DISS MUSEUM

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 AUTUMN 2012 Big Plans for 2019 Commemoration

The editor of Dirigible In 1919 the R34 made history by achieving the first magazine responded positively and forwarded Diss Museum’s airborne double crossing of the email to associates, several of Atlantic. whom replied offering their ex- It set off from East Fortune in pertise. and made its hazardous The Fleet Air Arm museum at way to Mineola, Long Island, The Museum of Flight at East Yeovil was next to respond and before returning to Pulham in wanted to be kept informed. Norfolk, England. Fortune were keen to celebrate R34 but had no firm ideas. Had it not been for some dam- The Cradle of Aviation Essex antiques dealer John Gair has had a ride in a German air- age during a trial flight the air- Museum on Long Island, at Garden City near Mineola, were ship. Could we get them to bring ship would have made the first the craft over to England to com- ever transatlantic flight. also interested. The airship base at Pulham has memorate R34? The delay gave aviators Alcock long disappeared. But the and Brown their chance. But Pennoyer Centre in the village The Adam Smith College at Kirkaldy in Scotland ran a project they only travelled one way, of Pulham St. Mary has featured at East Fortune once before and west to east, with tailing winds. an airship festival and is When Basil Abbott planning to commemorate R34 are interested in taking part again. first wrote about Plans for centenary celebra- in a big way. There could even be European R34 he found a man tions are already underway. They had been already been in touch with the Airship Heritage involvement, as the R34 design called Sandy When Diss Museum contacted Trust, the Fleet Air Arm Mu- was based on ; and Wedderburn who potential partners they found there are airship museums in was the son of the seum at Yeovil and the RAF that several were already think- Museum at Hendon. Norway, Denmark, Holland, Ger- surgeon at East ing about a commemoration. many and Switzerland. Fortune. Sandy was a boy at the time and was away at school when the airship took off. But he sent the crew a Meeting With East Fortune card wishing them luck, basing it on a cartoon by Bateman, a famous Basil Abbott, manager of Diss In August he went back for a show just how big they were— meeting with National Museum the length of two soccer cartoonist of the Museum, first wrote an article of Flight Assistant Curator Ian pitches. day. The article about the R34 in the 1980s. appeared in an East Brown and Learning Officer A modern plane could re-create Anglian magazine. In May he visited East Fortune Adam Love– Rodgers. the voyage, while airlines served But a sub-editor had for the first time and was in- They were hugely enthusiastic a special meal on that day. spired to set in motion a major and full of ideas. The Scots especially liked the changed a Bateman One of Ian Brown’s ideas was Tom Paine booklet Diss Mu- cartoon to commemoration of the transat- that each venue should recreate seum had produced. We could “a Batman-type lantic voyage. the outline of the airship , to well publish one on the R34. cartoon.” (In 1919?) P A G E 2 Ideas So Far

It would be good to have an Memorabilia could include: a joyed by the crew either side educational project involving commemorative beer, a of the Atlantic. schools in , Long booklet, comic book, a CD, There are many good speak- island and South Norfolk. pens, pencils, mugs, tee-shirts, ers willing to give presenta- The hangar at East Fortune, jigsaws, playing cards, board tions about airship history. game, a video game. which houses Concorde, Local people might make could host a drama produc- There could be showings of model of different tion, complete with special airship films like , sizes and scales and in many effects creating the R34’s The Hindenburg and The Red different materials for an exhi- voyage. Tent. bition. Individual museums could A local composer could write A retired engineer might take have their own displays and a score inspired by the voyage on the task of co-ordinating Could the Royal Mail events. and present it as part of the the building of a substantial be persuaded to Local textile groups could celebrations. model by young offenders or bring out a special make tapestries of the air- There could be re-creations unemployed people. stamp? ship’s story. of the celebration meals en- Reliving a 1919 Meal at Pulham “We feel in a We know what was served at This was part of the Norfolk’s be more popular. world of our own the banquet given for R34 in American Connections pro- Basil Abbott of Diss Museum up here, amidst New York. ject, commemorating the 70th spoke in role as General Mait- The crew tucked into roast anniversary of the Friendly land. this dazzling array breast of Vermont Turkey Invasion of US airmen in 1942; but also any historical of snow-white with cranberry jelly, followed by layer cake and Neapolitan connections between the clouds.” ice-cream. county and the USA. The meal took place on At the Pulham Pennoyers Centre they had the idea of Saturday 6 October. General Maitland re-creating the dinner given The original menu included when the R34 came home. turbot; but the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding proved to About Diss Museum

Diss Museum has built up a Diss. When the museum held a The festival included a week- reputation as an active, innova- festival in his honour it won long residency by the Tashi tive force in South Norfolk. local, regional and national Lhunpo monks, plus a meeting It has all the traditional virtues awards, including a Museums & between a surviving Manning of collections depicting local Heritage Award for Excellence. and the current Dalai Lama. history. In 2011 the museum com- But it has also run projects and memorated the Manning family festivals of a high standard. of rectors, including Thomas who was the first European to Rights of Man author Thomas meet the Dalai Lama (1811). Paine worked as a staymaker in

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 P A G E 3 Collecting Memorabilia

proud to have provided magnetos Maybe we could for the R34’s voyage. The firm was the British Thomson- feature music of Houston Company, which still ex- the era. Some of ists. All sorts of items come up for sale the popular on-line. songs were:

Above is a printers’ block showing Don’t Dilly Dally the R34. It is just two inches long Flown in a balloon and dropped on the Way, I’m and cost £3.99. by parachute at Cardington in 1977, the above envelope com- Forever Blowing Airship postcards and cuttings memorates Major Scott and the often appear. R101 and is signed by the R34’s Bubbles and Let stowaway Billy Ballantyne, who the Rest of the Another interesting item was an must have been nearly 80 then. advertisement for BTH Compo- Scott, the R34 CO in 1919, died World Go By. nents Ltd saying that they were in the R101 crash.

Has Anyone Still Got One of Those Pencils?

A CBE for the Commanding Officer, The Air 20 of them, even if they were only four Air Force Crosses and six Air Force given to the other ranks. Cross Force Medals. and the Any of the participating museums Air Force The Officers and some other ranks Medal would be glad to exhibit one as a were rewarded, although Alcock & touching reminder of the way in Brown were both knighted for flying We contacted their museum but which crews were treated. The New York Fire Dept one way. they have no record of this, and suggested that the New York Public But most of the crew got nothing— Actually, propelling pencils apart from silver-mounted propelling Library might be able to help. were all the rage then, like pencils presented by the New York Has anyone still got one of those a smart mobile phone to- Fire Department. pencils? There must have been over day. So it wasn’t a bad gift. The CBE, awarded to Major Scott

The Stowaways

One of the great characters of the he could not bear to miss the Billy’s grandson is proud of him and voyage was stowaway William chance of a lifetime. is keen to see the voyage com- Ballantyne. His exploits and Geordie accent memorated. ‘Billy’ was lucky that the airship made him a celebrity in New It would be good to track down as was over the ocean when he was York, along with the cat. many relations as we can and hear discovered. Otherwise he would Was it called Wopsie or all their stories—something East have been strapped into a para- Whoopsie? The former Fortune are doing. chute and thrown overboard. sounds more in period; but Several of the leading figures were His extra weight and the addi- we have seen both in articles killed in subsequent airship crashes. Billy Ballantyne with tional drain on space and rations about the voyage. But there must be numerous anec- his feline accomplice could have caused problems. But dotes about the rest waiting to be told. Diss Museum

11 Market Hill Diss Norfolk England IP22 4JZ

Phone: 01379 650618

E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]

Contact: Basil Abbott

Keeper of the Flame

See www.disscommunity.net

A Glimpse of A Drama Script

(Enter General Maitland and a asked for you at the airfield gate, lady journalist. He is showing someone said (in a Scots voice), JOURNALIST All this tech- her around the airship R34 in “General Maitland has gone nology. Where did it come from? 1919 at East Fortune.) ashore, madam.” MAITLAND We nicked it MAITLAND “We are at the MAITLAND Which paper are from the Jerries. opening verse of the opening you from? page of the chapter of endless possibilities.” Rudyard Kipling. JOURNALIST The Daily He’s a great believer in airships, Mail. as you may know from his story called With The Night Mail.* MAITLAND Oh, ho, the £10,000 prize. JOURNALIST So this is the This is the beginning R34. Goodness, it’s like a cathe- JOURNALIST Would you of a script in progress dral. like to have won the prize? that could be adapted

MAITLAND Over 90 feet MAITLAND Oh, good luck to for use in different high and the length of 10 cricket Alcock and Brown. If it hadn’t venues pitches. It’s a ship. (Indicating) been for some damage during a Hull, keel, bow, stern, port, star- trial flight, we might have beaten * Kipling actually wrote this in a letter board, steered by a wheel, ham- them across the Atlantic. But to Maitland after the voyage; but it is mocks, rigging. they only flew one way, with a too good a quote to miss. following wind. We’re going JOURNALIST When I first both ways.