Reminder of early aviation hangs in new air gateway
By Gillian Wylie
(From The Orcadian dated May 16, 2002)

Click here for further details of Mr Miller's painting

If you could capture Orkney’s early aviation history in one image, this must be it.

Unveiled on Tuesday at Kirkwall Airport was a painting by artist Edmund Miller, harking back to a bygone era of biplanes and flight pioneer Captain Ted Fresson.

Taking pride of place in the departure lounge of Kirkwall’s new departure lounge, the painting – entitled “Air Road to the Isles”, after a book written by Captain Ted Fresson himself - depicts Orkney’s first airfield at Wideford during its heyday in the mid thirties.

The painting is one of nine historical pictures produced by Mr Edmund Miller – an aeronautical engineer with aircraft manufacturers De Havilland for 34 years – who first developed his painting skills through a company painting club. Miller is a longstanding member, and former chairman, of the Guild of Aviation Artists.

Some of Mr Miller’s paintings grace the lounges of Gatwick, Sumburgh and Aberdeen Airports, and the Glasgow Transport Museum. At Inverness Airport, hangs one of Mr Miller’s paintings commemorating Captain Fresson’s activities at the original Inverness Longman airport in 1934 – the other end of Highland Airway’s enterprising business.

“Along with Peter Clegg of the Fresson Trust, I had always wanted to produce a picture of the early activities in Orkney at Wideford Airfield. But there was no suitable place locally to hang a painting,” said Mr Miller. “Now the new terminal building provides an ideal location.”

Mr Miller, who lives at Hatfield in Hertfordshire, brings with him a wealth of knowledge about air travel’s pioneering years.

“Fresson operated out of Inverness and Aberdeen,” he explained.

But, he added, aviation was a cut-throat business in those days, and competition between Highland Airways and Aberdeen Airways – headed by Eric Gandar-Dower – was fierce.

“After a year or two they decided that they shouldn’t have two separate airlines operating out of the same airport. Generally speaking they didn’t use each other’s airfields if there was no radio installed.”

In Kirkwall, he said, there was no such luxury: “There was no radio and no weather forecasts, so they flew on the “seat of their pants”. In Inverness, they would bus the passengers out by train, take a fiver off them, put them on the bathroom scales and then the pilot would phone the manager of a hotel in Wick to see what the weather was like. They might get the reply “Oh you’ve flown in worse!”

Nevertheless, he added, it was a very reliable service.

The painting of Wideford, commissioned by the Fresson Trust, was unveiled by Norma Marwick, wife of Orkney’s Lord Lieutenant George Marwick. Mrs Marwick has a background in aviation having worked with Caledonian Airways, Caledonia BUA and British Caledonia.

She said she thought the new Kirkwall Airport was the prettiest in the world: “I was delighted when Bob asked me to do this. Aviation has been such a part of my life. It’s a great pleasure to be here.”

Bob Macleod, managing director of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd, added: “The unveiling once again marks the enormous contribution Ted Fresson made to aviation in the Highlands and Islands. His vision and determination founded many of the air links which continue to serve the community today. This painting is a welcome addition to excellent “gateway” elements of the terminal, so ably completed by local designer Sheila Scott and which have won a host of plaudits from residents and visitors. It’s our final seal on our gateway to Orkney.”