Piece of fabric from Vickers Vimy in presentational case

Piece of white fabric from Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy aeroplane laminated in perspex in wooden frame, presented to Manchester Airport by Aer Lingus..

John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown became the first people to fly non-stop across the Atlantic when they landed in Derrygimla bog near Clifden in Ireland on 15th June 1919. They had been in the air for 16 hours and 28 minutes, taking off from St John's, Newfoundland on 14th June 1919. Alcock landed on what he thought was a nice flat field but the aircraft's wheels soon sank into the soft ground and the Vickers Vimy aircraft tipped up onto its nose with its tail in the air.

Alcock and Brown became celebrities almost overnight and the clamour for souvenirs and autographs was immense. The crashed aircraft had to be guarded against souvenir hunters who tried to remove small pieces as keepsakes.

This piece of fabric is from Alcock and Brown's Vickers Vimy aircraft. It was presented to Manchester Airport, Alcock and Brown's home city, by Aer Lingus.