AN APOSTLE OF EMPIRE

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 49, 22 November 1926, Page 15

AN APOSTLE OF EMPIRE

COBHAM WILL “NEVER GIVE UP FLYING.”

At a luncheon given by the Air Coun oil to Mr. Alan Cobham at the Carlton Hotel, W., it was announced by Sir Samuql Hoare, the Air Minister, that the King had conferred a kngihthood ot the Order of the British Empire upon the airman, nnd the Air Force Medal on Sergeant Ward, and the M.B.H, on Mr. Capel. . - Sir Samuel Hoare, in proposing the toast of Mr Cobham, said that the Air Council realised that the flight to Australia ami back might bo of great moment in the future history of flying They should aim at bringing London within a fortnight of every capital in the Empire. There was no technical reason ’vhv that should not be achieved Mr 1, S. Amerv described Mi. (oilboni ns “an apostle of Fmnire development.” Only those who had to do with arranging an Imperial Conference knew how difficult it was to get loading men of the Empire to meet together even once in a few veers. Anything thn could achieve the ideal of n fortnight between the capitals of tlho L'npire would nrofoundlv affect the character of our relations and make many things r-etibla which “"nncd vt nary to-day.

Sir Alan Cobham, in the course of his reply, said that what we had to do now was to get down to the regular air route. There ,was much talk as to whether air lines paid. Bailway lines were laid down as a means of opening up a country, and air.lines should bo used in the same wav instead of as a commercial proposition A man is never too old to fly,” ho concluded “and I will never give up flying until I am too old to crawl into a machine.