Maurice Guillaux - Postcards & Philatelic Items 1912+
Maurice Guillaux - 50th Anniversary 1964 | Postcards & Philatelics 1913+ | Flying into Harden 1914 | First Australian Aerial Mail 1914 | Australia - photographs & film 1914 |
The fastest man on earth....
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| 1. Maurice Guillaux postcard circa 1912, with signatures from fellow French aviators, celebrating the gaining of his pilot's license. Front and rear view. |
1. Introduction
Frenchman Maurice Guillaux (1883-1917) achieved worldwide fame as a pioneering aviator between 1912 and 1917. During that time a number of postcards were issued in association with his various feats in the air, alongside promotion of his activities and that of his sponsors. Guillaux is especially famous in Australia for undertaking the first aerial mail flight from Melbourne to Sydney between 16-18 July 1914, covering a distance of some 930 kilometres or 582 miles. By the time he arrived in Australia he had achieved fame on the Continent for numerous exploits as a pioneering aviator. At one point he was cited as the fastest man on earth, having flown his plane at 144mph. Unfortunately, his early death in 1917 has meant that he is now largely forgotten in his home country of France (Lockley 2014). Following to his death, a variety of stamps, envelopes and other philatelic items have appeared in Australia commemorating his achievements and that of the Blériot XI monoplane he flew whilst in that country during 1914. This blog references that material and provides some historical context. A listing of contemporary postcards is given first, followed by reference to post 1917 material, include that of some of the first aerial mail flights in Australian, including those wrongly claiming precedent over Guillaux regarding the first official air mail flight.
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2. The Guillaux postcards 1913-17
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| 2 a & b. circa 1912. |
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| 3. |
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| 4. Saint Hippolyte du Fort, [Aviation display 1913 - Guillaux passes over the crowd], postcard. Clément-Bayard monoplane. |
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| 5. Match D'Aviation de Saint Hippolyte du Fort, Ms et Mmse Legagneux et Ms. Guillaux, postcard. |
Another French postcard from this same period sees Guillaux dressed in the same clothes as in the cafe, with a large cap and heavy coat though this time sitting in the cockpit of the Clément-Bayard.
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| 6 a & b. Guillaux, sur monoplane metallique Clément-Bayard. |
The postcard reproduced below was printed in connection with his winning the Pommery Cup / Coupe Pommery - an award for flying the longest distance over land in a straight line in a single day. On 27 April 1913 Guillaux flew from Biarritz, on the south west coast of France, north to Kollum in the Netherlands, a distance of 1,253 kilometres or 779 miles. He achieved the feat in a Clément-Bayard monoplane. It was distinguished by a sheet steel frame, semi-circular upper covering over the propeller, and use of a 70hp Gnome engine. Guillaux was a test pilot for Clément-Bayard, and both he and the aircraft are seen in the following postcards, which also celebrate his Biarritz to Kollum flight.
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| 7. Etampes, 11 Fevrier 1913. |
The text on the above promotional postcard reads as follows:
[French] Etampes, 11 Fevrier 1913. Aviateur GUILLAUX, recordman du monde entier avec passenger. Raid accompli avec l'AUTOMOBILE, la plus homogene des essences, comme l"HUILE D. F. "AVON" est la meilleure hulle de graissage connue pour tous moteurs.
[English] Etampes, 11 February 1913. Aviator GUILLAUX, world record holder with a passenger. Feat accomplished with AUTOMOTIVE, the most homogeneous of gasolines, like D. F. "AVON" OIL it is the best lubricating oil known for all engines.
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| 8a. Commemorative postcard, Pommery Cup winner, 29 April 1913. |
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| 9. Guillaux's Clément-Bayard monoplane, circa 1913. Postcard |
The text on the above postcard reads as follows:
[French] M. Guillaux. 1721. - Monoplan Clément-Bayard piloté par GUILLAUX......
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| 10. Guillaux holding congratulatory flowers at Kollum, following his arrival there on 29 April 1913. Postcard. |
The text on the above postcard reads as follows:
[French] Maurice Guillaux, couvert des fleurs, et son fidele metallique Clément-Bayard.
[English] ......
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| 11. Coupe Pommery - Guillaux survola Bordeaux - ...... Avril 1913. Postcard. |
A number of postcards were autographed by Guillaux during his lifetime, and especially when he was involved in public, record-breaking events, such as the Pommery Cup flight. The following postcard of the Hotel de Roskam, Kollum, includes such an autographed inscription.
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| 12. Apres le raid Biarritz - Kollum pour la Coupe Pommery, Guillaux, 1913. Postcard, signed in manuscript by Guillaux. |
A detailed report of the flight was published in a Queensland newspaper on 13 June 1913. It reads as follows:
Guillaux's Great Flight.— Biarritz to Holland.
Paris, April 28.
One record after another is being broken in aviation in the attempt to win the Pommery Cup competition for which closes on the last day of the month. The Cup is for the longest cross-country flight on any day between sunrise and sunset. M. Daucourt was first supposed to have discouraged all competition at the beginning of this month by his flight from Paris to Berlin. Mr. Hamel, the English aviator, by his flight from Dover to Cologne, and a German military pilot, who flew from Kuterbog to the neighbourhood of Kiel, were also supposed to have come near winning the cup. Then Gilbert flew from Paris to Medina del Campoa in Spain, a distance of 668 miles, which broke all previous records. Now this record has again been thrown into the shade by the flight of the French aviator Guillaux from Biarritz to the north of Holland, a distance, according to his estimate, of 929 miles. As this would beat the best previous records by more than 250 miles, it is difficult to see how it can be surpassed, yet efforts are being made to do so.
Guillaux started yesterday morning from Biarritz on a monoplane at 4.42, intending to cross the whole of France and land at Amsterdam. He reached the aerodrome of Morignae, near Bordeaux, at 5.55, started again at 6.35 for Paris, flew over Poitiers at 8.20, and landed at Villacoublay, near Paris, at 10.35, having flown on an average at a height of 4500 feet, and covering something like 80 miles an hour. At Chatellerault he got into the thick of a storm, which considerably annoyed him. At 12.36 he started again, with all his reservoirs full. They contained 160 quarts of essence [gasoline], enough for a flight of six and a half hours.
Anxiety Relieved.
There was no news of him in the evening, and at a late hour at night his whereabouts was still a mystery. Telegraphic inquiries were sent to Brussels and Amsterdam, and the answers came that he had not been seen. There was even some anxiety as to his safety. It was only this morning that a brief message reached Paris to say that he had been stopped by the sea and had landed at 7 o'clock yesterday evening at Kollum, in the north of Holland, near the Lanwer Zee, a short distance beyond the railway line from Groningen to Harlingen. M. Guillaux states that he alighted at Arch, in Belgium. In the afternoon he set out again, after a short rest, and passed within sight of Amsterdam. Then, continuing his flight, he crossed the Zuyder Zee, and landed finally almost within sight of the North Sea. The distance which he is said to have covered is questioned this evening by the Temps, which holds that, when measured on a straight line, it does not seem to exceed that of M. Gilbert's record.
Other Attempts.
On the other hand, three other aviators are today trying to beat the record. Two of them, M. Audemars and M. Letort, started respectively at 4.39 and 4.40 from Villacoublay this morning with the intention of flying to Berlin and thence to Warsaw, while M. Seguin left Marseilles at 5.10 and intends to fly across the whole of France and as far north as his machine will carry him before sunset. M. Audemars reached the northern frontier at Mezieres at 6.40 this morning and started again for Berlin.
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Images of the mustachioed Guillaux from the period usually show him rugged up with wool or leather head covering - apart for over the face - and neck protection from the cold encountered at high altitudes. His attire also included a thick half-length coat, high leather boots, gloves and goggles. The aviator is known to have carried food and a hot drink flask with him on long flights. A crew, including mechanic, usually accompanied him en route, as flying times were often limited by fuel load. In the case of the Clément-Bayard it was more that six hours. However, with the lighter Blériot XI he used during 1914, it was around two hours maximum between stops, dependent upon head and tail winds and other weather conditions.
It is assumed that the postcard illustrated at the top of this article was printed in 1913 to commemorate Guillaux's Pommery Cup win. Two photographs are reproduced on the front of the postcard. One is a reproduction of a postcard featuring a streetscape in Kollum and view of the local post office. The other is of the pilot seated in his cockpit. Some printed text and a signature by Guillaux was also included overlaying the two images. The text reads:
Aprés le race / Biarritz - Kollum / grace a l'Automobiline. / Ill Aviateur / M. Guillaux.
[After the race, Biarritz - Kollum, thanks for Automobiline [gasoline]. The Aviator, M. Guillaux]
This refers to one Guillaux's sponsor's products. The original Kollum streetscape postcard is labelled:
Kollum - N. Buren - Postkantoor
[Kollum - N. Buren - Post Office]
It features the distinctive spire of the Hervormde Maartenskerk [Reformed] church in the distance to the right, and supposedly the post office building is one of those seen along the streetscape. In front of this thoroughfare is a waterway with vessels moored. The paddock in the near foreground, on the other side of the waterway, has subsequently been built upon. The postcard also features in the upper left corner a facsimile of a rose coloured 5 cent Nederland stamp with the profile of Queen Whilemina and a 29 IV 13 Kollum circular date stamp postmark. A copy of a similar stamp is illustrated below.
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| 8b. Rear side of postcard, postmarked (?) 23 November 1913. |
Other copies of the original postcard have been seen by the writer, pointing to their popularity at the time. Another postcard related to the event was postmarked at Kollum on 29 April 1913, autographed by Guillaux and sent to Gaston Dubreuil, an employee at Clément-Bayard. Unfortunately the quality of its online reproduction is low, and in addition it was watermarked, all of which made it difficult to read the aviator's original inscription. In addition, at some point the 5 cent stamp on the address side of the postcard was removed and placed on the picture side.
13 a & b. Postcard sent by Guillaux from Kollum, 29 April 1913.
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3. The Pommery Cup scandal 1913
Maurice Guillaux entered The Pommery Cup five times. It was held twice a year from 1909 through to the end of 1913. When Guillaux attempted to improve upon his April 1913 record on 27 August of that year, he fell foul of the organisers and was subsequently disqualified. The circumstances are hazy, but according to reports in Australian newspapers, for some unknown reason he was involved in a deception. Guillaux had reported landing at Brokel in the region of Schezsor, north east of Bremen, Germany, after flying a distance of some 982 miles. He had actually landed in Brakel, which was situated some 60 miles south of Hanover. His crew thought is was Brokel, north east of Bremen. When they received a certificate from the local burgomaster, they changed the details of the flight on the official certificate of completion to the more distant town. Their deception was subsequently found out by the organisers and fellow aviator, M. Brindejonc. As a result, in November Guillaux was stripped of his win and banned from competition for a period of ten years. Gilbert was awarded the cup in this instance, having flown a lesser distance of 655 miles. The scandal was reported in newspapers around the world, and severely affected Guillaux's reputation in his home country. The pilot denied tampering with the certificate and such had been reported in the Sydney papers on 1 October, but was ignored. For example, the Brisbane Telegraph, of 13 October 1913, noted:
POMMERY CUP
PARIS. September 30. M. Brindejonc has disputed the claim of M. Guillaux to having won the Pommery Cup. It is reported that M. Guillaux admits that he overstated the distance covered in his flight by altering the name of a town in a certificate supplied by the burgomaster.
It was shortly after this scandal that Guillaux and a crew of four decided to purchase a Blériot XI stunt plane and take it on a world tour. Following a visit to Egypt in February, he eventually ended up in Australia in April 1914 and stayed for almost 6 months. After the onset of war in August he returned to France the following month to continue his work with the air force. It was while testing an aircraft for them that he crashed and was killed in 1917. Guillaux left behind him a wife and son and a record of numerous pioneering achievements in the early history of aviation, the Pommery Cup win being one of the most significant.
On 30 April 1914 Guillaux autographed a business card of Marcel Merat at the North Station, Paris, after winning the Cup. On the rear of the card Merat outlined how he obtained the signature.
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4. The first Australian airmail flight July 1914
Some of the postcards were forwarded directly on from Sydney to localities throughout Australia and overseas to places such as England, all for the price of one penny. A number of philatelists at the time applied a variety of stamps to the postcards in order to enhance their future value and visual appeal.
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| 14a. Official flight postcard (front), postmarked Sydney, 18 April 1914, #648. Private Collection. |
On the rear of the postcard, labelled Inauguration of Australia's Aerial Mail, was a photograph of Guillaux and some personal information and promotional text.
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| 14b. 'Sgt. Cook / Dear Sir: / Mr Guillaux is carrying a parcel of O. T. on this trip (Melbourne to Sydney). Kindly let us know if same arrives safely. / O.T. Ltd.' Official postcard carried on the flight from Melbourne to Sydney. Collection: National Archives of Australia. |
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| 14b. Official flight postcard (rear). Private Collection. |
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| 14a. Official flight postcard (front), postmarked Sydney, 18 April 1914, #414. Private Collection. |
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| 15. Maurice Guillaux at Wangaratta, Thursday, 16 July 1914. Kodak Australia postcard circa 1914. |
A second postcard is known which is possibly linked to Guillaux's flight, though it could also be a simple replication of a British postcard. It features a line drawing of what looks like Guillaux in his aircraft, followed by another similar aircraft in the distance, flying over London, with a Merry Christmas greeting text and a circular photograph of a child.
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| 16. A Merry Christmas, Kodak Australia postcard, circa 1914. |
5. Australian airmail philatelic material 1917+
Due to the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, it was to be a number of years before attempts were made to commence regular airmail services in Australia, especially in remote areas not serviced by railways. Moves in that direction commenced towards the end of the war.
During February 1917 Basil G. Watson undertook an experimental airmail flight from Mt. Gambier to Melbourne - the first such flight in Victoria after Guillaux - carrying 1,300 stamped postcards plus 31 other items of mail.
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| Basil G. Watson memorabilia, circa 1917. Source: Warnnambool & District Historical Society. |
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| Watson postcard, 27 February 1917. |
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| R.G. Carey in Guillaux's Blériot. Postcard carried on the flight, 23 November 1917. |
Captain Harry Butler, Chief Flying Instructor of the Royal Australian Flying Corp, flew his 'Red Devil' Bristol M1C monoplane in an air mail flight from Adelaide to Minlaton on 6 August 1919.
In 1920 a one-off trial for an officially sanctioned airmail service took place in a flight between Lismore, Casino and Tenterfield in New South Wales (Marciniak 2020). Supporters of this flight recently made claim to its being the first official airmail flight in Australia, as against Guillaux's. This has been rejected on a number of fronts, including by Australia Post.
Apart from Guillaux's, the most famous early aerial mail flight took place between November 1919 and February 1920 with the first such flight from England to Australia, by Ross and Keith Smith aboard a Vickers Vimy. The service was eventually implemented in the early 1930s.
It appears that the first truly regular official airmail service in Australia began November 1922 when the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service (QANTAS) commenced operations between Charleville and Cloncurry.
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6. Airmail Commemorations 1957+
* 1957 - South Australian 40th - Carey
The anniversary of Carey's first South Australian air mail flight, featuring the Blériot, was celebrated on 23 November 1957 with a variety of commemorative covers (2 known), cinderella labels and postmarks.
* 1964 - Melbourne to Sydney 50th Anniversary - Guillaux
When the 50th anniversary of Guillaux's flight came around in 1964 the Australian Post Office issued stamps to celebrate the event, and a number of special covers were produced.
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| 50th Anniversary of the First Airmail Flight in Australia, 5d & 2/3d stamps, 1 July 1964. Wesley Cover Services (WCS) first day of issue cover (above). A teal blue cover of similar design was also released. A number of similar commercial covers also appeared, once again with variant colours. |
A re-enactment "50th Anniversary Flight" took place from Melbourne to Sydney between 16-18 July 1964. Associated souvenir covers were printed by the Flight Committee and WCS. Also utilised was an aerogramme, letter sheet, and partial facsimile 1914 postmark to accompany the normal postmark of the day. An illustrated envelope addressed Airline Passenger and reproducing part of an image from a 1957 cover also appeared, postmarked Melbourne on 16 July 1964.
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| 50th Anniversary of the first air mail service in Australia, 16 July 1964. Souvenir cover. |
The 1964 re-enactment comprised two Victa Airtourers. It passed through Harden, and one of the locals who flew briefly with Guillaux back in 1914 - the then 25 year old Stan Brady - also took to the air in 1964 (Lockley 2015). The two aircraft arrived in Sydney accompanied by a QANTAS 707.
* 1965 - 55th Anniversary of the first aeroplane flight in South Australia
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* 1967 - Victorian 50th - Basil Watson
On 27 February a special commemorative flight took place from Mt. Gambier to Melbourne in honor of the 1917 flight by Basil Watson. A special cover, cinderella stamp and postmark were issued, along with a separate replica postcard.
* 1967 - South Australia to Victoria 50th - Carey
The 50th anniversary of the first South Australian air mail flight was celebrated with a reprint / overprint of the special cover and cinderella triangular stamp used for the 40th Anniversary, along with a new Adelaide postmark.
* 1977 - South Australian 60th - Carey
The 60th anniversary of the first South Australian air mail flight was celebrated with a reprint of the special cover used for the 40th and 50th Anniversary, along with a special Adelaide postmark.
* 1981 - Western Australia 60th
In 1981 a pre-stamped envelope was overprinted with an image headed: 60th Anniversary of Australia's First Official Airmail. It commemorated the 1921 establishment by Major Norman Brearly of the Perth to Geraldton and Perth to Derby air mail service during late November and early December.
This cover was referring to the intrastate flight between Geraldton and Derby via Perth in Western Australia during December 1921. A number of crashes were associated with this endeavour. [PDF]
* 1989 - 75th Anniversary First Australian Airmail - Maurice Guillaux
Australia Post issued a special cover in July 1989 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Guillaux flight. It featured a photograph of Guillaux and images of his Blériot XI. Two special postmarks and a cachet were associated with the anniversary - one at Ascot Vale, and another at Melbourne Airport with a special 'Carried by Australian Airlines' cachet.
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| First Australian Airmail, Australia Post pre-stamped envelope, 18 July 1989. |
2014 - 100th Anniversary First Air Mail - Maurice Guillaux
Similarly, a number of events took place to mark the 100th anniversary of the flight in 2014, including a centenary fleet organised by the Aviation Historical Society of Australia which flew from Essendon airport in Victoria to Bankstown airport near Sydney, with eight stops at regional centres along the way (Brown 2014, von Horcher 2014). Members of the Australian Aviation Historical Society visited Harden during in association with the centenary.
Australia Post once again issued two stamps - 70c general postage and $2.60 international airmail - and a special envelope to mark the occasion, alongside other philatelic and numismatic material.
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| First day cover with mini sheet, 1 July 2014. |
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| Facsimile of original 1914 postcard - front and rear. |
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| Souvenir cover with cloth patch, 2014. |
* 2020 - Lismore to Tenterfield flight anniversary
On 9 June 2020 Australia Post issued a prepaid envelope "commemorating Australia's first government sanctioned test airmail flight in 1920" (refer illustration below). This flight from Lismore to Tenterfield was promoted at the time by locals as the first Australian airmail flight, in lieu of recognition of Guillaux's achievement. A senior Australian aerophilatelist in 2022 published an article supporting this spurious claim (refer below). It can be seen from above that a number of similar test flights had taken place previously, beginning in February 1917.
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7. References
Brown, Simon Leo, Flight marks centenary of first air mail service, ABC Radio Melbourne, 14 July 2014.
Crouch, Tom D., Blériot XI: The Story of a Classic Aircraft, Series: Famous Aircraft of the National Air and Space Museum, No.5, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1982, 144p.
Centenary of First Air Mail (Australia), Postcard Interactive Company of Sydney [website], 9 July 2014.
Debenham, Ian, First Powered Flight in Australia, Parts 1 - 4, Inside the Collection [webpages], Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse Museum), Sydney, 16 November - 9 December 2009.
Dougherty, Kerrie, The story of Australia's first airmail, Parts 1 - 11, Inside the Collection [webpages], Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse Museum), Sydney, 8 April - 29 October 2014.
Kelly, Maurice, Arthur B. "Wizard" Stone flies his Blériot plane in Australia, 1914, Australian Postal History & Social Philately [website], 2012.
Lee, Ron, The myth that Guillaux carried the first airmail in Australia, Australian Stamps Professional, 16(3), May/June 2022, 4-6, 8.
Lockley, Tom, Maurice Guillaux - France's Forgotten Pioneer Airman in Australia, The French-Australian Review, 56, Winter 2014, 22p.
-----, Maurice Guillaux - Pioneer French Aviator in Australia, manuscript, April 2015, 44p.
Marciniak, Catherine, Forgotten for a century, Australia's first officially sanctioned air mail flight re-enacted at Lismore, ABC News, 1 July 2020.
Maurice Guillaux, Wikipedia [ webpage], accessed 15 September 2021.
Mcnay, Nigel, Celebration of a trailblazer, The Border Mail, 28 March 2014.
Middleton, Peter, Australia's First Airmail Flight - Maurice Guillaux - 100 Years of Airmail in Australia, Airtourer Association Newsletter, 139, August 2011.
Simons, Graham, Early French Aviation 1905-1930, Series: Images of Aviation, Pen & Sword Books, 2019, 128p.
Simpson, Margaret, Blériot XI Monoplane [webpage], Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (Powerhouse Museum), Sydney, 2021.
von Horcher, Cherie, Flying French Postie's First Aussie Route, ABC News, 14 July 2014.
Wilson, Jennifer, 'Par Avion' - French for 'By Airmail', The People & Environment Blog, National Museum of Australia, 9 July 2014.
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Maurice Guillaux - 50th Anniversary 1964 | Postcards & Philatelics 1913+ | Flying into Harden 1914 | First Australian Aerial Mail 1914 | Australia - photographs & film 1914
Last updated: 3 April 2024
Michael Organ, Australia
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