Typical. You wait nearly a century and then two come along. Ailerons from the Vickers Vimy bomber flown by Alcock and Brown in the first non-stop transatlantic flight from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara in 1919 are rare. One turned up at Whyte’s in 2018. Now a different one has surfaced and will be auctioned by Purcell Auctioneers in Birr on August 18. At Whyte’s the aileron made €8,500 at hammer. Lot 205 at Purcell’s sale of collectibles and rarities is estimated at €6,000-€8,000. This piece was retrieved by noted local photographer R W Simmons, one of the first on the scene to take photographs for the national newspapers. Purcell’s say it is thence: by descent and gift to the current owner in the early 2000’s. Three hand written descriptions thereon, one of which includes the name of R W Simons (Simmons – renowned Galway based photographer). A paper cutting on the other side reads “£50 for £1. The owner of a Treasury Pound Note carried across the Atlantic by Sir John Alcock on the 1st non-stop flight, has refused £50 for it”.
The plane landed in a bog that appeared from the air to be a suitable green field after less than 16 hours flying time and was damaged after going nose over. Neither of the airmen was hurt. An Alcock and Brown photo/scrapbook made €2,600 over a top estimate of €1,800.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 8, 2018).
In June 1919 the British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Connemara in a modified First World War bomber which they crash landed in a field. Local man Jim Fawl removed a souvenir from the crash site, a wooden rib, probably part of an aileron. The piece of aviation history came to light almost one hundred years later on RTE’s National Treasures programme and has been on exhibition in the Museum of Country Life, Castlebar since then.