“I may say I have been loyally backed up by my wife; and when a man embarks on an adventure of this kind the spirit in which it is taken by his wife counts for a great deal. She has been splendid through it all, and what credit there is for what has been achieved is hers as much as mine.”
Commander Grieve’s message ran:
“I can only say ‘ditto’ to Harry Hawker. I have been deeply touched indeed by the kindly interest taken in our flight and the disappointment of failure is easily forgotten in the warmth of the welcome given us. It was a fine stunt, well worth attempting, and, like Hawker, I have no regrets. I am more than ever convinced that the Atlantic can be crossed, and I am ready to try again when circumstances permit of the battle being renewed under more favourable conditions. Next time we ought to succeed, but if somebody gets in before us we can only say ‘Good luck to you.’ Everybody has been splendid in connection with our flight.”
A SOUVENIR OF THE FIRST TRANS-ATLANTIC AIR MAIL.
[Facing p. 264.
At Darlington the welcome was magnificent. Hundreds of people were congregated on the platform, and as the train—15 minutes overdue—steamed in, loud cheers were raised and cries of welcome greeted them. Harry came to the carriage door, and his bronzed face was the signal for renewed hurrahs. The crowd surged round the door to shake Harry by the hand. Smilingly he responded by gripping as many hands as possible. As the train left the station cheers were renewed, rattles sounded, and hooters and whistles were blown.
At York, the Scotch express was twenty minutes behind time, and for over half-an-hour before the scheduled time a crowd had been steadily assembling on the platform. Lord Knaresborough (Chairman of the North-Eastern Railway) was among those present, and he subsequently travelled on the train to London. The Sheriff of York (Alderman C. W. Shipley) was also present.
When the train ultimately drew up at York station, shortly after three o’clock, a rousing cheer went up. The police found it impossible to restrain the crowds from surging up to the fore part of the train where Harry and Grieve occupied a first-class compartment. They swarmed round the door, crowded on the footboards and on the coaches, and cheered themselves hoarse. Aided by the railway police, Mr. T. C. Humphries, the station-master, was able to reach Harry’s compartment and hand in some telegrams, including the Royal Command to Buckingham Palace. For some minutes Grieve held the door while Harry was busy with replies to telegrams; then he, too, appeared. There was a fresh outburst of cheers. Describing the scene, the Yorkshire Post said:
“... He looked well-bronzed, wonderfully fit, and smiled genially in acknowledgment of a fresh outburst of cheers. For the convenience of a group of photographers, who were poised on a pile of baggage, Mr. Hawker pleasantly raised his head and leaned forward. The cheering was continuous, and both Mr. Hawker and his navigator seemed particularly interested in a portion of the crowd who, failing to see from the platform, had climbed to the roof of a train on an adjoining platform, swarmed over the tender and cab, and along the footplate of a locomotive, while the more nimble juniors had clambered to the under-girders and lattice-bracing of the station roof.