Trusty
out on show.
What
changeable weather we have had over the last week from every season
in one day for an MOT to a ride out in glorious sunshine. Last
Thursday was exceptional when
I went to visit Trusty on show at the Whitgift School exhibition
centre. Taking the Buell as it was a blast around the M25 only to
thinking that I should have been on the Kawasaki filtering my way
through Croydon traffic. Whitgift School is an amazing place and easy
enough to find and parking close to the exhibition. The exhibition,
on
until the end of August and, is “Remembering 1916 – Life on the
Western Front”.
It, on it's own, was well worth the visit but I did
wonder why a school would put on something like this. All is revealed
as you progress through the stands and displays with cameo sets
depicting aspects of life at that time. I found Trusty our 1919
Triumph model H on its own with lots of information about what
Dispatch or the term in 1916 was Despatch Riders DR's had to do. They
didn't only deliver messages but carried more than 20 pigeons for the
return messages! Fine if you are a pigeon fancier! 
Life
in the trenches and weapons of destruction along with how the wounded
were treated but it was not until the last part did I understand why
the school had put on such a good show. It
was really about one of their former students who was a pilot during
that war. He was flying an FE2B which was made at the Royal Aircraft
Factory and was the Farmen Experimental model 2 B. Many were used but
were not good as fighters and may be the reason why he was shot down
by a certain red Fokker.
Some flying gear, helmet gloves and boots!
It turns out that the student was Lionel
Morris who landed his plane and later died of his wounds was the
first kill of the “Red Barron” Von Ritchofen in 1916. His
co-pilot Captain Tom Rees was killed in the action. There is a very
good painting depicting the action. Such engagements must had been
quite slow and nerve racking waiting for the bullets to find a
target. There
was no protection and only canvas and wood holding you in the air.
These were quite slow aircraft manoeuvring around well below the
legal speed limit. I think the Buell is considerably faster than what
those early aircraft could do. After talking at some length with the
volunteers there about other aspects of World War One I left some
fliers and headed on home earlier enough to miss “car park” time
on the M25.
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