History: When an aeroplane came to Andover High Street

When the Wright brothers first flew their make-shift aeronautical contraption at Kitty Hawk, South Carolina, on 17 December 1903, they could not have foreseen the huge strides that ‘heavier-than-air’ machines would make in just a few years.

The best and last of those Kitty Hawk flights that day succeeded in travelling 852 feet.

Their early machine was a bi-plane constructed from spruce and ash wood with cotton muslin for the wings, equipped with a 12-HP engine that carried less than a gallon of fuel.

Unfortunately, on the final attempt of four flights, the fragile bi-plane landed badly and a rogue gust of wind just moments later destroyed it.

Andover Aerodrome at Hundred Acres, c.1918 (Image: Supplied) READ MORE: When 600 residents rallied against council to protest fluoride in water supply

Louis Bleriot succeeded in flying over the English Channel in 1909 - a major advance that transformed flying from experimental showmanship into practical use.

Seeing the potential of aircraft, the military started to use this new resource for reconnaissance purposes.

It was a vast improvement on slow-moving hot air balloons that were easily shot down, and in April 1912 the Royal Flying Corps was formed.

But it was still a risky pursuit and its first fatality, just three months later, was Andover man Staff-Sergeant Richard Wilson and Captain Eustace Lorraine during a test flight near Larkhill.

The First World War broke out in 1914 and aeroplanes were utilised for combat purposes, as well as for reconnaissance. As the war dragged on through four long years, there was a constant need for new aeroplanes to replace the losses.

By 1918, the government, always short of money, needed capital to finance the war effort and one of the major needs was new aeroplanes.

A National War Savings Week was organised to take place between 4 and 9 March during which the public was encouraged to purchase war bonds, guaranteed by the government.

Andover’s target was £20,000 which would buy eight aeroplanes and there was a marathon effort to raise that amount during the week.

There were two types of investment: certificates worth 15s 6d that could be cashed by their purchasers within days if necessary but, if kept, would mature after five years and offer a £1 return.

Or there were government bonds worth between £5 and £100 paying 5% interest per year which matured with a premium after a set period.

A local committee was formed, headed by the mayor, Robert T Moore, in order to come up with ideas and to organise the logistics.

Sidney Bell, a local builder, thought that if they went around from house to house with the certificates all ready, people would buy them, whereas they would not necessarily go into a bank or want the publicity of buying over the post office counter.

After a good deal of discussion, the mayor decided to send letters to all the district farmers who used the town and market, whereas the war savings committee produced circulars and letters advertising the value of the war bonds and certificates, explaining how the various investments would work.

These were addressed by lady volunteers while the boys of the Church of England school in East Street were given the task of delivering them to all the houses in Andover and district.

A special Aeroplane Bank was opened at 10 High Street (Holmes and Son) and staffed by employees of the various local banks.

The aim was to raise £20,000, and to chart the progress towards that sum, a clock was affixed to the Guildhall, divided into 20 hours of a thousand minutes each.

Despite a keen east wind, on the first day (Monday) the first four hours of the clock, representing £4,000, were passed and by Tuesday evening, £7,000 had been raised.

By Thursday evening the target amount of £20,000 had already been exceeded.

However, Friday was the day when the big effort was to take place and the mayor exhorted the townspeople, having made the ‘clock’ strike once, to make it strike again, in other words to double the total already raised.

In the market place, the Band of the Australian Depot from Parkhouse set up their instruments and played a programme of rousing music throughout the afternoon.

Crowds thronged the street and the main attraction of the day was the aeroplane brought in from Andover Aerodrome.

Aeroplane in the High Street, March 1918 (Image: Fred Wright)

This had opened in August 1917 to the west of the town at Hundred Acres.

Auctioneer Frederick Ellen got up onto the engine of the aircraft and launched straight into the selling of bonds.

He called it the soundest investment he had ever announced and without any more ado, asked for bids.

In the course of 20 minutes he had knocked down £525 in bearer bonds and some thousands more were booked on slips which were subsequently taken to the various banks.

During the same afternoon, more aeroplanes flew around the town, as close to the houses as they dared, and dropped more literature on the value of war bonds and their vital importance in furthering the war effort.

Each circular was headed ‘A tip from above. We are helping you. Are you helping us?’

The answer to that question was a resounding ‘Yes!’ The mayor congratulated the people of Andover on their patriotic loyalty and said how proud he was that Andover had already given more than their quota.

Major Belcher, formerly on the headquarters staff of the New Zealand Army, the 29th Division of which had served in Gallipoli, spoke of his pleasure that the proceedings had been ushered in by a band of the Australian army because he had lively recollections of his time in Sydney in 1914.

He said the war was costing £70,000 a second and in order to pay for it, every man, woman and child in the British Isles would have to contribute £1 a week.

By 4 pm on Friday, the clock had indeed struck again with £41,500 being raised – and yet another £2,000 was added to that after banking hours.

When the amount became known, one philanthropic gentleman offered to write a cheque for any sum required to make the total reach £50,000 if it had not already been raised by the next evening (Saturday).

In the end, he kept his money; on Saturday, there was a rush of small investors for the 15s 6d certificates and £5 bonds which fuelled the amount to over £50,000.

By 7 pm there was £54,000 and the special Aeroplane Bank did not close until an hour after the scheduled time, with the final total being announced as £57,380.

The projected eight aeroplanes hoped for from Andover had almost tripled to 23, with similar successes being reported from Basingstoke, Romsey and Salisbury.

Auctioneer Frederick Ellen encourages the crowd (Image: Fred Wright) SEE ALSO: Reward announced as Andover invaded by mini penguins

Three weeks later, 1 April 1918, the army’s Royal Flying Corps and the navy’s Royal Naval Air Service were merged to form a new Royal Air Force, reflecting the importance of aircraft as a fighting force.

Andover Aerodrome became RAF Andover and we all know how vital the RAF was to prove in the Battle of Britain just over 20 years later, when its heroic action over the skies of England halted the planned German invasion that would otherwise have surely come.

If you are interested in local history, why not join Andover History and Archaeology Society? Details can be found at www.andoverlocalhistoryarchaeology.uk