The seaplane tender HMS Hermes arrived in September 1913 to evaluate the Tay’s suitability as a naval aviation base. The trials, which included Lieutenant Arthur Gaskell flying from Broughty Ferry to the Tay Bridge at an astonishing 56 MPH, were a success and Royal Naval Air Station Dundee opened at Stannergate on 9 February 1914. Major Robert Gordon of the Royal Marines flew in the first ‘hydro-aeroplane’ that same afternoon and the first landplane landed a few days later on a hastily cleared runway next to Broughty Ferry Road.
Aircraft from RNAS Dundee carried out long, bitterly cold and often boring patrols along the east coast shipping route and anti-submarine operations far out into the North Sea. One notable airman to pass through RNAS Dundee was Flight Lieutenant Frederick Rutland, who, at the Battle of Jutland, made history by flying the first reconnaissance mission to spot enemy warships during a fleet action. Later still, between the wars, he would win fame of a very different sort by becoming a Japanese spy.
Another famous airman to fly from Dundee was Major Christopher Draper who would often relieve the boredom of long convoy patrols by flying through arches of the Tay Bridge. Draper, whose bridge escapades earned him the nickname ‘The Mad Major’ would also become a spy for the British intelligence services.
Artist’s Response
I chose to use the flight map marking the route as a basis for my print, copying it by hand and then screen printing it onto a blue background. I wanted to represent both the sky, and the sea over which much of the coastal flight path would have taken a pilot. I originally planned to include and image of the plane itself flying under the distinctive Tay Bridge, but decided on a less representational image to communicate the story to the viewer.
I took a close up of the Tay bridge under which the “Mad Major” flew, lino cut an image of the ironwork detail, then exposed this onto a screen to screen print it. I enjoy lino cutting and combining different methods of printing to attain a finished print that implies a connection to the Tay Bridge, the North Sea, and the pilots who were involved in the War, without being overly pictorial.
Violet Fraser
Dundee and Angus College
Violet is currently a student at Dundee and Angus College, studying Contemporary Art Practice. Previously she worked in assemblage using found objects, installation and transient site-specific work exploring the natural environment as well as human engagement with the natural world; our sense of place and history, memory and emotional connection to landscapes or objects, and how these influence our sense of self.
Violet’s work also includes small scale lino printing of objects or images that relate to her interest in historical artefacts, such as the Uig Chessmen.
