90th Anniversary of Pioneering Air Mail Service to Orkney
By Eamonn Keyes
On 29th May 1934 Captain Ted Fresson set off in a de Havilland Dragon which belonged to Highland Airways from Longman Aerodrome in Inverness, bound for Orkney with the Royal Mail and pioneering the first internal Air Mail service in the UK.
Orkney air travellers will be familiar with the memorial to Captain Fresson which stands outside Kirkwall Airport, featuring his aircraft and a dedication to him and the event.
On the morning of June 1st, a few days over 90 years later, the only remaining airworthy DH84 Dragon, G-ACET which was originally named ‘Kirkwall’ by Highland Airways, marked the anniversary by flying into Kirkwall Airport from Inverness Airport. The visit was originally planned for Tuesday but unsuitable weather postponed the flight until today.
This aircraft is owned and was piloted to Kirkwall by George Cormack, and Mike Souch, who had spent 6 years restoring the Dragon, was aboard as engineer for the flight.
The visit was organised by Captain Hugh Urquhart, Secretary of the Fresson Trust who accompanied the Dragon in his Piper aircraft G-EXAM which acted as chase plane for the duration of the journey.
Back at the start of the 1930s only a single track road connected Inverness with the far north, and the ferry service was so dependent on the weather (nothing changes) that being able to send letters and newspapers by air provided a vital link between Orkney and the mainland.
The Dragon had come into service as a passenger aircraft n 1933, and this was reported as:
“Glittering silver and green- the new eight seater cabin plane which Highland Airways have added to the Pentland Firth service, arrived at Kirkwall Airport on Tuesday, 2nd August 1933, from Inverness. The machine made flights to Thurso and Wick with passengers before returning to Inverness with other passengers for the 3.45 pm and 4.00 pm trains for the south.
The pilot was Capt. G B Holmes who recently joined Highland Airways Ltd from the SMT Airplane Service department, Edinburgh. Capt. Fresson, the Managing Director, piloted the four seater monoplane which accompanied the new airliner.”
After disembarking the Dragon pilot George Cormack said that despite the age of the aircraft he found it very easy to fly, and that it was surprisingly stable for an aircraft of its age and construction, and that weather had been good on the flight up to Kirkwall from Inverness.
The Fresson Trust was originally set up by Captain Ted Fresson, and the Trust’s objective is to promote aviation in the Scottish Highlands and Islands by providing bursaries to young people from the area who wish to pursue a career in aviation and by promoting the history of Scottish aviation and the part Captain Fresson played in it.
Thanks are due to Neil Thain of Kirkwall Airport and the Orkney Aviation Facebook Group for assistance and additional information.
The Fresson Trust- https://www.fressontrust.org.uk
Orkney Aviation Facebook Page- https://www.facebook.com/orkneyaviation
You may also like:
Leave a Reply