Five Photos Five Stories – day two Bold Sir George

A reconstruction of Cayley’s 1804 glider in flight

The Ballad of Bold Sir George

1780
When bold Sir George was a little boy
He looked up in the sky
He told his parents, teachers, friends
He wanted to learn to fly.

‘Oh No, Oh No’, The wise men said,
With their wisdom quite profound,
‘Those who have tried, have ended up dead,
So keep your feet on the ground.’

Elmer the Monk once made a jump
From the Abbey in Malmesbury Town
His wings collapsed and he broke his leg
As he tumbled to the ground.

1804
Bold Sir George took his first machine
‘I have built it from a kite,
Across the field, for a score of yards
Watch it take its flight.’

‘Oh No, Oh No’, The wise men said,
‘That thing is but a toy
Nothing of any interest
Just a plaything for a boy.’

Abbot John had feather wings
And from Stirling Castle sprung
His wings came from a flightless bird
So he tumbled in the dung.

1820
Bold Sir George took his next machine
With wings near ten foot wide
‘For half a mile across the vale
Watch my beauty glide.’

‘Oh No, Oh No’, The wise men said,
‘T’would do for a county fair
To amuse the folk, but a learned man
Would find nothing of interest there.’

Wise Leonardo, years ago
Wanted to learn to fly.
But if even he could not succeed
Why should we bother to try?

1850
Bold Sir George took his last machine
Like a boat beneath a sail
A brave man held the tiller rod
This time he wouldn’t fail

‘Oh No, we were wrong,’ the wise men said,
As it rose into the sky.
On the Yorkshire Wolds long time ago
Man finally learnt to fly.

Remembering Elmer of Malmesbury, crashed about 1010, John Damian de Falcuis crashed at Stirling Castle in 1507, and Sir George Cayley (1773 – 1857) – who flew!