Zeppelin L.31

The grave is now about 10 min away from me on cannock chase, there’s 3 stones for different ships, all mass graves IIRC

Thank you, Dave.

Avion,
sorry I nothing of the artist or what date it was painted.

Dave

Maybe Jetflap could identify the source of his photograph?

Tangmere1940 – That tie-on label looks suspiciously familiar!

Doesn’t it just! Thanks Andy – I chickened out, as didn’t want to be the first to say it :apologetic:

That tie-on label looks suspiciously familiar!

I’ve heard of this “Zeppelin shot down over Potters Bar” many times over the years and occasionally seen the road signs to the place when driving in the south of England. Where is the site, is there anything to be seen, is it built over or is it fields and, if so, can parts still be found there?

It must have covered quite an area.

Anon.

On a side note. One of the Zeppelin crew was Nikolaus Hemmerling Maschinistenmaat. He was the father of Eduard Hemmerling who was the pilot of Messerchmitt Bf09E 1342 ‘ Yellow 8’ go 6./JG51 – shot down and killed on the 7th July 1940. This Bf109E is now flying in Seattle with FHC.

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/525724956473868949/

Thank you, Dave. I don’t suppose you know the artist, its date or anything of the background to it? It is most unusual.

That I like.

I also took this photo. I did ask if I could and was told OK.

Dave

St Mary the Virgin & All Saints, Potters Bar. Originally the crew of L.31 was buried in its churchyard in Mutton Lane. The following information comes from the parish website:

There are a number of interesting World War One related graves: there is the tiny grave of ‘The Infant Daughter of Lord and Lady Trenchard’. This was the daughter of Sir Hugh Trenchard, First Marshall and founder of the Royal Air Force who lived nearby in South Mymms.

The churchyard also used to house the graves of Commander Wilhelm Schramm and his 15 crew members of the German Schutte-Lanz Airship SL-11, until they were re-interred some years ago at the large cemetery for similar German dead at Cannock Chase, near Birmingham. This was the airship famously brought down by the guns of Royal Flying Corps (RFC) Captain William Leefe Robinson in his biplane over Cuffley on September 3rd 1916, for which he received the Victoria Cross (Leefe Robinson lies buried in the little cemetery situated at Harrow Weald, Stanmore). Also Kapitan Heinrich Mathy with his Zeppelin crew were one time buried in the churchyard. His Zeppelin, the Z31, was brought down in Potters Bar on the night of the 1st October 1916, by Lieutenant Wulstan Tempest flying a BE2c aircraft of the RFC. As with Schramm’s crew the Zeppelin crew was later reinterred at Cannock Chase. The cross on the altar in the All Souls’ Chapel is made from some of the metal from the wreckage of the Z31 airship.

I’ve searched online – but without success – for a full image of the backcloth to the altar in All Souls’ Chapel (which features in part in Dave’s photograph). Does anyone have a photograph of it in its entirety and/or know what it depicts?

The crucifix in Potters Bar Church made from melted down metal from the L31.

Dave

I’ve got some bits of that!

Steve

Wulstan Tempest shot this down flying a BE2c from North Weald with 39 Squadron. There are other relics on display in the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth.