Very Rare "1910 Bournemouth Aviation Meeting" Committee Member's Medal (Chris Balm Early Aviation & Motoring Items)

Very Rare "1910 Bournemouth Aviation Meeting" Committee Member's Medal

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Very rare, quality, gilt brass and enamel medal made for one of the committee members organizing the events to celebrate Bournemouth's Centenary of 1910. The most famous of these events being the Bournemouth International Aviation Meeting in which the Hon. Charles Rolls died after crashing his aeroplane.

This very beautiful medal bears an image of the aviation meeting's grandstand with an early racing car in front and a Farman aeroplane flying overhead. It is decorated with red, white and blue enamel and carries the inscription, "Bournemouth Centenary - July - 1810-1910". The suspension bar is inlaid in red enamel with the word, "Committee" and the medal is attached to this by means of a pale green silk ribbon. Overall length : 80mm. Nice condition (one small section of red enamel missing next to the word "July" and a slight patch of wear to the centre of the ribbon). Uncertain as to how many committee members were involved with this event, but to give some idea there were only six organizing the Blackpool Aviation Meeting.

The Bournemouth International Aviation Meeting was held between the 11th and 16th July 1910 at Hengistbury Head, near Bournemouth, England. The aviators present were as follows: McArdle, Armstrong Drexel, Radley, Morane, Grahame-White, Dickson, Rolls, Rawlinson, Gibbs, Grace, Colmore, Ogilvie, Christiaens, Wagner, Audemars, Boyle and Loraine. The Hon. Charles Rolls (joint founder of the Rolls Royce motor car company) won prizes on the first day for both the slowest and fastest laps of the circuit. But on the second day (12th July), whilst attempting to pull out of a steep decent towards the "bulls eye" set out for the landing competition, the tail boom of Rolls' French built Wright biplane gave way causing him to crash. He was instantly killed, making him the first British pilot to die in an aviation accident.

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