Gaunt Biplane No.1 at Apperley Bridge.
John Gaunt was an inventor who lived and worked at High Mill, Gargrave. By 1909 he was experimenting with variants of cycloplanes on the hills around Gargrave, his most successful model was basically a regular bicycle with a frame behind the seat that then held an upturned canoe shaped wing above the rider. He took the project very seriously and even cycled from Gargrave to the Olympia Aeroplane Exhibition in London in 1909 on it. He was most successful with designing and building his own biplane, the Gaunt Biplane No.1. By April 1910 the first variant of his biplane had been transported to a small hanger on the aerodrome at Apperley Bridge where various tests were carried out on it. On 27th April 1910 the engine was being run inside the hanger when exhaust flames ignited canvas on the aeroplane and a fire started. Unfortunately this then quickly developed into an explosion when a fuel tank caught fire. Inside the hanger were at least nine people, those nearest the doors managed to escape once the fire started but others near it were caught in the explosion and sustained serious burn injuries. John Gaunt's wife and two sons appear to have been away from the fire and escaped injury despite being inside the hanger throughout. The aeroplane was extensively damaged. John House's damaged Bleriot was also being worked on in the same building, the tail and fuselage were hanging from the roof close to the Gaunt Biplane and was also fire damaged.
Mr John Gaunt. Injured.
Mr Henry Wilkinson. Injured.
Mr John Wilkinson. Injured.
Mr Durward Wilkinson. Uninjured.
Mr Dawson Whitfield. Uninjured.
Mrs Whitfield. Uninjured.
Mrs Gaunt. Uninjured.
Master Gaunt. Uninjured.
Master Gaunt. Uninjured.
Whether he flew and crashed any of his earlier cycloplanes has yet to be researched.
John Gaunt either rebuilt the Gaunt Biplane No.1 or, what I believe happened is, he then totally built a new aeroplane and it became known as the Gaunt Biplane No.2 which was slightly smaller than the first. He also experimented with a monoplane but where this was built and possibly tested I have yet to find out. The new version of his biplane was just about complete by July 1910 and was moved to a new aerodrome site at Southport. John Gaunt was eventually successful in flying the aeroplane at Southport.