnborough and made its first test flight on 10th September
1907. Her first public outing was made on the 5th October when Capper
and Cody flew her from Farnborough to London. After flying over the
city, she circled St Paul's Cathedral and then attempted to return to
Farnborough, but strong headwinds caused her to land a Crystal Palace.
The flight covered 50 miles and lasted 3 hours, 25minutes.
For more information on the early
aeronautics of the Royal Engineers, please click on the link below:
Royal Engineers
Aeronautics
Inventory No. A-386
Price: GBP(£) 130.00 + Shipping
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