The Schlesinger Race from Portsmouth to Johannesburg 1936

In December 1936, Flight Magazine summed up the outgoing year in aviation. Calling it "a satisfactory year" in general - "the public is much more interested in flying than it has ever been"... "the opening of Gatwick Airport was an event of importance", and so on - it continued: "On the sporting side we had the Schlesinger race in the autumn, but the less said about that event the better."

Newsreels: click here   and  

Only one of the 9 starters (of the original 14 entrants) made it to Johannesburg, and two people were killed during the Race.

Scott and Guthrie were met by a deafening silence on their return, and CWA Scott said "The race was a piece of complete nonsense ... I'm glad we didn't make the return journey in a packing case". Their victory seemed a hollow one, and the unclaimed prize money  - £6,000 out of the £10,000 total fund - went to the families of those who had died; £2,000 each to Mrs. Max Findlay and Mrs. A. H. Morgan and £2,000 placed in trust for the child of Capt. Findlay.

A rather sad and unloved affair, then; which is a pity, because it had begun with high hopes: "The success of the international air race to Melbourne gives us good grounds for welcoming an Empire air race from London to Johannesburg. Mr. I. W. Schlesinger is worthily following in the footsteps of Sir Macpherson Robertson."They hoped that "this race will enable the business men of the Union to study the [British] Empire's various landplanes, and judge for themselves which will be most suitable for the long internal stages, and which will be best for branch lines."

And after this race, the business men of the Union probably said "None of 'em".

The generous and well-meaning Mr Schlesinger deserved better.

The story of the race, at a glance:

Mr I W Schlesinger was a South African industrialist who controlled about 70 companies covering theatres, films, and insurance.

Entries were restricted to 'aircraft and pilots from the British Empire'; the start (originally expected to be Hatfield) was from Portsmouth. The competitors took off starting at 06:30am (in semi-darkness) on Tuesday the 29th September 1936.

Scott and Guthrie left behind them a trail of broken aeroplanes all the way (6,150 miles) to Johannesburg, which they reached on Thursday the 1st October. Their flying time was 2 days 4 hr 56 min. 

They all went to a celebration dinner at Claridge's after the race, which must have been fun:

As for the Arithmetic, there was a Handicap Formula, but even I can't work up much enthusiasm for it; suffice it to say  it was a very-slightly modified version of the one used for the MacRobertson Race, and would have proved equally misleading if it had been needed, probably...

Race No

Aeroplane

1

Percival E.2H Mew Gull ZS-AHM 'The Golden City'

[Die Goudstad on this side]

S.Africa

Percival Mew Gull ZS-AHO 'Baragwanath'

Fifteen years later, the battered aircraft was still lying derelict at Johannesburg

Miles M.5A Sparrowhawk G-AELT

Victor later modified it to have an enclosed cokpit, and used it for air taxi work.

B.A. Double Eagle IV G-AEIN 

---

S.Africa

---

 Tommy Rose

---

Jack Bagshaw

Percival Vega Gull G-AEKE

---

Charles William Anderson Scott

---

Giles Connop MacEacharn Guthrie

Percival P.10 Vega Gull G-AEAB

---

F/O David W Llewellyn

---

Charles F Hughesdon

Forced landing near Lake Tanganyika - weather

(the aircraft was written off)

Miles M.2U Hawk Speed Six G-ADOD

B.A. Eagle 2 G-ADID 'Frobisher' 

"very much a sporting entry"

[this appears to mean 'complete amateurs']

---

Cyril Geoffrey Marmaduke Alington

---

Lt P A Booth, RN

Paymaster Lt Rupert Hildebrand Alington

Airspeed AS.6J Envoy 3 G-AENA 'Gabrielle'

---

Capt Maxwell Hutcheon Findlay

--

Mr Kenneth Herbert Fraser Waller

A H Morgan

(wireless operator)

---

C D 'Derek' Peachey

Finishers: 1 (out of 9)

Did not start:

Lt Patrick Randolph

-

 John E Carberry

(Lord Carberry)