The Story Behind the 2019 Poster

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The Story Behind the 2019 Poster The story behind the 2019 poster THE SMITH BROTHERS’ EPIC FLIGHT OF 1919 – THE RACE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD In recognition of the role of aviators in the Great War, the 2019 Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize poster displays the picture of South Australian brothers Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith and their crew. Behind them is their World War 1 Vickers Vimy biplane, in which they became the first men to fly from England to Australia in the 1919 Air Race. Sir Ross (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/smith-sir-ross-macpherson-8529) and mechanics Wally Shiers (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/shiers-walter-henry-8419) and Jim Bennett (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bennett-james-mallett-5211) were members of the Australian Flying Corps in World War I. Sir Keith (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/smith-sir-keith-macpherson-8478) flew with Britain’s Royal Flying Corps in England. After the Armistice the four men took on the challenge of the air race. This is just one of the many post-World War 1 stories that all South Australian should know. While still focussing on the sacrifices of World War 1, the 2019 Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize invites students to consider the inter- war years leading to the events of World War 2. The flight In 1919, Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes was flying between England and France for the Paris Peace Conference, and realised the potential of aviation to link his young nation to the world. Knowing it would also build pride after a devastating war that claimed 60,000 Australian lives, he announced a £10,000 prize for the first Australians to fly from London to Darwin in a British-made plane. By today’s terms the aircraft were very basic, with open cockpits and only maps and compasses for navigation. Many countries along the route had no airfields. Yet six Australians crews took up the challenge: two were killed; two crashed out. A French pilot made it all the way to Asia before he also crashed out. Only one crew made it home inside the required 30 days. They were the South Australian brothers Ross and Keith Smith, with their mechanics Wally Shiers and Jim Bennett, left England on 12 November 1919 and flew into Darwin on 10 December. Brian Riddle, Chief Librarian at the National Aerospace Library in England, believes the Smith crew’s achievement was “in its time as remarkable a journey as that of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing just 50 years later”. The men Brothers Ross and Keith Smith, both born in Semaphore, were knighted by King George V soon after landing in Darwin. Both had flown during WWI – Sir Ross becoming one of Australia’s most decorated airmen. He was a pilot to Colonel T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia) and was also given command of the only twin-engine bomber to fly over Egypt and Palestine. Sergeants Wally Shiers (SA) and Jim Bennett (Victoria) were both mechanics with the Australian Flying Corps’ No.1 Squadron, trusted by Ross Smith to keep his planes in the air. Tragically, Sir Ross and Jim Bennett were killed in a plane crash in England just two years after the air race, while preparing for a flight around the world. The plane The Vickers Vimy biplane was designed as a bomber, but didn’t see active service during WW1. Made chiefly of wood and fabric, the 21m Vimy had open cockpits and only a compass for navigation. It was one of the first planes to fly through international airspace after the war and was given the registration letters G-EAOU. Ross Smith said it stood for “God ’Elp All Of Us”. The Vimy can still be seen today in its 1950s hangar near the long-term car park at Adelaide Airport. The centenary As the first flight across the planet, the 1919 Epic Flight was one of the world’s greatest pioneering achievements. In South Australia, a series of exhibitions, air shows and events are planned to celebrate the race centenary in 2019, and inspire a new generation to reach for the skies. One of the main goals for the centenary year is to engage, inspire and celebrate the story of the Smith brothers with the South Australian community – to bring the incredible story back to life. The profiling of the story of Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith by the 2019 Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize is just one way for South Australian students to know about the deeds of the Smith brothers in war and after the war as aviation pioneers. Further information: • www.epicflightcentenary.com.au: the website will feature extensive resources for SA teachers and school students from early December 2018. • South Australian Aviation Museum: http://www.saam.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SAAM-Profiles-ROSS- SMITH-and-the-Vimy-Crew.pdf • In 2017 Sunday Mail columnist Lainie Anderson travelled overseas on a Churchill Fellowship to gauge the international significance of the flight and the plane, and retrace the route of the 1919 Air Race from England to Australia. Her fellowship report can be viewed here: https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/fellows/detail/4093/Lainie+Anderson .
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