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THE JIM WALSH PRIZE
YOUNG HISTORY WRITERS’ COMPETITION
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The year 2004 saw the inauguration of the first Memorial to the RFC /
RNAS / RAF on the Western Front. To commemorate this event, Cross & Cockade International
(CCI), The Society of First World War Aviation Historians, is proud to announce a competition for young authors under the age of 25 years old. The aim of the competition is to encourage a new generation to research and write about early aviation.
CCI produce a highly respected quarterly Journal containing extensive and meticulously researched articles on a wide variety of early aviation subjects. However there still remains a great deal that is unknown about the period and many personal and unit histories yet to be written. A panel will judge the entries, under the chairmanship of CCI Executive Vice-President Paul
Leaman.
The winner of the Competition will receive the “Jim Walsh Prize” of £250 and a year’s free membership of the Society. A prize of £100 will be awarded to the runner up. To enter, you must produce an original piece of research on anything related to military aviation between 1909 and 1921, written in English, and of suitable length for publication in the CCI Journal. Possible subjects for research might include, but are not limited to:
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Biographical
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Perhaps an airman from your town?
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Technical
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A description of an aircraft type, armament or equipment and how it was designed, constructed and
used
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Unit history
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This could include heavier and lighter-than-air, searchlight and anti-aircraft, air-sea rescue, or medical services from any
combattant nation
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A campaign
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Examples might be the Royal Flying Corps contribution to the Battle of the
Somme, or German Air Services attacks on London, and the effect on the civilian
population
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Aircraft colour schemes and markings
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Some foreign units were very colourful!
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REMEMBER THAT ANTI-AIRCRAFT DEVICES, BALLOONS, AIRSHIPS AND THE PERSONNEL WHO USED THEM ARE ALL
RELEVANT
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RULES
- Entrants must be under the age of 25 on 1 January 2007
- You must include a full reference list of all documents consulted and a bibliography (if
relevant)
- If in doubt about the suitability of your chosen subject, consult either Paul Leaman or George Miller
+44 (0)1380 860190 or georgemillerbath@hotmail.com
- Entries should be sent to Paul Leaman, Vice President CCI, Cragg Cottage, The
Cragg, Bramham, Wetherby, LS23 6QB. Envelopes should be marked “Young Writers
Competition”
- The closing date, by which all entries must have been delivered to Paul
Leaman, is 31st December 2007
- All entries will become the property of CCI. If the material is to be returned, a
stamped addressed envelope must accompany the entry
- CCI will have the right, but not the obligation, to publish any entries submitted in a future issue of the Journal, with full credit given to the
author
- A panel, chaired by the Executive Vice President of CCI, will decide the winning entry. The author will receive a cheque for £250 and a year’s subscription to the Society. The runner up will receive a cheque for £100
- If it is judged that no entry is of sufficient merit, no prize will be awarded. In all circumstances, the Vice President’s decision is final, and no correspondence about the decision will be entered
into
A NOTE OF GUIDANCE AND CAUTION
- This type of research is not suitable to being done solely through the Internet. As good as the Internet is, there is a lot of misleading information - much poorly researched. It is recommended that entrants should consult original documents held at either national or local record offices. By all means use the Internet to contact people and ask questions, but always check the answers.
- Published books are not necessarily more accurate - particularly those written during or shortly after World War 1. However a great deal of material has been published over recent years, and original documents can be readily accessed at the National Archive, as well as personal records held by the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Imperial War Museum, Leeds University Library, and the Royal Air Force Museum. Some further helpful sources could be:
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Cross & Cockade (USA)
Australian Society of World War One Aero Historians
Over The Front
Windsock
World War One
Aero
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Duplication of an existing subject should be avoided unless you have new research that broadens the knowledge of the subject.
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