World's First Scheduled Aerial Post

The first flight of the Aerial Post took place on 9 September 1911 between Windsor and Hendon. Although it lasted less than a month, this was the world's first-ever regularly scheduled air mail service, established as part of the celebrations for the coronation of King George V. 

It was not the world’s first carriage of mail by air, however. As early as 1870 in the Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War, balloon mail was used at a rate of 20 centimes per letter. However, it was the Wright Brothers’ first heavier-than-air flight in 1903 that created the potential of a regular point-to-point air mail service.

This slideshow has been created to celebrate the use of the poster image shown above in national Archive Awareness Campaign advertising during 2005, fitting into the theme of 'Beginnings'. It is also a tribute to the pioneering spirit of these early flyers.