'Tabloid' first aid kit used on Alcock and Brown's first transatlantic non-stop flight
Tabloid first aid kit used by Alcock and Brown, on their first transatlantic non-stop flight, by Burroughs Wellcome and Co., 1919
This first aid kit was used on the first non-stop transatlantic flight on 14-15 June 1919 by Sir Arthur Whitten Brown (1886-1948) and Sir John William Alcock (1892-1919). Alcock and Brown completed the treacherous crossing in 16 hours 27 minutes. The flight was a matter of national prestige. The men shared the £10,000 prize from the Daily Mail, which had been set up to encourage British aviation.
The kit contained bandages, dressings, cotton wool, court plaster, and drugs for pain relief, upset stomachs and nausea, and antiseptics. It also contained carron oil made from linseed oil and lime water for burns and scalds, which were among the most likely injuries on an aircraft full of hot metal; in fact the tube is half empty.
Details
- Category:
- Materia Medica & Pharmacology
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A700023
- Measurements:
-
overall: 50 mm x 192 mm x 110 mm, 0.69 kg
- type:
- first aid kit
- credit:
- On loan from the Wellcome Trust