Hamel Collection

First airmail letter delivered, Windsor Castle
The first airmail letter ever to be delivered is handed to the Postmaster of Windsor, to whom it is addressed, on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle

Airmail postcards at Gamages, London
People at Gamages in Holborn, Central London, addressing postcards and posting them in the special London Aerial Postbox, in time for the first aerial mail service from Hendon to Windsor

The first aerial post in England
The first aerial postman receiving the first bag of mail for carriage by airship: Mr Hamel signing the official receipt

The Upside Down Dinner given by the Hendon Aviators to Bentfield Hucks and Gustav Hamel at the Royal Automobile Club on 16 January 1914

Gustav Hamel arriving at Windsor with the airmail
The aviator Gustav Hamel arriving at Windsor from Hendon on the very first airmail flight. The first aerial mail service took place on 9 September 1911 from Hendon Aerodrome to Windsor

Gustav Hamels plane ready to leave Hendon for Windsor
Gustav Hamels aeroplane ready to leave Hendon Aerodrome for Windsor on the very first airmail flight. The first aerial mail service took place on 9 September 1911 from Hendon to Windsor

Gustav Hamel posting an airmail letter
The aviator Gustav Hamel posting an airmail letter which he himself will transport by air to Windsor. The first aerial mail service took place on 9 September 1911 from Hendon to Windsor

Gustav Hamel signing receipt for mail, Hendon
The aviator Gustav Hamel in the cockpit of his aeroplane, signing the official receipt for the mail, just before setting out from Hendon Aerodrome to Windsor on the very first airmail flight

46 Royal Marines Commando Memorial Rots Normandy
Unusually this black marble memorial list the ages of the fallen. It commemorates the fighting in Rots and le Hamel of 11 June 1944

A German soldier at Beaumont Hamel in November 1916

Battle of the Ancre, Prisoners taken in Beaumont Hamel by the 51st Division, 13th November 1916

WW1 Battle of the Ancre - German prisoners taken in Beaumont Hamel by the 51st Division - 13th November 1916

Battle of Albert, British troops approaching German trenches at Beaumont Hamel, 1st july 1916

WW1 - Battle of Albert - Patrol crawling towards German trenches during the attack on Beaumont Hamel - 1st July 1916

Gustav Hamel at Cirencester

Gustav Hamel monoplane at Cirencester early 1900s

First air mail letter from Hendon to Windsor
First English air mail letter from Hendon to Windsor, a letter to be carries by air by Mr. Gustav Hamel. 9 September 1911

Aerial-Post Pilot and Staff Group Photo at Windsor Great?
Aerial-Post Pilot and Staff Group Photo at Windsor Great Park, UK Date: 1911

Lady Victoria Brady (nee Pery) (1893 - 1918), only daughter of the 4th Earl and Countess of Limerick. Lady Victoria was a keen aviator and made a number of flights with Gustav Hamel

Lady Victoria Pery, female aviation enthusiasat, WW1
A page of photographs of Lady Victoria Pery (later Brady), whose enthusiasm for aviation saw her loop the loop with Gustav Hamel at Hendon aerodrome and accompany Mr Grahame-White on flights

British mine exploding at Beaumont Hamel, France, WW1. 1914-1918

Gustave Hamel / V Fair 12
GUSTAVE HAMEL Aviator Date: 1888 - 1914

British and German infantry disputing possession of a trench
Between 2 barrages : British and German infantry disputing possession of a trench above Beaumont Hamel, supported by their respective artilleries - 13th November 1916. (ILN 13/1/17)

Picking up 15 inch shells from a concealed magazine
An official photograph depicting the British and French great offensive on the Western Front. It shows some of the 15 inch shells used in the British bombardment of the German position at Beaumont

Gustav Hamel in flight

Britains first aerial mail arrives at Windsor. The Postmaster of Windsor hands letters to a postman for delivery. Gustav Hamel, who brought the mail from Hendon

Lord and Lady Desborough at the London aerodrome dedicating a Ble

Gustav W Hamel and Miss Trehawke Davies
Gustav W. Hamel and Miss Trehawke Davies

Gustav W Hamel refuelling his aircraft
Gustav W. Hamel refuelling his aircraft before a race at Shoreham

Gustav W Hamel sitting in a Morane-Saulnier
Gustav W. Hamel sitting in a Morane-Saulnier

Gustav W Hamel - the first aerial postman
Gustav W. Hamel. A photo labelled the first aerial postman

Gustav W Hamel
Gustav W. Hamel

Gustav W Hamel at Brooklands in 1912
Gustav W. Hamel at Brooklands in 1912. Date: 1912

Gustav W Hamel sitting in a cockpit Christmas 1913
Gustav W. Hamel sitting in a cockpit. Christmas 1913. Date: 1913

Beaumont-Hamel - Newfoundland Memorial
The building of a log cabin at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial - a memorial site dedicated to the commemoration of Dominion of Newfoundland forces members killed during World War I

Australian artillery near Hamel, France, WW1
Australian artillery near Hamel, northern France, during the First World War. Date: 9 August 1918

Rene Paul Fonck, French aviator, firing a gun
Rene Paul Fonck (1894-1953), French aviator during the First World War, known as the all-time Allied Ace of Aces. Seen here in a field between Le Hamel and Le Mesnil, Oise, Northern France

Gustav Hamel leaving Hendon for Windsor
The aviator Gustav Hamel leaving Hendon Aerodrome for Windsor on the very first airmail flight. The first aerial mail service took place on 9 September 1911 from Hendon to Windsor and back again

Hamel Wood 1918
Australian soldiers up near the front line at Hamel Wood on the Western Front in France during World War I in August 1918

Hawthorne Ridge 1916
A huge mine is exploded at Hawthorne Ridge, near Beaumont Hamel, signalling the start of the Battle of the Somme. The massive explosion alerted the German forces to the imminent British attack

A shell explodes 1916
A shell bursts amongst the barbed wire entanglements on the battlefield at Beaumont Hamel, a village ultimately taken by the British during the Battle of the Somme

Ernest Hamel / Gill
Ernest Hamel (1826-1898) lawyer, writer and historian relating especially to the French Revolution and the Empire - is the author of a monumental biography of Robespierre

Ancre Valley 1916
A panoramic view of the Ancre Valley, seen from near Hamel, looking towards Miramount

Hamel / Morane Saulnier
Gustav Hamel, British pioneer aviator, and his Morane Saulnier

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