shipping attack: Carters Steam Fair!?

[Adrian Roberts]

This question follows on from the "Attacks on Shipping" thread, but I've noticed new questions in long threads don't always get noticed...

A few years back I went to a travelling fairground called "Carter's Steam Fair". If you're into steam its fascinating: the rides are powered by steam; the slot machines use old pennies.

Anyway.. on one of the wooden stalls, there are paintings of WW1 aces and two large murals, uncaptioned but depicting WW1 aerial combat incidents. One shows a pilot climbing from the cockpit of a burning USAAS Nieuport 28: presumably the last moments of Raoul Lufbery. The other depicts German aircraft attacking a ship. The ship looks like a ferry of some kind: and it prominently flies the Norwegian flag. I seem to remember that the aircraft were DVIIs but I may not be remembering correctly. Anyone any ideas what incident this may be? Michael Lowrey's list in the original thread shows only one Norwegian ship damaged and this was attacked by a Zeppelin at Leith (in harbour if I interpert the wording correctly). Of course the mural may be fictional.

Has anyone been to Carters in the last year or two and are the murals still there?

Adrian

[michaeldr]

Adrian,

You remembered correctly

Michael Lowrey Posted: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 15:26:40 +0000

Damaged:

ARGO (s/v), NOR, 678 grt, 22/4/1916, at Leith - damaged only by Zeppelin

I have seen another ref to a Norwegian vessel but the description of that does not seem to fit your mural either

From R. D. Layman’s “Naval Aviation in the First World War”

“A unique episode occurred in April 1917 when Zepplin L23 intercepted the 688 ton Norwegian schooner ‘Royal’ off the Dutch coast, ascertaining that she was carrying pit props (legally contraband) to Britain, and placed aboard a prize crew that sailed her to the Elbe.”

Per Layman’s notes this incident was described in an article in ‘Buoyant Flight’ vol 41 No.3 1994

Regards

Michael D.R.

[Guest Pete Wood]

Adrian, we really should meet up for a beer. I always try and visit Carter's when it's in London.

As well as liking steam, I also have a fondness for pedal cars - particularly the J40, and Carter's still has the original J40 ride. I help them out with bits and bobs when a daft, overweight adult clambers into one.

Yes the murals were still there (2003). I have some pics of Carter's J40 ride, so I'll see if your mural is in the background.

[Guest Pete Wood]

Sorry, my pics show only the pedal car rides.

Here is a link to their site, though http://www.carters-steam-fair.co.uk/

[Michael Lowrey]

Thanks for pointing out the case of Royal and L23. The cases of neutral ships taken as a prize back to Germany are the hardest to track down as they don't appear in Lloyd's War Losses. (A British ship taken as a prize would, however.)

Best wishes,

Michael

[Guest Pete Wood]

If you look at the bottom of the following old thread, there is a painting of the capture of the Royal by L23. http://1914-1918.org/forum/index.php?showt...591&hl=bockholt

[Adrian Roberts]

Thanks for the links, everyone. Couldn't see the mural on the Carter's site. The picture of L23 and the Royal was interesting - the airship must have dwarfed the ship!

Pete - when you say the murals were still there, do you mean the particular one I mentioned? Whether or not it is, I must try and catch Carter's if they're in London this year, though I wouldn't get away with it without taking the children!

I'll email you about the beer!

Adrian