Interesting early aviation picture in an old photographic album.
When browsing through an old photographic album, that I bought in a junk shop in Cape Town several years ago, I came across this interesting photograph of a family standing in front of a biplane aeroplane with a distinctive marking G- EBSO and the word Johannesburg on the fuselage. It seemed like an important event had taken place and sightseers had come to take a look. The family in the photograph featured in other photos in the album all from the Cape Town area. I assumed the aeroplane in the picture had flown from Johannesburg to Cape Town.
Not knowing anything about early aviation in South Africa I wondered if a Google search for G- EBSO would reveal more.
Puzzle solved
Bingo! To my surprise there was an extensive PDF article by Dick Bentley who was a pilot in France during World War I and after the war journeyed to Rhodesia to settle there.
In late 1926, Dick Bentley, after reading an article in the English Aviation Press about the appearance of the de Havilland Moth light aeroplane, that could be the practical answer to club and private owner flying, had the idea of flying one from London to Cape Town. As he didn't have the 4oo pounds that the aircraft would cost him he set about trying to secure the necessary funds. He mananage to convince the Johannesburg Star newspaper to put up the backing in return for exclusive publicity. If he completed his task of a successful flight from London to Cape Town the Johannesburg Light Plane Club would then purchase it for 600 pounds. He took delivery of the aircraft on the 16 August 1927.
The flight begins...
On the 1st September at 10.15hr he took off for Paris on the first solo flight from England to Cape Town in a light aircraft. The aircraft was a de Havilland 60x Moth with a Cirrus 11 engine. The rest of the remarkable historic story is detailed in the link below and the mystery of the photograph G-EBSO in Cape town is finally cleared up.
Pioneering Spirit - the remarkable full story of Richard Reid "Dick" Bentley.
http://www.jlpc.co.za/Story_Richard_Reid_Dick_Bentley_Pioneering_Spirit_JLPC.pdf