The Aviation Historian — Issue 21 (October 2017)

46 THE AVIATION HISTORIAN Issue No 21

BELOW The Blackburn monoplane and Avro 504 prototype side by side, probably at Moortown before the start of

the race. In July the following year Harold Blackburn used the same two-seater to open the first scheduled service

in Britain, when he flew the first of his half-hourly single-passenger-carrying flights between Leeds and Bradford.

LEFT French aviator Henri

Salmet was on hand at Leeds

with his two-seat Blériot XI-2

to provide entertainment —

and pleasure flights for the and pleasure flights for the

more brave-hearted. Salmet

had played a major part in

Claude Grahame-White’s

“Wake Up England” aviation

tour the previous year.

ABOVE A contemporary

postcard showing the two

contenders on the day of

the race round Yorkshire

on October 2, 1913.

According to Flight, some

60,000 spectators turned

up at Moortown to see the

competitors off, despite the

weather being less than

ideal, with frequent bouts

of mist causing problems

throughout the day.VIA AUTHOR

PHILIP JARRETT COLLECTIONPHILIP JARRETT COLLECTION

PHILIP JARRETT COLLECTION