At dusk on 4 October 1930, His Majesty’s Airship R 101 slipped from its mooring at Cardington with 54 men on board, flew a circuit of Bedford and headed south en route to India.
A few hours later, it crashed near Beauvais in France. 48 men died, and for those who’d built her and for the families at home, it was the end of the world as they knew it. 95 years later, there are still many unanswered questions.
To commemorate the 95th anniversary and address some of the questions, ‘Seizing the Skies’ is a new drama performed by Bedford Drama Company, written by Bedfordians Richard Moon and Oscar Aleman.
The show aims to convey the essence of the story, highlighting the impact of the tragedy on the people involved and honouring the memory of those who died.
Asked what drew him to the story, Richard told the Bedford Clanger, “I’ve always had a general interest in local history, so I was aware of the R 101 and the basics of the story. Oscar and I immersed ourselves in the fascinating story and discovered the scandal at the heart of the tragedy.”
The pair spent many hours at Bedford Library, made visits to the museum at St Mary’s Cardington, and to the Airships Trust archive, realising that this was a story that needed to be told.
“Unlike the Titanic, outside of Bedfordshire, very few people have heard of the R101, but at the time, the crash was huge news,” said Richard.
The pair, alongside the team at Bedford Drama Company, are hoping to change that narrative and shine a spotlight on a part of Bedford’s engineering and innovation heritage that has been forgotten.
Seizing the Skies will be performed at The Place Theatre, Bradgate Road on Tuesday, 14 – Saturday, 18 October at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £16 and can be purchased from the theatre website theplacebedford.org.uk
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