2 Society Girl Jumps from Plane

I hope this catches the fun that is this airshow, but it is hard to recreate the novelty that was aviation at this time. We are very used to airplanes today.

Many are interested in gliding history and the ATA. This book has unique perspective on these subjects, but much of the parachuting history provided in this chapter is not available anywhere else.

Page 19: I tried to find this promotional video on British Pathe and found some. However I am not sure it the one she did because there is no sound.

Page 21: Pauline Gower's ATA history is often written about, but her air show history is most interesting. At this time she was writing her book Women with Wings. It has been out of print so long I had to buy it as an antique. I am embarrassed to say how much I paid, but it was worth every penny not as an antique but because it is such a fun read!

The bit about her seeing a fortune teller doesn't reflect her being such a nut case as much as a window into life during this time period. It was pretty common among the people of this time period. Her diary entry reflects the grain of salt she and maybe others took with these predictions. It is almost as if these visits are done for entertainment.

To have Joan Price's, nee Meakin, information combined with Naomi's diary makes the pages about the airshow truly unique. There are many other views of the airshow but I hope this part of the book offers some historical value not yet printed.

Page 30: (sp) Siddeley

Page 37. Naomi and Joan mention how delicate it was to bring an English Show to Ireland and anyone with even a casual understanding of this history feels the tension. I will add the importance of Phoenix Park. Just three years earlier the the final public mass of the 31st International Eucharistic Congress was held in Phoenix Park. The Constitution of the Irish Free State (as stipulated by the 1921 Treaty) expressly forbid the new Irish Government from giving precedence to any one faith over the other, particularly as regards legislation. The Eucharistic Congress can be seen as an important mark on the road that would lead to the new Irish Constitution, as enacted by the people in 1937. Echoing the sentiments of the hundreds of bishops who thronged Irish churches during this event, that document sought to make Catholic social and political thought the very basis of all legislative action in the state.

Page 37: Guenter Schapka noted the spelling of Rhone Adler. This is exactly how Naomi spelled it in her diary. It reflects how even though she spoke German, when writing in English she would Anglicize, make more English, words from other languages. I noticed that many English do this. My Aunt who speaks French and lives in France pronounces French words with an English accent when speaking English. In the U.S. it is just the opposite. Even people who do not speak Spanish will try to pronounce Spanish words with a Spanish accent.

Page 40: David Williamson noticed I don't mention Ivor did not properly pack his parachute. Wow, I never thought anyone would notice the book contradicts other material. This is because I don't have any primary material that confirms the other accounts. Neither Joan Price's manuscript nor Naomi's diary says this. Naomi's diary entry of 2 June 1935 (pg 42) is about her meeting with Cobham after his death. One would think if pilot error was the problem it would have been brought up at this meeting. However this is the one time Cobham listens to Naomi and agrees to only use GQs for free drops. Why would he make this change if Ivor's death was due to pilot error? I can't contradict the historians, but I can't confirm either. There are many things in this book which just stand as she wrote them and the reader can work out what is fact.

Page 45: This is the visit that reads like Forest Gump bumbling though history. There is nothing I can find to show her more knowing of what was really going on so it is left like this.

The end of the Air Display. I have shown just how many tragedies happened at the end. Others have written about one or another. There is much written about Airshows, gliding and aerobatic history, but there is very little about parachuting history. I never found anything about the Russel parachute except what Naomi wrote.