The
R101 memorial was held in the fields surrounding St Mary's church. The
photographs here were taken at the time, by clicking on the images you
can see an enlarged view (warning these are large pictures). The grave
contains the bodies of the 48 officers and men who perished in the disaster
5th October 1930. The names are listed here as a table.
The
R-101, larger than any other airship in the world, was built at Cardington,
near Bedford, in 1930. Seven hours into her maiden voyage to India,
in increasingly threatening weather, she crashed into a hillside at
Beauvais in France. Of the 54 people on board, all but eight died instantly.
There is a report of the inquiry into the disaster and the tragic loss
of life which exposed the pressure from the Air Minister, Lord Thomson,
that, whatever the technical causes of the crash, had at the last minute
unduly hurried designers, constructors and crew. The early end of the
airship in modern commercial flight was the result.
Further
photographs and drawings of the disaster are included here under the
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