In 1912, the British government planned twelve “Air Stations” operated by the Royal Flying Corps which had been established in April that year. Under the instructions of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, the first of these Air Stations was at Montrose, allowing aircraft the ability to protect the Royal Navy bases at Rosyth, Cromarty and Scapa Flow.
In February 1913 the Royal Flying Corps established Britain’s first operational military airfield on a nearby farm before moving it to a more permanent location in December of that year. It was the first of many hundreds of military airfields that would be established throughout the length and breadth of the UK by 1945: including 94 in Scotland alone.
No.2 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps left Montrose Air Station on 3rd August 1914 to go to war. Montrose took on an important new role as a training base for pilots and it continued to be active throughout both world wars as a major centre for training pilots. In August 1914 the RFC had less than 100 aircraft. When the war ended in November 1918 the RAF had over 20,000 aircraft.
Artist’s Response
The brief I was given to explore was that of Montrose Airfield based in Angus. Built even before the war, the airfield became a training area shortly after its founding for many pilots in both World Wars. In 1983 the airfield was reopened after having been closed for over 30 years and converted into a Heritage Centre by local enthusiasts to ensure the history and memory of both the airfield and the pilots are not forgotten.
The element that I was most interested in was the story of the ‘Montrose Ghost’. In 1913, Lt. Desmond Arthur was fatally killed in a crash. Since then ghostly apparitions believed to be the Lt. Arthur himself have been seen. Apparitions of strange figures wearing a pilot’s uniform and goggles have been sighted as well as inexplicable bi-planes seen in the sky.
My aim for this project was to highlight the tragedy of Lt. Desmond Arthur’s death as a symbol of the pilots who gave their lives in the war. As well as this I attempted to showcase the transition the airfield has had in the last 100 years from functioning airfield to heritage centre. I incorporated anaglyph 3D elements into photographs from when the airfield was operational that help create a distinct difference between the past and the present.
Mathew McNeilly
Gray’s School of Art
Robert Gordon’s University
Matthew is originally from a small town just outside of Glasgow. For as long as Matthew can remember he wanted to follow a creative path, interested in the visual arts, writing and music from an early age. After high school Matthew moved to Aberdeen to study Contemporary Art Practice at Gray’s School of Art where he is now a fourth year student approaching graduation. Matthew works with collage, both paper and digital, as his primary medium. Matthew’s thematic approach in his own practice revolves around reality and existence, through this he challenges himself and the audience to question and investigate place within our universe.
