The Airshipmen: A Novel Based on a True Story. A Tale of Love, Betrayal & Political Intrigue.

by David Dennington

  I took liberties for dramatic effect: Scott and McWade were not on Victoria Dock in Hull when the R38 went down, as far as I know. Hull Infirmary is not on the waterfront. The scenes aboard R38/ZR-2, Howden R100 and Cardington R101 during their flights and crashes are painted mostly from my imagination with information drawn from many books. Actual events on board those ships, as well as the dialogue throughout the novel is, of course, conjecture.

  There is a great deal of truth in what I have written as a fictional account, but like the extraordinary Princess Marthe, the truth is elusive. Much I have taken from reading between the lines, exaggerating or emphasizing for dramatic effect. Some is pure speculation. The grand events are true, save for those actions carried out by fictional characters.

  Lord Scunthorpe, the Tyson family and Tyson’s Lumber & General Hardware Co. are fictitious entities, not based on any persons living or dead, any organization or corporation.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I have been blessed with a tremendous amount of help from many amazing people while researching and writing this book. Very special thanks are due to my consulting editor at LCD Editing (lcdediting.com) who has put many years into this project and kept me focused and on the straight and narrow. Thanks also to Steven Bauer at Hollow Tree Literary Services for his expert guidance and editing. Grateful thanks must go to Edith Schorah for additional editing and proofreading. My appreciation also goes to Kathryn Johnston and Jon Eig at the Writer's Center, Bethesda, Maryland for their patient and professional coaching during workshop sessions.

  I am indebted to John Taylor, lighter-than-air flight test engineer and consultant and writer of Principles of Aerostatics: The Theory of LTA Flight, who conducted a technical review and spent many hours reading and critiquing this manuscript and offering a wealth of advice, not only regarding airships, but also on formatting and preparing this book for publication.

  Very special thanks to Eddie Ankers who worked tirelessly, consulting on book design and images. Thank you also to Bari Parrott who created the marvelous cover imagery.

  Deep gratitude is due to Katie Dennington who did a wonderful job of designing and setting up the website http://www.daviddennington.com (although she is not accountable for its content). Katie was also responsible for helping me get started in the realm of novel writing. Throughout this five year process, she gave me the spiritual fortitude and encouragement to see it through.

  I am also very grateful to Frank Dene at Act of Light Photography who produced the website video and assisted Katie.

  I owe a debt of thanks to the people at Cardington Heritage Trust Foundation for their kind help over the years, especially Dene Burchmore and Sky Hunt's son, Albert, who showed me around Shed No. 1. Thanks also to Alastair Lawson, Alastair Reid, C.P. Hall and to Dr. Giles Camplin, editor of Dirigible Magazine, Journal of the Airship Heritage Trust, who kindly assisted with contacts in the airship community and photographs for this book and for my website. Many thanks to Paul Adams of the British Airship Museum and Jane Harvey of Shortstown Heritage Trust, Christine Conboy of Bedfordshire Libraries, Paul Gazis of The Flying Cloud, Trevor Monk creator of Facebook pages relative to the sheds and airships, and John Anderson of the Nevil Shute Foundation, all of whom advised on or shared photographic information.

  I would like to thank the following for their help and encouragement: my dear wife, Jenny (my own special Yorkshire lass), Lauren Dennington and Lee Knowles, Richard and Katie Dennington, Dawn and Nick Steele, Alan and Violet Rowe, John and Sandy Ball, Katya and Michael Reynier, Edith and Michael Schorah, Cliff and Pat Dean, Ray Luby, Chris and Jan Burgess, John and Sally Slee, Richard Lovell, Julie and Marty Boyd, Karel Visscher, Aaron Kreinbrook, Derek Rowe, David Adams, Commander Jason Wood, Graham Watt, brothers Karl and Charles Ebert, Ruta Sevo, Harry Johnson, Alan Wesencraft of the Harry Price Library at the University of London, and Mitchell Yockelson at the U.S. National Archives. I am grateful to Isabelle Jelinski for consultation regarding French translation (any errors are mine).

  And lastly, my sincere appreciation goes to the marine who helped distill into words what I thought it must be like to search for a reason to go on after surviving horrific events and having experienced your friends and brothers-in-arms dying all around you. He confirmed that ‘survivor’s guilt’ is all too real. He told me how once home from the war in Vietnam, he was unable to speak of it to anyone, even to the woman he married after coming out of the VA hospital. He allowed his wife to believe for years that his wounds were the result of a traffic accident. This veteran's experiences and his reactions to them are, seemingly, not uncommon.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SOURCES

  Inspiration, information and facts were drawn from an array of wonderful books, as well as newspapers, magazines and documents of the period, including:

  Report of the R101 Inquiry. Presented by the Secretary of State for Air to Parliament, March 1931.

  Eleventh Month Eleventh Day Eleventh Hour. Joseph E. Persico. Random House, New York.

  American Heritage History of WW1. Narrated by S.L.A. Marshall, Brig. Gen. USAR (ret). Dist. Simon & Schuster.

  Icarus Over the Humber. T.W. Jamison. Lampada Press.

  To Ride the Storm. Sir Peter Masefield. William Kimber, London.

  Lord Thomson of Cardington: A Memoir and Some Letters. Princess Marthe Bibesco. Jonathan Cape Ltd., London.

  Enchantress. Christine Sutherland. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Harper Collins Canada Ltd.

  Barnes Wallis. J. Morpurgo. Penguin Books, England. Richard Clay (The Chaucer Press) Ltd., England.

  Howden Airship Station. Tom Asquith & Kenneth Deacon. Langrick Publications, Howden UK.

  The Men & Women Who Built and Flew R100. Kenneth Deacon. Langrick Publications, Howden UK.

  Millionth Chance. James Lessor. House of Stratus, Stratus Books Ltd., England.

  Sefton Brancker. Norman Macmillan. William Heinemann Ltd., London.

  The Tragedy of R101. E. F. Spanner. The Crypt House Press Ltd., London.

  Hindenburg: An Illustrated History. Rich Archbold & Ken Marschall. Warner Bros. Books Inc.

  My Airship Flights. Capt. George Meager. William Kimber & Co. Ltd., London.

  Slide Rule. Nevil Shute. Vintage Books/Random House. William Heinemann, GB.

  Chequers. Norma Major. Cross River Press. Abberville Publishing Group.

  The Airmen Who Would Not Die. John Fuller. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York.

  R101 - A Pictorial History. Nick Le Neve Walmsley. Sutton Publishing, UK. History Press, UK.

  Airship on a Shoestring: The Story of R100 John Anderson. A Bright Pen Book. Authors OnLine Ltd.

  Airships Cardington. Geoffrey Chamberlain. Terence Dalton.

  Dirigible Magazine: Journal of the Airship Heritage Trust, Cardington UK.

  Aeroplane Magazine.

  Daily Express October 4, 1930 newspaper articles.

  Daily Mirror October 4, 1930 newspaper articles.

  Daily Mail October 4, 1930 newspaper articles

  IMAGES: SOURCES AND CREDITS

  Cover Art : Taj Mahal and Pyramids by Bari Parrott.

  Page 2: Girls and R101 at tower: courtesy of Martin Edwards, Roll of Honour and the Bedford Borough Council Virtual Library website. Photographer unknown.

  Part No.

  One - Launching of R38: U.S. Government. Archives.

  Two - The Flying Scotsman: unknown photographer, public domain.

  Three - St. Cuthbert's Church, Ackworth: photograph by author.

  Four - Airship Macon under construction: U.S. Government. Archives.

  Five - Cardington Shed around 1915: Simon George.

  Six - R101 over London: courtesy of the Airship Heritage Trust.

  Seven - R100 over York Minster: courtesy of Gary Hodgkinson, IMA-GEN Productions.

  Eight - R100 Approaching Toronto: City of Toronto Archives.

  Ten - R100 at Cardington Tower: unknown photographer, public domain.

  Eleven - Boarding R101: unknown photog
rapher, public domain.

  Twelve - Wreck of R101: Australian Airforce website, public domain.

  Thirteen - Courtroom, R101 Court of Inquiry: Nevil Shute Foundation, public domain.

  Epilogue - Tomb at St. Mary's Church, Cardington: photograph courtesy of Jane Harvey.

  AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY

  As a teenager, I read all Nevil Shute’s books, including Slide Rule, which tells of his days as an aeronautical engineer on the great behemoth R100 at Howden and of his nights as an aspiring novelist. I was fascinated by both these aspects of his life. He inspired me to write and to fly (ignorance is bliss!). The writing was put on hold while I went off around the world helping to manage various construction projects and raising a family. I picked up flying in the Bahamas, scaring myself silly, and sailing in Bermuda. This was all good experience for writing about battling the elements, navigation and building large structures.

  Many years later, I read John G. Fuller’s The Airmen Who Would Not Die and my interest in airships was rekindled. It was time to pursue my dream—writing. My daughter was in Los Angeles, trying to get into films. I thought, stupidly, I could help her by writing a screenplay.

  I had done extensive research on the Imperial British Airship Program and attended many screenplay writing workshops at Bethesda Writer’s Center. I wound up writing two screenplays which had a modicum of success. The experts in the business told me the stories were good and that I just had to write them as novels. So, back to the Writer’s Center I went to learn the craft of novel writing. Five years later, with my daughter working as my editor and muse, the book was finished.

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  (*Fictional)

  A

  *Alice—Jeb's Wife.

  Atherstone, Lt. Cmdr. Noël G.—1st. Officer, Cardington R101.

  B

  Bateman, Henry—Design Monitor on R38/ZR-2, National Physics Laboratory.

  Bell, Arthur, ('Ginger')—Engineer, Cardington R101.

  Bibesco, Marthe, ('Smaranda')—Romanian Princess.

  Bibesco, Prince George Valentine—Princess Marthe's Husband.

  Binks, Joe —Engineer, Cardington R101.

  Booth, Lt. Cmdr. Ralph—Captain of Howden R100.

  Brancker, Air Vice Marshall, Sir Sefton, ('Branks')—Director of Civil Aviation.

  *Brewer, Tom—Daily Telegraph Reporter.

  Buck, Joe —Thomson's Valet.

  *Bull, John—Lou's Employer and Close Friend.

  *Bull, Mary—John Bull's Wife.

  *Bunyan, Fanny—Nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary and Charlotte's Best Friend.

  *Bunyan, Lenny—Fanny's Husband.

  *Bunyan, Billy—Fanny and Lenny's Son.

  Burney, Dennistoun—Managing Director of Airship Guarantee (Howden R100).

  *Brown, Minnie—Nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary.

  C

  *Cameron, Doug—Height Coxswain, Howden R100 & Cardington R101.

  *Cameron, Rosie—Doug Cameron's Wife.

  *Cathcart, Lady—A Friend of Brancker.

  Church, Sam, ('Sammy')—Rigger, Cardington R101.

  Churchill, Winston—Member of Parliament.

  Colmore, Wing Cmdr. Reginald—Director of Airship Development (R.A.W.).

  Colmore, Mrs.—Wing Cmdr. Reginald Colmore's Wife.

  D

  *Daisy—Thomson's Parlor Maid.

  Disley, Arthur, ('Dizzy')—Electrician/Wireless Ops., Howden R100 & Cardington R101.

  Dowding, Hugh—Air Member of Supply & Research (AMSR), Air Ministry.

  F

  *Faulkner, Henry—WWI Veteran—Lou's Wartime Friend.

  G

  Giblett, M.A.—Chief Meteorologist at Royal Airship Works Met. Office.

  *Gwen—Thomson's Housekeeper.

  H

  *Hagan, Bill—Daily Mail Reporter.

  *Hamilton, Charlotte, ('Charlie')—Nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary.

  *Hamilton, Geoff—Charlotte's Cousin.

  *Hamilton, Harry—Charlotte's Father.

  *Hamilton, Lena—Charlotte's Mother.

  *Harandah, Madam—Gypsy Fortune Teller at Cardington Fair.

  Heaton, Francis—Norway's Girl.

  *Higginbottom, Peter, 'Pierre', Chief Steward, Cardington R100 & Howden R101.

  Hinchliffe, Emily—Wife of Captain Hinchliffe, MacDonald and Thomson's Pilot.

  *Honeysuckle, Miss—Brancker's Pilot.

  Hunt, George W. ('Sky Hunt')—Chief Coxswain, Cardington R101.

  *Hunter, George—Daily Express Reporter.

  I

  Irene—Sam Church's Girl.

  Irwin, Flt. Lt. H. Carmichael, ('Blackbird')—Captain of Cardington R101.

  Irwin, Olivia—Captain Irwin's Wife.

  Isadora—Princess Marthe's Maidservant

  J

  *Jacobs, John—Aeroplane Magazine Reporter.

  *Jeb—Tenant and Friend Living at Remington's Farm.

  *Jenco, Bobby—American Trainee Rigger, R38/ZR-2, Elsie's Boyfriend.

  *Jessup, William, ('Jessie')—Charlotte's Ex Boyfriend.

  *Jessup, Angela—William Jessup's Sister.

  Johnston, Sqdn. Ldr. E.L. ('Johnny')—Navigator, Howden R100 & Cardington R101.

  *Jones, Edmund—Daily Mirror Reporter.

  K

  *Knoxwood, Rupert—Thomson's Personal Secretary, Air Ministry.

  L

  Landsdowne, Lt. Cmdr. Zachary USN—Commander of Shenandoah.

  Leech, Harry—Foreman Engineer (R.A.W.), Cardington R101.

  *Luby, Gen. Raymond—U.S. Army Chief of Staff, Fort Myer, Arlington.

  M

  MacDonald, Ramsay—British Prime Minister.

  Mann, Joe—Cardington Tower Elevator Operator.

  *Marsh, Freddie—Cardington Groundcrewman, Joe Binks' Second Cousin.

  McWade, Frederick—Resident R.A.W. Inspector, Airship Inspection Dept. (A.I.D.).

  Maitland, Air Commodore Edward—British Commodore, R38/ZR-2.

  *Matron No. 1—Matron at Hull Royal Infirmary.

  *Matron No. 2—Matron at Bedford Hospital.

  Maxfield, Cmdr. Louis H. USN—American Captain of R38/ZR-2.

  Meager, Capt. George—1st Officer, Howden R100.

  Mugnier, Abbé—Princess Marthe's Priest and Spiritual Advisor.

  N

  Norway, Nevil Shute, ('Nev')—Chief Calculator .

  *'New York Johnny'—American Trainee Engineer, R38/ZR-2.

  O

  O'Neill, Sqdn. Ldr. William H.L. Deputy Director of Civil Aviation, Delhi.

  P

  Palstra, Sqdn. Ldr. MC, William, Royal Australian Airforce, Liaison Officer to the Air Ministry—representing the Australian Government.

  *Postlethwaite, Elsie—Nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary, Bobby Jenco's Girl.

  Potter, Walter—British Coxswain, Mentor of American Crewmen R38/ZR-2.

  R

  Rabouille, Eugène—Rabbit Poacher, French eyewitness.

  *Remington, Anna—Lou's Sister.

  *Remington, Charlotte—Lou's Grandmother.

  *Remington, Cliff—Lou's Father.

  *Remington, Violet—Lou's Mother.

  *Remington, Louis, ('Remy')–American Chief Petty Officer. R38/ZR-2.

  *Remington, Tom—Lou's Brother.

  Richmond, Lt. Col. Vincent—Head of Airship Design and Development (R.A.W.).

  Richmond, Mrs. Florence, ('Florry')—Richmond's Wife.

  Robertson, Major—Flight Magazine Reporter.

  *Ronnie—Works Foreman, Cardington Shed No. 1.

  Rope, Sqdn. Ldr. F.M.—Asst. Head of Airship Design and Development (R.A.W.).

  S

  Steel, Nick, ('Nervous Nick')—Rigger, Howden R100.

  Scott, Maj. Herbert G.('Scottie')—Asst. Director of Airship Development (R.A.W.).

  *Scunthorpe, Lord—Member of the House of Lords, Opponent of LTA.

  *Smothers, Helen—Washington Post Reporter.

  Steff, F/O Maurice—2nd Officer, Cardington R101 & Howden R10
0.

  *Stone, Josh—American Trainee Rigger, R38/ZR-2 & Shenandoah.

  T

  Thomson, Christopher Birdwood, ('Kit' or 'CB')—Brigadier General/Politician.

  Teed, Philip—Chemist in Charge of Manufacture of Hydrogen, Howden.

  *Tilly, Mrs. Queenie—Patient at Hull Royal Infirmary.

  *Tyson, Julia—Remington Family Friend.

  *Tyson, Rory—Julia's Uncle, Proprietor of Tyson's Lumber & General Hardware Co.

  *Tyson, Israel—Rory Tyson's Son.

  W

  Wallis, Barnes—Designer-in-Chief, Howden R100.

  Wallis, Molly—Barnes Wallis' Wife.

  Wann, Flt. Lt. Archibald —British Captain of R38/ZR-2.

  *Washington, Ezekiah, II—Train Steward aboard The Washingtonian.

  *Wigglesbottom, 'Moggy'—Owner of a 15th Century Cottage, Bendish Hamlet.

  Y

  *Yates, Capt.USN—Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.