Humanities Research Seminar

9.30-10.30am Friday 3 October 2014

Brett Holman

Staging the Aerial Theatre:

Britishness and Airmindedness in the 20th Century

The place of the sea and the navy in the construction of British national identity has come under scrutiny from historians, for example, the way that spectacular fleetreviews and ship launchings were orchestrated to display national strength,assure imperial stability, and enact international rivalry. With the coming of flight, the air force became increasingly important to the defence of the nation and its identity: for example, the Battle of Britain and the Spitfire, in popular memory Britain’s salvation and the agent of its salvation, respectively. But the process began long before 1940, through aerial displays, aerial reviews and aerial races. This airmindedness, or enthusiasm for aviation, advertised and celebrated British technological and destructive capabilities. How it was interpreted by the audience is another matter.

In this seminar I investigate how airmindedness was conveyed by aerial theatre, and how this worked to construct Britishness. My primary case study is the Royal Air Force Pageant, held annually between 1920 & 1937 at Hendon in north London. There, British airpower was demonstrated in highly choreographed, aerobatic routines and battle scenarios for the enjoyment of huge crowds. I also look at Empire Air Day, the Aerial Derby, and Operation Millennium, as well as touch on some international comparisons. Aerial theatre helped define what it meant to beBritish; but in so doing it also revealed tensions over alternative identities, as well as anxieties about whether Great Britain could continue to be great in the aerial age.

Brett Holman lectures in European history at UNE. He is interested in the place of aviation in British society in the first half of the 20th century, and has published on the international air force, commercial bombers, air panics & mystery aeroplanes. His book, The Next War in the Air: Britain’s Fear of the Bomber, 1908-1941, was published by Ashgate in June 2014. His research blog is at: http://airminded.org

A3 – Arts Building

followed by morning tea

ALL WELCOME

Enquiries to: Karin von Strokirch – kvonstro@une.edu.au