Plane Story is True

No Legend – Plane Story is True

The only name I ever heard mentioned locally as the inventor of a powered aircraft was that of my uncle, Jimmy Duddy, who lived in Merry’s Rows.

His name wasn’t and won’t be recorded in history, but to asume his invention was a failure is erroneous.

Machinery with all its intricacies dominated his life. He had installed machinery, including a large lathe, in his den, the back room. He was the standby for the repair of the equipment at the towns first cinema, (This was the Blantyre Electric Cinema, nicknamed,”The Fleapit” where silent films were shown. Above the Livingstonian Pub) at Forrest Street.

Motorbikes, in their infancy then, created problems for their owners. He was sought out to rectify the trouble.

His mini ‘plane soaring over the rooftops was a common sight. He contacted the Patents office about this machine.

He died a sudden and tragic death when he was 42 years old. A “Shanker” at Merry & Cunningham’s pit. He was called out on Fair Saturday to do an emergency repair. While thus engaged, he fell to his death down the shank. That was in 1913.

A daughter still living in the town vividly recalls the horrific events of that fateful morning. She was nine years of age then.

Mrs E. Perry
19 Hazelwood Drive,
Blantyre

Source: Hamilton Advertiser

U.A.V. (Unmanned Aerial vehicle)

During World War I, the first UAVs took flight in the U.S. Though the success of UAVs in test flights was erratic, the military recognized their potential in combat. Armistice arrived before the prototype UAVs could be deployed in earnest.

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