Damaged propellors used as headstones

[christine liava'a]

I oame across a photo today, which I can't reproduce, sorry, of "the last resting place of British airmen in France, with damaged propellors used as headstones".

It was published in the Auckland Weekly News of Oct 17, 1918,and is attributed to Official Photograph Kodak Ltd. Presumably it comes from an earlier publication, probably in Britain

Anyone know where it was, and are the propellors still there, or have they been replaced by tombstones?

Now I have added the terrible photocopy I took of the microfilm. I think there was something wrong with the machine.

I can't actually see any propellors, unless they are the white things

How big was a propeller anyway?

If anyone could find another copy of this photo, maybe we could see exactly what is shown. I'll try to get another print, but it won't be for a while, as I'm not going back for a couple of weeks

[Dolphin]

The use of cut-down four-blade propellers was common in the RFC, RNAS, AFC and RAF units who were able to use them, ie those flying aircraft fitted with four blades. I have a vague memory of seeing photographs of two blade propellers so used, but they obviously didn't have the same cross effect. I understand that it was the practice to use propellers that had been damaged, rather than sacrifice serviceable ones.

The wood wouldn't have survived exposure to the elements without constant upkeep, and they were eventually replaced with standard headstones.

[Tom Morgan]

This doesn't answer Christine's original question, but there is a lovely memorial to an Australian pilot killed in a flying accident, in a Birmingham church not far from the site of the old Castle Bromwich aerodrome:

Tom

[Malcolm]

Christine,

The ends of the propellors used were usually taken be the RFC men and turned into photograph holders. My mother, 90 on 7th November, has a photo of her father in one of these frames.

Aye

Malcolm

[Guest Pete Wood]

A lot of modern propellors/propellers have been 'faked' to look like they are older, and increase their value.

I nearly bought what I had been assured was an airship propellor, from a WW1 Zeppelin. It turned out to be from a 1930s flying boat, which someone had taken a lot of time to carve with the names of the crew of a downed Zep.

The props of WW1 were huge, as the engine speeds were so low (compared to today's planes). Around 8 ft is fairly normal for the 1914-18 period.

There is a nice website, run by a really helpful chap, who can often identify a prop. Have a look at Wooden Props Website for hints and tips on identifying (and maintaining) a WW1 prop. A good indicator is 8 bolt holes....

[Malcolm]

RC,

I know what you mean about fakes.

Having re-vamped the photo I can assure you my mother has a genuine tip of a prop. I had to remove the original phot to scan it for repair. The photo was packed into the recess cut through the wood by ........... a page folded from a 1915 Edinburgh newspaper! This did not get re-packed back in but flattened and placed in a suitable folder.

Aye

Malcolm

[Guest Pete Wood]

How big was a propeller anyway?

You would have around 3 feet or more of the propellor sticking out of the ground. So a bit taller than a CWGC headstone of today.

[Paul Reed]

This photo of an airmen's plot in Lijessenthoek cemetery, near Poperinge, will give some idea of what they looked like 'in situ':