AIRMAN'S ORDEAL

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXX, Issue 4810, 18 February 1936, Page 2

AIRMAN'S ORDEAL

CRASH IN ABYSSINIA. Captain Charles Lloyd, who, with his wife, crashed in their aeroplane at a spot 50 miles from Addis Ababa, on Christmas Day, arrived by car recently at Addis Ababa. Mrs. Lloyd (says the Daily Telegraph) is suffering from slight contusions, but her husband is recovering from his injuries. "We were making an air tour from the Sudan to Addis Ababa," Captain Lloyd said, "and we were forced down by magneto trouble. "A group of natives ran up, bringing us water, and began to kiss my wife's feet. Then a crowd of Abyssinian soldiers appeared and surrounded our machine, shouting 'You are Italians.'

"Two policemen also came up and demanded our passports. We handed these over, saying 'We are Ingleze. 7 We were conducted to a hut and offered food and a straw bed, while the police telephoned to Addis Ababa. This necessitated runners going on a five-hour trek to the nearest telephone. "The smoke from the fire in the hut was stifling, but we were not allowed to go out.

"Next day a kindly American Jew explained' to us in Arabic that we could not be allowed to fly to Addis Ababa until permission arrived from the Emperor. This arrived on Christmas morning. We repaired the aeroplane and tried to take off, but the ground was very bumpy and we failed to rise.

The port engine cut out, and we crashed into an umbrella tree, the trunk of which pierced the cabin. I was knocked unconscious, and my wife was pinioned in the cabin. "Natives helped us out and rendered most efficient first aid. My wife wrote a letter to the British Legation. Then she fainted. "Thirty-six hours later we set out for Addis Ababa, myself on a mule and my wife on a stretcher carried by relays of natives, who had been summoned for the purpose by the big chiefs. The last stage of the journey was made by car. We have nothing but admiration and gratitude for the hospitality and kindness of the natives."