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Auction: 19015 - The Philatelic Collectors' Series Sale
Lot: 2105

(x) South Africa
1927 (1 Sept.) Capt. Bentley London-Cape Town Solo Flight
1927 (1 Sept.) envelope handed to Bentley at Broken Hill, Rhodesia for onward transmission to Sea Point, marked "Carried by Capt. R. Bentley from Broken Hill to Cape Town on his aeroplane "Dorys" during the London-Cape Town Flight", upon arrival bearing Ship 1d. with Cape Town machine datestamp and signed "R R Bentley" at lower left. Wyndham and Burrell record this as the only item of mail carried by Bentley on this pioneering flight. Photo

Note: This flight was sponsored by the "Star" newspaper. Bentley took unpaid leave to fly his Star Moth "Dorys" which left Stag Lane on 1 September. He reached Cairo on 11 September although subsequent engine trouble in the Sudan and Kenya delayed his arrival over South African soil. After a reception in Johannesburg he competed his journey to Cape Town on 26 September. His flight was regarded as the most meritorious performance in the air during 1927 and Bentley was awarded the Britannica Challenge Trophy. Capt. Bentley passed away in 1990 at the age of 92

provenance:
Jeidel, June 1988

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Sold for
£950