The Windsor Connection
While the 19th century saw mail taken to the skies by hot air balloons, gliders, and even pigeons, this is the story of the birth of modern airmail—delivered by powered aircraft—and Windsor plays its part.
The World’s First Known Airmail Flight
In 1909, Fred Wiseman (1875 – 1961) gave up his auto racing career and his job in San Francisco and moved to Windsor, California, to focus on flying. He and his friend John Peters then built a biplane from scratch. It first flew in May 1910 and was the first aeroplane built in California. Wiseman and race car driver MW Peters funded it with their race winnings, and his childhood friend, butcher Ben Noonan from Santa Rosa, provided the rest of the funds.
During the next six months, the pair improved their flying skills (especially take-offs and landings) and the airplane, then called the Wiseman-Peters. The plane was disassembled and relocated twenty-six miles to Petaluma’s Kenilworth Park. Once reassembled, the plan was that Wiseman could return triumphantly by air to his birthplace, Santa Rosa.
On Friday, 17th February 1911, Wiseman flew his aircraft for the fifteen miles from Petaluma to Santa Rosa. He carried three-stamped letters, thus making it sanctioned by the US Postal Service:
- One from the mayor of Petaluma to his Santa Rosa counterpart.
- One from JE Tripp to HL Oldsted, the US Postmaster of each town.
- One from GP McNear to JP Overton, both prominent local business people.
He also transported a bag of groceries, which included coffee beans, as well as fifty copies of the local newspaper, The Press Democrat.
Flying at just over 100 feet and approximately 70 mph, to say the 16-minute flight was slightly problematic is an understatement: Four miles into the flight, a magneto issue forced the plane to land at Denman Flat, narrowly missing a windmill and damaging the undercarriage, which required overnight repairs. When it took off the next day, a loose brace wire caught in the propeller, stopping it, forcing another emergency landing at Enz Dairy just outside the Santa Rosa city limits
Wiseman stepped from his plane to a growing and cheering crowd. His friend Noonan came by car to retrieve him and his precious cargo. Postmaster Tripp received the historic “airmail” letters at the Santa Rosa Post Office, and we surmise, Wiseman headed to the fairground to celebrate with the waiting crowd.
The Wiseman-Cooke plane; source: National Postal Museum, US; NPM-1992-6604-3a and 3b.
After barnstorming, Wiseman retired from flying in 1912; he saw “no future in it” due to the inherent dangers. He sold his second plane to Weldon B Cooke, who died in a 1914 crash. In 1933, Weldon’s brother loaned the plane for display at Oakland Airport. In 1948, it was severely damaged and acquired by the Smithsonian Institute. Restored in the 1980s, it is now on display at the National Postal Museum in Washington, DC.
Wiseman later became an executive of Standard Oil Co. (now called Chevron). He died on October 4, 1961. There is a memorial dedicated to him and a park named after him in Petaluma. A model of the plane at three-quarter scale is in the Museum of Sonoma County.
The World’s First Official Airmail Flight
On Saturday, 18th February 1911, the first official airmail flight was made in India when Henri Péquet (1888 – 1974) flew 6,500 franked letters and cards eight miles from the Allahabad polo field, over the Yamuna River, to Naini. The 23-year-old was flying a Humber-Sommer biplane. He was in India, flying demonstration flights for the United Provinces Exhibition in Allahabad.
So, what is the Windsor connection? Well, the organiser of this flight, Commander Sir Walter Windham (1868 – 1942), was also the organiser of the Windsor/Hendon Airmail Service later in the same year. He was described by The Times as “a guiding genius behind British aviation”. In 1909, he conceived the idea of using planes for airmail when he sent a single letter from France to England, which is believed to be the first transported by airplane.
In 1908, Windham founded the Aeroplane Club of Great Britain and Ireland. He offered a gold cup to the first pilot who could fly across the English Channel, ultimately won by Frenchman Louis Blériot in 1909 (and the £1,000 prize from the Daily Mail). Both Windham and Blériot are seen above.
The World’s First Airmail Service
On Saturday, 9th September 1911, the first official regularly scheduled Airmail Service was inaugurated. It was sanctioned by the Postmaster General. A mailbag weighing 23½ lbs containing 300 – 400 letters and 800 commemorative postcards was flown from Hendon Aerodrome to Windsor in just 18 minutes. It was the first of 16 scheduled deliveries as part of the celebrations for King George V’s coronation; it delivered over 100,000 items.
The pilot was Gustav Hamel (1883 – 1914), flying a 1910 Bleriot XI monoplane which landed close to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, in Windsor Great Park. It was powered by fuel from Shell. He was late, arriving at 5.13 pm, due to inclement weather and overshot the landing area at the East Terrace of Windsor Castle. Three other pilots – Driver, Greswell and Hubert – were due to fly with him, but due to the weather, they did not fly that day.
A messenger boy, Harry Hessey, got on his bike and rode off to meet the plane half a mile away. He returned with the pilot and the bag, handing over the first letter to Mr Alfred AT A’Vard, Postmaster of Windsor and resident of Clarence Road. It was sent to the Windsor Post Office, and by 5.33 pm was being sorted. By 6 pm, a special bag was sent by train to Balmoral for the King.
Ken Sutherland, May 2025
2011 Commemorative Stamps
On the centenary of the three pilots’ achievements, commemorative stamps were issued by their home countries marking their contribution to airmail, something we now take for granted.
Thanks
Many thanks to Steve Lehmann, President of Windsor Museum & Historical Society of Sonoma County, California, for his counsel and permission to use their materials. Their mission is to collect, preserve, and disseminate the history of Windsor and Russian River township through museum exhibits, historic sites, educational programs and printed materials. See more about Windsor, CA at the townofwindsor.ca.gov website.
References
“Windsor’s Fred Wiseman Delivers First Airmail”, published in Windsor Walk Q1 ,2011 by the Windsor Museum & Historical Society; available online at windsorhistory.org [accessed 12/05/2025].
“La Poste et l’Aéronautique, une longue histoire…(2ème partie – 1903 – 1914)” published by Les Ailes Historiques du Rhin – Le Bulletin (Année 2017, Automne); available online at aileshistoriquesdurhin.fr [accessed 12/05/2025].
“The First United Kingdom Air Mail Delivery” by Fred Fuzzens, published in Windlesora 10 by the Windsor Local History Group; available online at windsorlocalhistorygroup.org [accessed 12/05/2025].
“The Coronation Aerial Post” by Geoff Try, published in Windlesora 28 by the Windsor Local History Group; available online at /windsorlocalhistorygroup.org [accessed 12/05/2025].
“The First Aerial Post: Hendon to Windsor & Windsor to Hendon”, published on the Royal Windsor Website; available online at thamesweb.co.uk [accessed 12/05/2025].
“The Air Mail Connection”, published on the Smithsonian Collections Blog [accessed 13/5/2025].
Friends of Windsor Museum 