“SMITHY'S” SECRET

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18255, 25 November 1933, Page 11

“SMITHY'S” SECRET

KEPT UNTIL HE SUCCEEDED CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING LONDON, Oct. 13. “I can now reveal, writes a Daily Mail special representative, “the cause of the ‘nervous attacks,’ sickness, and fainting tits that all but caused the [failure of Air Commodore Sir Charles -Kingsford Smith’s record-breaking flight from England to Australia. “He told me his secret the day before he left England on his seven-day dash to Wyndhum, Western Australia. But lie asked me to say nothing about it until be reached Australia. “1 have two good reasons for wanting to keep it dark,” he said. “(hie because it would cause unnecessary worry to all concerned in the flight. Two, it would look as though I were making excuses if I failed.” The cause of the nightmare conditions in which lie achieved Bis record-breaking flight so graphically described in bis log was carbon monoxide poisoning. “GHASTLY REACTIONS” “I know .1 uni not a lit man,” the Australian airman said to me at Heston. “I know that the 10,000 miles ahead of me may be fraught- with all those ghastlv reactions that spoiled my record attempt from Australia to England two years ago. “! shall probably suffer from giddiness, sickness, fainting "fits and general nausea. “But I urn going on with it. “And all the time I shall know that if 1 am stricken down it will he due to something entirely beyond my control, ft will he clue to carbon monoxide poisoniug- . . “I have been suffering from it tor two years now.

“Here is how I found out. You remember when I was trying to get here h'om Australia in record time m October, 1931.

“Well, I had to give, up the fast work at Aleppo. I thought. 1 had sunstroke. “I. had those awful ‘air nerves,’ sickness and fainting fits, and flying over water terrified me—me, who have flown the Atlantic and the Pacific.

“When 1 arrived in England I was examined for nerves and for heart trouble. “I was told that I was suffering from nervous exhaustion —that I should not ho able to fly for some time. “So I returned to Australia by boat. “HOW I HATED IT!” “How I hated it! But they were light. I was not fit to fly. “Well, somehow 1 felt that there must be something more definitely wrong with me than nervous exhaustion. "I fretted about this on hoard the boat, ami when 1 reached home I saw !!•(-) best, medical men T could find and told them of mv belief. •I*■ • i • •.(•• a definite physical reason tor "''Vh.od test revealed that I urns .. ; c.,,1! .. . I 'fi ni'lliC ,11l- poiSOllUH>,. "I v-c- t-.'.' that it would Im. two to :G, ~ v.. . .co ■ I • c’J get it out of •1 1 ~ 'Vnl’ r two veers ago now. I know 1 am not O.K. vet.” Kiiorfic!.! o'.'iibV"' words were borne |C|* a il.iir I In Ihe b'rto!'. Throughout the flight he was subject I.- cue-! nervous attacks, sickness, and I'-.inting. Only sal volatile kept him going.