Chamberlain's airline ticket sold

JDK · **Posted:** Sat Jan 23, 2010 6:49 am

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Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to meet Hitler at 8.30am on September 29th, 1938, on a British Airways flight. The following day, Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Daladier signed the Munich Agreement. Chamberlain’s plane ticket was recently discovered amongst the papers of George William Denny MBE, one of the founders of British Airways. It is due to be auctioned by Mullock’s in Ludlow, Shropshire, on January 19th and is expected to fetch up to £7,000. Further information is available on the website of Mullock's Auctioneers.

http://historytodaymagazine.blogspot.co ... -both.html

Mullock's said:

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This is possibly the only opportunity for collectors to acquire an item of memorabilia relating to that epic flight. Papers concerned with the Munich Treaty are naturally state papers and unavailable. This small piece of paper therefore remains in its way one of the most important items available to collectors of 20th Century history. Note: another part of this ticket was sold for 13,600 pounds at Christie's London in 1992

http://www.mullocksauctions.co.uk/Catal ... p?ID=43615

From History Today's post of 21st January;

Quote:

The final selling price was considerably higher than expected. The ticket sold for £9,280. [US$15,000] Richard Westwood-Brookes from Mullock’s Auctioneers was unable to tell me the name of the buyer, but confirmed this morning that he was a private individual. It is also believed that the British buyer purchased the ticket with the view to donating it to a British museum.

http://historytodaymagazine.blogspot.co ... et-to.html

Merlin540 · **Joined:** Sat Jul 18, 2009 11:50 am **Posts:** 77

Very historic item!
Too bad it wasn't a one-way ticket for Neville 'peace in our time' Chamberlain, though.

Holedigger · **Posted:** Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:13 am

That was one very, VERY costly ticket, and that scrap of paper wasn't too cheep either! This IS what happens when politicians think they can just talk things out or threaten with mere sanctions. Without a strong threat to back up your words of platitude, an enemy may think you don't have the spine to stand up and DO anything, and therefore he has tacitly been given a green light to do whatever he wants to do. Hitler thought that, Tojo thought that, Saddam thought that!

PeterA · **Posted:** Sat Jan 23, 2010 11:17 am

"Herr Hitler has said - Peace...
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...off."

JDK · **Posted:** Sat Jan 23, 2010 7:27 pm

It's an interesting item.

On the history front, while France and Britain had to some degree been overawed by some smart PR by Hitler and Goering, on the other hand Chamberlain and Daladier knew very well neither country was ready for war in 1938 (France still wasn't in May 1940) so for whatever reasons, Chamberlain did have to buy time.

In the words of another politician there was no alternative.

The Inspector · **Posted:** Sat Jan 23, 2010 7:56 pm

That's messed up! The Prime minister of England had to BUY an airline ticket to attend a political summit!!!???!!! BOAC couldn't lay on a special flight for him? It is an interesting piece of history, and I agree completely with Merlin540 and Holediggers assessment of the Chamberlin situation.

Sadam was just 'sticking his hand into the tigers cage' to impress his stronger neighbors and to tweek the U.S.'s nose, and some of us fell for it completely-just like the WMD's he 'had' horsepucky.

JDK · **Posted:** Sat Jan 23, 2010 8:50 pm

The Inspector wrote:

That's messed up! The Prime minister of England had to BUY an airline ticket to attend a political summit!!!???!!!

Who says he paid anything?

It is historically interesting in aviation history as one of the first examples of (aviation) shuttle diplomacy.

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BOAC couldn't lay on a special flight for him?

It was a charter laid on for him by British Airways. The national carrier at the time was Imperial Airways, and BOAC came into existence in 1939 - a year later. Otherwise you are 100% there.

Quote:

It is an interesting piece of history, and I agree completely with Merlin540 and Holediggers assessment of the Chamberlain situation.

We can all agree, but it doesn't make it a good assessment. It's fair comment for the principle of appeasement in general. It's not accurate as to the options available to Chamberlain at Munich.

On a lighter note, 'Nobby' on Plane Talk pointed out this funny sketch by John Cleese and Peter Cook.

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Have you ever seen that skit starring John Cleese, dressed as Chamberlain,and being directed by Peter Cook, and waving a piece of paper, but needing about ten takes to get the "I have a pice of paper" right and in the end throws it away?

http://crackle.com/c/Funny/John_Cleese_ ... an/1494900

On'y the Brits could have done this, I'm still laughing!

Regards,

JohnH · **Posted:** Sun Jan 24, 2010 8:29 am

Yep and about 50 million+ people sure were about to get eternal peace in their time and before their time .

rreis · **Joined:** Tue Aug 04, 2009 4:42 pm **Posts:** 441

JDK wrote:

on the other hand Chamberlain and Daladier knew very well neither country was ready for war in 1938 (France still wasn't in May 1940) so for whatever reasons, Chamberlain did have to buy time.

hmmm... my perception was that neither the UK or France were ready for the perception they had of the German army. Am I wrong?

Merlin540 · **Joined:** Sat Jul 18, 2009 11:50 am **Posts:** 77

..............................

On a lighter note, 'Nobby' on Plane Talk pointed out this funny sketch by John Cleese and Peter Cook.

Quote:

Have you ever seen that skit starring John Cleese, dressed as Chamberlain,and being directed by Peter Cook, and waving a piece of paper, but needing about ten takes to get the "I have a pice of paper" right and in the end throws it away?

http://crackle.com/c/Funny/John_Cleese_ ... an/1494900

On'y the Brits could have done this, I'm still laughing!

Regards,[/quote]

Thanks! I almost spit my coffee all over the monitor screen- I was laughing so hard!
Gotta love that dry humor...

JDK · **Posted:** Sun Jan 24, 2010 6:09 pm

rreis wrote:

JDK wrote:

on the other hand Chamberlain and Daladier knew very well neither country was ready for war in 1938 (France still wasn't in May 1940) so for whatever reasons, Chamberlain did have to buy time.

hmmm... my perception was that neither the UK or France were ready for the perception they had of the German army. Am I wrong?

Yes, see my post - No.5: "while France and Britain had to some degree been overawed by some smart PR by Hitler and Goering, on the other hand Chamberlain and Daladier knew very well neither country was ready for war in 1938 (France still wasn't in May 1940) so for whatever reasons, Chamberlain did have to buy time."
In other words, Britain and France couldn't go to war - they didn't have the equipment. They were certainly over-awed by Germany's propaganda of the German forces, which were certainly overstated. Most assessments say that the German forces weren't ready for more than the equivalent of the invasion of a smaller neighbouring state - most of what they had wouldn't seriously threaten Britain (outmatched by the RN) but we tend to forget that no one had heard of or believed in 'Blizkrieg' in '38, as it hadn't happened yet.

So whatever the real or perceived strength of the German forces, Britain and France had no "big stick" to back up their "speaking softy" at Munich. (And while the USN's air arm was the best in the world in '38-9, the rest of the US forces were in a parlously poor state. No better options there, even without the political tone.)

By delaying the war a year, it's possible it became a world war that it mightn't have otherwise (unlikely, see Italy and Japan) but they certainly entered a war in 1939 they had a better chance of winning. But that's a lot of "what ifs."

Regards,

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Chamberlain's airline ticket sold

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