The Local Newspaper of the virtual
village of Puckering
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| An Irregular PastEditors Note: This will be the first in a series of articles
looking at the history of Puckering, excerpted from Nigel Twicks's upcoming history of
Puckering of the same name.
Who, in these days when the likes of Richard Branson reign--indeed when rich men can buy their way into space travel, recollects a simpler time when only the barn swallow and the nightingale lifted up to the skies? Who pauses to reflect our own place in the history of aviation? On a blustery day in July of 1909, French aviator Louis Bleriot took on the challenge posed by the London Daily Mail and braved the winds and sea to sail across the English Channel. His Model X125 horsepower monoplane was a welcomed sight to a few staunch Englishmen who guided him safely to touchdown in Dover that day. Bleriot alighted to claim his well-publicised reward, L1000 sterling, a princely sum in those days. This plucky Frenchman found another prize on the solid ground of Britain, however; the friendship of Puckering’s Rodney Burstow, who, as a flag waver, was among the first to welcome him back to earth. Whilst Bleriot basked in the limelight of international acclaim, Burstow remained a quiet man whose brush with greatness was little known to those outside the village. Yet his contribution to the history of modern flight is an important one, another instance of Puckering's finest rising to the challenges of their times. |
| Week Ending: July 2, 2000 | |
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