Air
Commodore Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith, MC,
AFC
Introduction
Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (1897-1935), aviator, was born on 9
February 1897 in Brisbane, fifth son and seventh child of William Charles
Smith, banker, and his wife Catherine Mary, née Kingsford. The name
Kingsford was added to the family surname in Canada; William went into real
estate business there in 1903 and later became a clerk with the Canadian
Pacific Railways. The family returned to Sydney in 1907.
Kingsford Smith was in the army cadets until 1915; when he turned 18, he
enlisted in the AIF. He became a signaller and despatch-rider and saw war
service on Gallipoli and in Egypt and France before transferring to the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC). Education: Charles was educated at Vancouver, Canada, at St Andrew's Cathedral Choir School, Sydney, and at Sydney Technical High School. At 16 he was apprenticed to the Colonial Sugar Refining Co. Ltd. (Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography) Happier working with his hands than
with his head in books, a 13-year-old Smithy was sent to Sydney Technical
College to study mechanics and electrical engineering. However he preferred
to skip class and spend his days zooming around Sydney on his motorbike. He
managed to graduate as an electrical engineer at 16.
(Source:
Daily Telegraph) Experiences & Opportunities Australia's most famous aviator, Charles Kingsford-Smith was born in Brisbane on 9 February 1897. On his 18th birthday he enlisted in the Australian Army, and, after a brief period in the artillery, was posted to the 2nd Division as a signaller. He served on Gallipoli and then in Egypt and France as a motorcycle dispatch rider. Writing home to his parents, the teen told of his landing on the Peninsula while being bombed by the Turks. He also described another brush with death on the beach. ``I heard ping, ping horribly close,” he wrote home. “I hurriedly sought shelter in a sap, but not before a bullet frayed the edge of my cap. Quite close enough for me.’’ In October 1916, as a sergeant, Kingsford-Smith transferred to the Australian Flying Corps. In March 1917 he was discharged from the AIF and commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps. Having been promoted to flying officer, he was posted to No. 23 Squadron in France in July 1917. Shot down and wounded a month later, Kingsford-Smith was awarded the Military Cross, having shot down four German aircraft in his first month of operational flying. Kingsford-Smith was promoted to lieutenant in April 1918 and served as an instructor for the rest of the war. In the years after the war, he worked in varying capacities as a pilot, including a brief period as a stunt flyer in California, before joining the fledgling aviation industry in Australia.(Source: AWM)
After the war Smithy worked as a stunt pilot in Hollywood’s silent films and in a flying circus. He enjoyed the work as it was exciting and gave him an opportunity to indulge his love — flying planes. But it was also highly dangerous. In one stunt he almost died as he hung upside down from the undercarriage of a plane. It became too risky even for Smithy and he returned to Australia after a friend died during one daring stunt. Back in Australia he moved to WA and flew an aerial postal service, as well as offering joy rides. Biographer Ian Mackersey in his book ‘Smithy. The Life of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’ writes: “His mind was permanently in the sky. On the ground he was a restless roamer, never creating a stable home and spending as fast as he earned." Smithy was Australia’s greatest hero — bigger than any sporting star or politician of the times. The nation followed reports of his expeditions with excitement and fear, like the first moon landing in 1969. When the Southern Cross plane and its crew touched down in Sydney from California on June 10, 1928 they were welcomed by 300,000 cheering people. (Source: Daily Telegraph)
In 1927 he and his flying partner, Charles Ulm, became
the first airmen to fly around Australia. The following year, with the
support of wealthy businessmen and government grant money - Kingsford-Smith,
Ulm and two Americans, Harry Lyon and Jim Warner, became the first airmen to
cross the Pacific. The following August, Kingsford Smith and his crew flew
the Southern Cross from Point Cook to Perth and, shortly afterwards, from
Sydney to Christchurch, becoming the first airmen to cross the Tasman Sea.
His next aerial adventure, a planned flight to England ended in disaster
when he made a forced landing in remote north-western Australia. Rescued
after more than two weeks in the wilderness, Kingsford-Smith and his crew
resumed the journey, eventually breaking the record for a flight between
Australia and England. Some suspect it may have been his fear of flying over water that lead to the crash that killed him and his co-pilot Tommy Pethybridge in the Andaman Sea off Myanmar on November 8, 1935. Smithy was 38. While his plane and body were never found, Smithy’s amazing legend lives on in Australia. The Kingsford Smith memorial — near Brisbane Airport, close to where he was born — is home to his plane the Southern Cross. Australia’s busiest gateway for travellers — Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport — is also named after him. His handsome face also featured on the $20 note from 1966 to 1992. (Source: Daily Telegraph) Trivia In 1923, Charles
Kingsford Smith married Thelma Eileen Hope Corboy. However, the couple
separated ways in 1929. In 1930, he married Mary Powell. The couple had a
son named Charles.
YouTube Videos:
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith:
A Pioneer of Flight (20mins)
Charles Kingsford Smith - a Digital Story by the State
Library of WA
Links
Australian History - Sir Charles Kingsford Smith - his contribution Primary Middle Secondary Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability
1. Read through the websites above and find useful and interesting information about this pilot. Primary - Kiddle has some very good information as well as the War Memorial sites.
Kiddle -
Charles Kingsford Smith 2. Middle Secondary - Listen to Ann Blainey's account of Charles Kingsford Smith on Conversations.
Conversations
with Richard Fidler: Ann Blainey 15 February 2019 [Audio 53mins]
A New Way to celebrate CKS! Mosaically Primary Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking Australian Curriculum General Capability: ICT Capability Cooperative Learning Activity
1. In pairs, investigate the stamps, coins, sculptures, posters about Charles Kingsford Smith here. 2. Which way was the best, in your opinion, to celebrate this Australian Aviator? Give reasons. 3. You are going to make a Photo Mosaic of Charles Kingsford Smith. Look at the following YouTube to see what is meant by a Photo Mosaic. How to fine-tune your mosaic in 5 easy steps (10mins)
USA. In inches instead of cms.
4. Using Mosaically, you are going to create a wonderful portrait of CKS. Look at this free web app. You will be able to download a print at the end which is 1080 x1080pixels in size. Go through the whole process before you start using the photos of CKS from the websites above [in the Links' section].
Should Australia have two national airlines? An analysis! Middle Secondary Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy Australian Curriculum Cross Curriculum Priorities: Sustainability Priority Cooperative Learning Activity
1. In groups of 3 - 4 students, you are going to carry out an analysis of Australia's airlines. Form into your groups. You are going to research using the Expert Jigsaw Strategy. Look up this method so individually you know what you are contributing to the group. 2. Individually, read ONE of the following articles from the following articles. Note down:
The Conversation 22 April 2020
The Conversation 14 January 2016 The Conversation 20 March 2020
3. As a group, discuss these individual revelant points and collate them to your group's overall list.
4.
Should Australia have two national airlines?
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