Photo from the Hounslow Heath interpretive board

Name

1919 Air race

Connection

Location where the 1919 Air race from London to Australia started from

Location

Hounslow Heath, Hounslow TW4 5AR

How to get there

Nearest underground – Hounslow West, Piccadilly Line

Hounslow Heath is a 20-minute walk south of the station

Summary

In 1919 Australia’s Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, offered a £10,000 prize to the first Australians to fly from London to Australia in less than 30 consecutive days. Australian brothers Keith and Ross Smith took off from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 12 November 1919 and arrived in Darwin on 10 December. A memorial on Staines Road, on the North side of the Heath, commemorates their achievement.

Check out this YouTube clip of the 1919 Air race - here

The memorial to the first flight from Europe to Australia in 1919

Context

In 1919 aviation was in its infancy, but its potential was recognised, particularly for international passenger travel. The first British international passenger flight left for Paris from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 25^th August 1919 and QANTAS was founded a year later in 1920 operating flights in north Queensland.

Story

The memorial is in a rather neglected state and stands forlornly on the side of Staines Road. Its brickwork is cracked and a constant stream of heavy traffic along the road adds to an ongoing discolouration. But the inscription on the plaque reads clearly:

London Terminal Aerodrome Hounslow Heath August 1919 – 1920. From here the first British international airline operation and the first flight from Europe to Australia was made. Erected by the Heston and Isleworth Borough Council

The plaque

The memorial is further shaken by the constant stream of low flying passenger jets on the busy flight path into Heathrow Airport which is nearby. This adds to the experience of visiting this Londown Under site – the 1919 flight was the beginning of it all!

The Air race prize was won by the Smith brothers who completed the London to Darwin flight in less than the required 30 consecutive days. The aircraft was a converted Vickers Vimy bomber. Hudson Fysh, the soon to be founder of Qantas, met the crew on their arrival in Darwin. The only other aviators to complete the journey, Parer and McIntosh, came in second after an epic 206 days, thus earning them a consolation prize of £1,000.

The Smith brothers each received a knighthood for this exploit, and the company presented their aircraft to the Australian government. It is now displayed at Adelaide Airport. Ross Smith was killed in a test flight for a round the world flight planned for 1922. Keith Smith went on to become a director of Qantas Empire Airways and Tasman Empire Airways Limited (a subsidiary of Imperial Airways which was the forerunner of British Airways).  The first trial flight for a weekly Qantas flight from London to Sydney was made by the Lockheed Constellation "Ross Smith" VH-EAA leaving London on 27/11/1947 arriving Sydney 02/12/1947.

Continue walking on Hounslow Heath and you will find a further monument, recognising the importance of the former aerodrome in aviation history.

The Hounslow Airfield monument

Further information

Hounslow Heath – here

England to Australia 1919 flight – here