New Britain herald., 1929-12-20
PRINCE PESTERED
 BY MOLLYC0DDLES
Wales FleeS TiInid Souls and
 Takes Up Aviation

London. Dec. 20 The molly coddlers of England again are be- ginning 10 get on the nerves of the Prince of Wales. The plain truth is that they make him "cdgy." Under their misguided zeal for his safety and well-beng, they are always try ing 10 butt in and prevent him from having those rather ordinary plea surcs which any manly, high-Struns person Of 35 likes to have.
 Sometime ago they were in great fear because Of his hard riding iu fox hunts and point-to- point racing. Now they are in equally great fear because Of the frequency with which lie travels in airplanos.
 ID to the time Of his royal Ia- thcr's serious illness, which began about a year ago, the prince was a prominent member of the Melton MoWbray hunting crowd. He also took frequent and active part in the point-to-pont hurdle races gotten mp by regimcntal organizations. His frequent falls became a subject for jest upon the part Of some, Of fear on the part of others.
 Wales Is No Quittcr
 All of them figure that where q man, day by day. is putting his horse over high fences and hurdles, even the best horse piloted by inc best rider sometime will slip and fall. And serious injuries from these spills are by no means rare. If the prince had been an ordinary rich young man. there would have been no publicity about his spills But what the writers failed to empha- size was his pluck. Other ardent ri- ders. who had dangerous falls and had shoulders dislocated. lost their nerve and quit. But the prince went right on.
 Then the molIycoddlers got in their work. Their themes was that the heir to the throne had no right to risk his life. The matter was echoed in Parliament. One day the fhen Tory Prime Minister stanley Baldwin. for whom the prince has high regard. had q quiet chat with him in which he told the heir to the throne the feeling of many people about this riding business
 The prince thought it over ana when he came home from Africa III his celebrated dash to be at the sckbed of his father, it was gwen out that he was disposlng ot III" Melton Mowbray horses. The reason
 
 over a large number of ottlclal du- ties of the king, he no longer hau the time for racing and hui'l' The mollycoddlers breathed sign Of relief.
 But now they are all up in arms again. For the prince has taken 10 travelling by airplane and even learn ing to handle the controls. His ilrSt experience with flying machines was when he stayed at the British front in France and made trips with some of the British airmen. Apparently lie forgot all about the air until couple Of years ago when ne bought & Westland Wapiti and made an occasional flight piioted by Squadron Leader Don.
 But Wales only took to the air in earnest after his fathers illness With his many engagements 1t De- came irksomc to him to have 10 take trains to travel 300 or 400 miles. Even while travelling in private car, he was stared at as II he were a goldfish in glass bowl.
 So he flew to Bognor where his father was convalescing. Later, Tn rather bunny and stormy weather, he flew to Birkenhead to attend the Boy Scouts Jamborce. The com fort, the privacy, the thrill of flying appealed to him.
 Bought His Own Plane
 Two months ago he bought a two- scatter Gypsy Moth plane with i speed of 90 miles an hour. He be- came a member of the Brigade of Guards Airplane club and the plane is painted in their colors, red and blue F. H. Fielden is now his pilot. The plane is fitted with all modern devices. IL has the slotted wings, which have increased the safety of flying.
 The prince always flies with q parachute. It is known that on q number of occasions. as the plane is fitted with duplicate controls. that he has taken over the manipulation Of the machine and has also prac- ticed starting and landing. But it is not believed the prince will apply for a pilots license.
 Several times the plane itself has figured in forced landings, but the prince was not in il. However, that was enough 10 start the mollycod- dlsr. The story circulated that inc prince was doing dangerous dying; that he had had some narrow escapes: that hc WIS flying in dan lrrous weather; that he Was doing a lot Of secret flying
 l;umors Are Exploded
 The answer to this came in d statement by his private secretary, Sir Godfrey Thomas, who charac- tcTized tho yarns about the princes se crct flying as absolute rubbish. He said the prince had given up flying in bad and foggy weather; had revcr flown alone; had not q pilots certificate and, therefore, could not 20 mp alone. He added that when the prince did fly, he did so in the or dinary way and without any attempt at secrecy.
 Tho chances are that the plaints Of tho timid public will fall upon deaf cars when the approach the present premier Ramsay MacDon- aid. For the facts are that he is just as enthusiastic about flying as is the prince. Macdonald has found it very useful 10 be able to fly 10 keep ap- pointments and has used machines Of the Royal Air Force. So much so. that some Of the Tories raised the isGnn n lrliprr4.ft l1s4