Postcard: sepia coloured card. Daimler truck pulling a trailer loaded with an aeroplane ( packed in pieces ) Written on side of truck door ' Sopwith Aviation Company Ltd., Kingston on Thames'H.A. Aylward, Alton, Hantzaviation, civilian, daimler truck with aeroplane, basil watson, sopwith

Basil George Watson was an aviation pioneer born in Bendigo 12/10/1893. The family moved to Melbourne when he was a child. In 1914 he went to England to work as an engineer for the Sopwith Aviation Company. He also took flying lessons and received his licence in 1915. He now worked as a test pilot for Sopwith but when a crash rendered him unfit for military duty, he returned to Australia in late 1915. He designed and constructed his own biplane in the back yard of his Elsternwick home. At the end of 1916 he tested his plane by flying from Point Cook to Bendigo and then to Melbourne. This included an aviation display in Bendigo. He followed this by flying to Warnambool 25/1/1916. He then set up an experimental airmail flight from Melbourne to Mount Gambier. On 28th March 1917, Watson was demonstrating aerobatics for the entertainment of AIF servicemen at Point Cook, when his plane collapsed and fell into the ocean close to shore. Unfortunately, Watson was tangled in the plane's wires and died. On hearing of his death, the bells of St Pauls in Bendigo and the Bendigo fire bell tolled.A paper detailing the life of Bendigo pilot Basil Watson, one of the first Australian pilots. 4 pages.aviation, basil watson, sopwith

HMAS "Sydney" 1918, launching a Sopwith plane.picture, ww1, ran

Small Repo Propeller to suit Sopwith Camel.ephemera, ww1, raaf

Postcard: image of bi-plane. Faded print. Written on bottom ' flying at Hendon, the fastest biplane in the world, the Sopwith 80 hp.aviation, civilian, sopwith 80 hp, basil watson collection, hendon, sopwith.

Painted to resemble the aircraft flown by Captain H. Watson of 4 Squadron AFC in mid 1918. Herbert Gilles Watson was the highest scoring New Zealand ace in the AFC. Credited with 14 victories, he was the fourth highest scorer in the squadron.1/32 scale model of a Sopwith Camel F.1 painted to resemble an aircraft of No. 4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps (AFC) on the Western Front in 1918.

Postcard: sepia coloured card. Young man wearing a jacket and peaked style 'porkpie' hat ( on back to front ) sitting in cockpit of plane. Written on bottom of card in white ' Tom. Sopwith' and 'copyright'Topical Postcard Co., Winton, Hants.aviation, civilian, tom sopwith, basil watson. biplane, aeroplane

Sopwith Seaplane. One of a collection of 25 model aircraft made by Brian Anthony DOWD The Sopwith Baby was a British single-seat tractor seaplane used by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from 1915.Small yellow & khaki plane with two wings on top of each other. Blue, white & red star on top with skis instead of wheels. 2 on sides.model airplanes, sopwith seaplane

Sopwith Pup. One of a collection of 25 model aircraft made by Brian Anthony DOWD The Sopwith Pup was a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. Camouflaged two winged plane with red, white & blue circles on top wing. Has red, white & blue stipes on tail fin.1 on top wing & on sides of plane.model airplanes, sopwith pup

HMAS Sydney was a Chatham-class light cruiser of the Royal Australian Navy. Laid down in 1911 and launched in 1912, the cruiser was commissioned into the RAN in 1913. During the early stages of World War I, Sydney was involved in supporting the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, and escorting the first ANZAC convoy. On 9 November 1914, the cruiser defeated the German cruiser SMS Emden at the Battle of Cocos. During 1915 and 1916, Sydney operated on the North America and West Indies Station, before joining the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron at Greenock, Scotland in November 1916. On 4 May 1917, the cruiser was involved in an inconclusive action against the German zeppelin L43; neither was damaged. During late 1917, Sydney became the first Australian warship to launch an aircraft, and the first warship to do so from a rotatable platform.Rectangular shaped mounted Print of HMAS SYDNEY 1918HMAS SYDNEY 1918,launching a Sopwith aeroplane from a flying-off platform atop her 6 inch gun turret. ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY 75TH ANNIVERSARYww1, hmas sydney,lara r.s.l. australian naval ships, light cruisers.

Postcard: black and white card. Biplane, flying over airfield. On bottom 'Sopwith 80 hp speed scout biplane, 1913. War office tests: slow speed 36.9 mph, fast speed 92 mph, climb 1050 ft. per minute.aviation, civilian, sopwith 1913, basil watson, speed scout biplane, war office.

Harry George Hawker was born on 22 January 1889 at South Brighton, Melbourne. He was the son of George Hawker, blacksmith, and Mary Ann Hawker, née Anderson, both Victorian-born. He attended schools at Moorabbin, East Malvern, St Kilda and Prahran. In 1901, he left school at the age of 12 and became a trainee mechanic at the Melbourne branch of Hall & Warden bicycle depot. In 1905 he joined the Tarrant Motor and Engineering Co. as a qualified mechanic and, in about 1907 he set up his own workshop at Caramut, western Victoria. In 1911 he left for England with the intention of becoming an aviator. In June 1912, he was employed by Sopwith Aviation Co. Ltd and worked on the Sopwith-Wright biplane. He enrolled in a flying school where he was personally taught by Sir Thomas Sopwith, and obtained his licence a few months later. He went on to become a test pilot, a renowned aviator who won many competitions, and a designer who improved aircraft safety and performance. He was killed while flying a French Goshawk on a trial run near Hendon, England, on 12 July 1921. Colour photograph unmountedOn the plaque: Harry Hawker 1889-1921 Aviator & Aircraft Designer lived here 1900-1911. Plaque unveiled for City of St Kilda by Weston Bate 12 February 1989st kilda, plaques, harry hawker, hg hawker, gourlay street