Tuesday 4 November 2014

Cornwall in the First World War


During this month, each weekday I'm posting a different image showing aspects of Cornwall's First World War.

Here, a group of officers and four-legged friend pose for their photograph at Royal Naval Air Station Mullion. It's the summer of 1918, by when the station supported an aircraft force as well as airships. In the background rests an unloved de Havilland DH.6 biplane, one of several flown from the base. 

By 1918 the DH.6 was an old design, but was kept in service at Mullion for coastal patrols against German submarines. An unreliable aeroplane, it could hardly lift its crew of two let alone a bomb. Several were lost off Cornwall, none to enemy action; over the summer this photo was taken, much to the aviators' delight they were weeded out.

My book, 'Cornwall In The First World War', is published by Truran. With 112 pages and 100 images, you'll find it in bookshops across the Duchy. It's also available through Amazon: http://amzn.to/19JbtZm

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