Commemorative trophy awarded to FLt Lt Sidney Norman Webster, 1927

Trophy presented by the town of Walsall on the 6th October 1927 to commemorate the winning of the Schneider Trophy at Venice on 26th September 1927 by Flight Lieutenant Sidney Webster.

Following the technical innovations driven by the First World War, the 1920s and 30s saw the continuing development of aircraft and engines that enabled people to fly higher, faster and further than ever before. Some aircraft types were pushed to their limits and many experiments ended in failure. Competition between nations drove the development of designs that were put to the test at record-breaking events and displayed in crowd-drawing air shows and pageants. The need for aircraft to travel further was largely driven by a political desire to maintain and expand the British Empire