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First Aeroplane in Cheltenham (Cheltenham Chronicle & Gloucestershire Graphic October 1910)
Nothing is really known about this image – which may possibly be the first heavier-than-air flight in the county. It comes from the Cheltenham Chronicle & Gloucestershire Graphic of 1st October 1910 and the captions written below the images read:
MR H HIGGINS’S AEROPLANE ON WHICH HE CONDUCTED GLIDING TRIALS ON CLEEVE HILL, SEPTEMBER 25TH SUCCESSFULLY RISING SOME FEET AND COVERING THIRTY YARDS CLEAR OF THE GROUND.
- Mr Higgins on the aeroplane, which he made himself.
- Spectators.
- Gliding down hill.
- Watching the trials.
The pilot in the images, H Higgins, might have been J F Higgins, a pioneering aviator who initially served in the Royal Field Artillery and fought in the Second Boer War, taking part in the operations in Natal in 1899 and the Defence of Ladysmith. He gained a Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 264) in 1912 and was one of the first students at the Royal Flying Corps Central Flying School. He transferring to the RAF upon its formation and on the outbreak of WW2, with the rank of Air Marshall, he was appointed Air Officer Commanding Air Forces India until he retired in August 1940 at the age of 65.
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