AN exciting event to be held at a museum in Hampshire will tell the incredible story of the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia.

It has been a busy start to the Spring event programme at the Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop in Hampshire, with audiences not only visiting the museum but also viewing their varied lecture series online from across the world.

Their latest lecture will take audiences back to early 1919 and sees Phil Wilkinson visit the museum to tell the story of The Great Australian Air Race.

READ MORE: Andover businesses decorated windows with Alice in Wonderland-theme

Many would see the race as a mad adventure, some, as a commercial dream and others, as a fatal idea, but in May 1919, the Commonwealth Government of Australia offered a prize of £10,000 for the first flight from Great Britain to Australia, a prize which would have been worth over half a million pounds today.

Specific instructions were issued for the race in consultation with the Royal Aero Club and stated that valid aircrews had to be Australian nationals, aircraft must have been constructed in the British Empire and the journey must be completed within 720 consecutive hours -30 days

The six teams of intrepid birdmen who not forgetting, had all just acquitted themselves adequately in the War, in some cases heroically with medals to prove it, had many challenges to face including imperfect weather forecasting, uncertain surface conditions at all the planned airstrips, arguments over payment for fuel in foreign parts, not to mention the aircraft themselves.

Join Phil Wilkinson in the Museum or online on Monday, April 24 to hear more about the race and see images of some of the unique aircraft that took part in the race. Hear about his own career which thankfully was seldom under those kinds of pressure, although the delivery of a Bucker Jungmann to Germany did create some excitement when it was complicated as the map blew out of the cockpit over Belgium.

SEE ALSO: Police and crime commissioner thanks Hampshire volunteers and staff

This special event will also be live-streamed on the museum’s website, as well as available to a limited audience at the Museum itself. 

A live Q&A session will take place following the talk with both live and online audience members able to participate.

Visit armyflying.com to get tickets.