Up up and away!

On 1 February 1970, a damp and grey Sunday afternoon, a large red and white hot air balloon, "Canada 2", came to rest in a field near our farm in the Ennerdale valley. I ran as fast as I could to the spot where it had landed to find a dozen or so other people running over to a still figure in a grey flying suit who appeared to be lying face down in a swamp. The red and white nylon canopy was lying limp on the ground and the aluminium gondola lay on its side a few yards away. The figure in the suit turned over and sat upright, his face looked as grey as his suit but he began to speak and soon got up on his feet. The adults present tried to persuade him to let them get some transport and take him to a doctor but he refused to leave his balloon. There was a brief discussion, and it was decided that I should run home and get my Dad or one of my Uncles to come with a tractor and trailer, so that the balloon could be taken to safety, and off I ran. Ten or fifteen minutes later I was back in the field with an Uncle and the required transport and we loaded up and drove home - the airman and I sitting on the trailer with our legs dangling off the side. No sooner had we arrived in the farmyard than half a dozen or more cars arrived containing police and newspaper reporters. Our guest explained that he was Ray Munro, formerly of the Royal Canadian Airforce, and that he had just become the first man to cross the Irish Sea in a hot air balloon.





Uncle Bill points to the area of sky from which our unexpected guest had fallen while my Dad poses alongside. Neither thought it necessary to dress up for the benefit of the cameras. We later found out that Capt Munro had virtually no fuel left, had fallen out of the gondola and managed to climb back in and that he'd been within inches of hitting some power cables which could have turned him to ashes.

This picture of "Canada 2" appeared in the local press under the caption "what on earth are we going to do with it?" Accompanying Dad and Uncle Bill is their sister, my Aunt, Mary. The two pictures were taken the day after the balloon landed when Mary was also interviewed for the local TV news. She amused us all by performing some sort of strange curtseying manoeuvre as she explained to viewers how the balloon had descended through the clouds.

Places like Ennerdale don't change much and this picture, taken in September 2007, shows the site of the balloon landing very well. Running out of fuel, Captain Munro hit the top of Crag Fell in the background and was thrown from the Gondola. He was seen by witnesses dangling from his safety rope before scrambling back in as the balloon passed over the lake (hidden in the picture between the Fell and the sunlit hill in the foreground.) It was a very different day, weatherwise, and he told us that he'd not seen the fell as it was covered in thick cloud and, on glimpsing water beneath him, thought he must still be over the Irish Sea. However he soon realised that wasn't the case when the whole thing crashed to earth in front of the sunlit hillside in a wet, badly drained field. (the brown area in the center of the photo).

Ray Munro, it seems, was something of a Canadian hero having been a Battle of Britain fighter pilot, an investigative reporter who uncovered a huge corruption scandal in Vancouver's police force in the 1950's, and latterly a record breaking parachutist and balloonist. His autobiography, The sky's no limit, is a ripping good yarn involving numerous brushes with death and meetings with the rich and famous ranging from Errol Flynn to Eleanor Roosevelt. The final adventure of the whole book ends on that drizzly Sunday in Ennerdale.

Reproduced below is a copy of his entry in the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame

Raymond Alan Munro
Nickname: "Ray" Munro

Birthdate: July 14, 1921 Birth Place: Montreal, Quebec

Year Inducted: 1974 Death Date: May 29, 1994

Awards: CM "He has consistently displayed a dogged persistence in overcoming every aeronautical challenge facing him, and despite adversity has made outstanding contributions to Canadian aviation in several areas of flight."Raymond Munro was educated in Canada and the United States and commenced flying at Toronto, Ontario in 1937 and joined the RCAF in 1940. During his career in aviation, Munro was posted as a Spitfire pilot for day intruder work in France and bomber escort duty, then served as a night fighter pilot on the North Sea patrol. Following this he became a flying newsman for 17 years. He was later selected as Expo ' 67 Polar Ambassador and flew a single-engine aircraft through the high Arctic to honour Canada's pioneer bush pilots. He is one of Canada's most distinguished parachutists and holds the highest international license. He made 528 descents by day and night as chief instructor and design tester for North American Parachute Company.