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The Short brothers – Horace, Eustace and Oswald – were pioneers in aviation, setting up the first aircraft factory in the UK on the Isle of Sheppey.

In 1909 they met the American aviators, Orville and his brother Wilbur Wright, who launched the first ever powered flight. They were given a licence to build ‘the Wright flyer’ and their pioneering work was key to the development of aviation at the beginning of World War One.

Sara Parker met the Shorts’ great great niece Liz Walker and went to visit the site of the factory at Eastchurch where a commemorative exhibition is being built on what is now part of a prison grounds.

Horace Short was the design genius. He had an unusual appearance with a very large head as the result of having meningitis as a child. People used to say he had the brain of two men, whilst his younger brothers Oswald and Eustace had been drawn towards aviation after seeing a balloon flight as children – they set up their own balloon-manufacturing business in East London before they moved to Kent to design and build aircraft supported by rich benefactors, such as Charlie Rolls, Moore Brabazon and Frank McClean – who went on to teach early WW1 pilots.

The British military were initially sceptical about the use of these ‘lighter than air’ machines as they were called, believing they were just a rich man’s hobby. Charlie Rolls brought the Wright brothers to meet the Shorts on Sheppey for that key meeting. But in 1914, the government realised the importance of developing aircraft. The Germans were already using early planes.

The first WW1 spotter plane was a ‘Wright flyer’ adapted by the Short brothers. However their factory on Sheppey was unable to handle the increasing demand for planes – and the government set up their own aircraft factories manufacturing thousands of planes by 1918.

Location: Eastchurch, Isle of Sheppey ME4 4HP

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