Author Sharon Wright and historian Dr Giles Camplin relate tales of derring do and the women and men who flew the city skies in balloons.
Doors: 7pm
Tickets: £8-£10
Long before London skies were interrupted by the the clouds of war, vapour trails and noise of flight paths, they were populated by the wonderful romantic sight of balloon and airship flights.
Join author Sharon Wright and historian Dr Giles Camplin as they relate tales of the derring do of the women and men who became London aeronauts
Airship Historian Dr Giles Camplin will tell of some of the men who made history above London - with literally ground breaking flights to, from and around the skies over the city.
We take off with various pioneers and adventurers of the air including outsiders such as Vincenzo Lusardi and homegrown heroes such as Charles Green, as Giles explores the extraordinary world of the Golden Age of Ballooning.
London women were in the vanguard of Britain’s first voyages into the Georgian sky grabbing headlines for spectacular disasters as well as technical triumphs.
Meanwhile aristocratic lady aeronauts enjoyed an Edwardian craze for record-breaking balloon races from Ranelagh and Hurlingham. Author Sharon Wright tells how aeronauts such as these and Lily Cove and Dolly Shepherd caused a sensation with escapades including leaping from balloons wearing primitive parachutes.
Sharon Wright is a journalist and author of The Lost History of the Lady Aeronauts, which reveals the astonishing stories of the first women to fly. She has discussed the capital’s female pioneers on BBC Woman’s Hour and written about them in publications including Mail on Sunday, New York Post and The Lady.
Dr Giles Camplin became interested in lighter-than-air flight in 1966. In the years since he has worked worked on the design and construction of airships and balloons for many projects, film and television and supported many flights as professional balloon ground-crew before gaining his commercial Hot Air Balloon pilot’s licence in 1989. He is a founder member of the British Balloon & Airship Club, chairman of the London Region Balloon Club. His is a council member of both the British Balloon Museum & Library and The Airship Association.