page_title: Francis Stewart Briggs
section_title: Inter-War Years
hierarchical_section_title: Francis Stewart Briggs / Inter-War Years
caption_attribution_description: English: Francis Stewart Briggs (left inset) and Clement John de Garis (right inset) in front of their Boulton and Paul P9 aircraft, July 1920
context_page_description: Francis Stewart Briggs was a pioneering Australian aviator. Frank Briggs learnt to fly with the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. During the Peace Conference in 1919 he flew delegates between London and Paris and was the personal pilot of Australia's Prime Minister, Billy Hughes. On return to Australia, Briggs flew with C.J. De Garis and in 1922 joined "Jimmy" Larkin's "Australian Aerial Services" company, headquartered at Hay, New South Wales. Frank Briggs married Miriam Carter in Hay on 3 August 1926. Later he joined the Shell oil company, taking charge of a new aviation department in Perth.
context_section_description: On 26 February 1920 Briggs was back in Adelaide, considering his future. Billy Hughes had invited Briggs to return to Australia with a view to joining the Australian Flying Corps, but as Briggs wrote "everything concerning our Air Force is most unsettled". Commercial aviation seemed to Briggs the better option, but at this time commercial aviation was little more than a range of possibilities.
  In March Briggs was in Melbourne. Two or three small companies and a few individuals there were offering joy-rides, but in Briggs' view the local outlook was not promising. While joy-riding kept the public "air-minded" it risked alienating the public because fares were very high even for short flights. "Something's got to be done to get civvy flying on its feet. But what is that something?... Wish I knew how !" Briggs wrote.
  In May Briggs was back in Adelaide, still wondering and waiting. The position seemed very bleak to him.
  On 26 June Briggs read in his newspaper about C. J. De Garis who was visiting Adelaide on business. The paper stated that he intended to use a plane to save time, as he had to travel between centres hundreds of miles apart. Briggs called on de Garis at the Grand Central Hotel. Within a few minutes of them meeting, de Garis told Briggs he was just the chap he was looking for. Mr de Garis promised to advise Briggs whether the job was his soon after he arrived in Melbourne. He left for Melbourne by train that afternoon. Two days later Briggs heard that the job was his, and was on the train to Melbourne the same day. Mr de Garis had already bought a machine, a Boulton and Paul 90 h.p. RAF V8, and Briggs felt his first task was to persuade Mr de Garis to replace this with a DH4. In test flights at Glenroy on 3 July Briggs viewed the Boulton and Paul as "a nice little machine with a fair turn of speed", but not rugged enough for the work ahead.
  On 6 July Briggs made his first trip to Sydney, with de Garis as passenger. They flew from Mildura (de Garis' base) and reached Goulburn at dusk. Briggs had promised de Garis that he would be in Sydney that night so they pressed on for the aerodrome at Mascot, which would have flares out for a night landing. When they reached Picton Briggs saw what looked like a jewelled shawl ahead – Sydney. The relief of sighting Sydney was soon followed by the anxiety of not locating Mascot aerodrome. The staff at the aerodrome must have headed home for belated dinners, thinking that Briggs was not coming. Briggs had no knowledge of Sydney, they had half an hour's fuel left, it was dark and they were in a machine not fitted for night flying. Briggs had not seen an instrument for the last hour and a half, he was flying entirely by horizon, formed by lights on the ground. A plan started to develop in his mind to land in the water near one of the lighted jetties. Suddenly he spotted what appeared to be an open field with a pool of water in the middle of it. The water reflected the lights from an elevated railway station nearby. He throttled back and manoeuvred to land on one side. The reflection of the lights in the water helped reveal the ground level. Two or three blurred objects flitted past the undercarriage, then they were down, with a slight bump. A man with a lantern came running over. "Where are we?" de Garis asked. "Canterbury Racecourse" was the answer. The next day Briggs, with de Garis, flew the aircraft to Mascot.
  Two days later Briggs and de Garis left Sydney for Melbourne, hoping to be the first to make this journey in one day. They succeeded, in a flying time of 6 hours 30 minutes, with one stop at Cootamundra to refuel. As they approached Glenroy one of the engine cylinders blew off and they had to land in a field about two miles from the aerodrome. A rock outcrop concealed by the long grass caught the centre of the axle and the aircraft gently turned over. There was only slight damage to the aircraft. Rather than be delayed by the necessary repairs, de Garis (on 12 July) bought a Sopwith Gnu (from the Larkin-Sopwith Aviation Company), so that they could continue flying on 1
caption: Francis Stewart Briggs (left inset) and Clement John de Garis (right inset) in front of their Boulton and Paul P9 aircraft, July 1920
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