Flying Adventure
STEEPED IN HISTORY…
Martin Ferid heads to the Fens and doffs his cap to Cambridge, best known for its prestigious university…
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here’s been a rivalry between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, both openly and in the shadows, for hundreds of years. As two of the world’s most prestigious seats of learning, both have not only produced many of our esteemed politicians but also some extremely clever people. For the majority, the closest they get to its cloisters is the annual boat race, and even then, probably with their feet up watching it on the box. The first race was in 1829, on the River Thames between Hambleden Lock and Henley Bridge following a challenge issued by Cambridge, although a lymphatic performance resulted in an Oxford win. If the ‘grey cells’ have been stimulated, you’ll probably want the stats, and to date the Cambridge men’s team has won 84 times, compared to Oxford’s 80, and for the women’s race, a permanent fixture during the 1960s, 45 to Oxford’s 30. Although Cambridge is ahead, the irony is that
26 | LIGHT AVIATION | August 2021
Above Cambridge Airport is relatively close to the city, making access reasonably simple and affordable.
its university started life as an Oxford offshoot after the ‘town and gown’ riots between the townsfolk and scholars in 1209. Less well known is that 100 years ago this year in 1921, former RFC pilots who had returned to the Universities, inaugurated an Oxford-Cambridge Air Race with eight surplus SE-5A fighters they had rented via the Royal Aero Club. And Cambridge won. As a point of interest, Oxford is the UK’s oldest university, having been founded in 1096 and second oldest worldwide, having been pipped to the post by the University of Bologna by eight years. There is evidence of a settlement on the current city’s site since the Bronze Age and was an important trading centre in Roman and Viking times. Originally known as Granta Brygg, after the River Granta that runs from Grantchester, its name became Grentebrige or Cantebrigge before gravitating to Cambridge. Having been granted its town charter in the 12th century, it only gained city status as recently as 1951.
