Bowl, Handley Page V/1500 Propeller Boss

This bowl has been carved from the mahogany propellor boss of Handley Page bomber, the ‘Old Carthusian’, which made the first ‘through-flight’ from England to India in 1919 to take part in the Third Anglo-Afghan war.

On 13 December 1918, the Handley Page V/1500, J1936, heavy bomber, also named HMA ‘Old Carthusian,’ departed Britain for India, calling in Rome, Malta, Cairo, and Baghdad, before finally arriving in Karachi on 15 January 1919. On 24 May 1919, it flew from Risalpur to Kabul, dropping bombs on the palace of the Emir Amanullah Khan. This was to be the Old Carthusian’s only war operation, as soon after, its wings were heavily damaged by termites.