Following further research by Editor, Patrick Markham
Note 1
Basil’s father was William Riegels b. 1842 d. 1907. Full name Benjamin Hubert William Thomas Riegels also known as William Riegels-Cory.
William’s first wife was Elizabeth R Cory (1842-1891). They were married in Wells Cathedral.
Did he say “Fireherd”? There’s a wine company called Firebird but they seem to be based in Adelaide. More research needed here!
Note 2
The Riegels Cory wine shop was at 7, Station Bridge, Harrogate. Saranda in the Google maps photo below. Most recently it is Dino’s Restaurant (2026):
Note 2a
The ‘very good’ China Shop, owned by Annie Powell and her sister Gertrude, was at 37 James Street. It is currently (2026) Jones the Bootmaker, a shoe shop. I stumbled upon and old photo from the turn of the century (which I will add soon), which clearly shows their names.
Note 3
The house in Hampsthwaite that my grandfather describes is called ‘The Hollies’. Basil is even mentioned on this website: Hampsthwaite Village History
I visited The Hollies recently (2020 & 2026). I met a chap called Ted who moved in with his young family in Oct 2025. Photos will be published eventually.
This is an aerial view of The Hollies (copied from the above website). It certainly appears to be the ‘really fantastic’ property that my Grandfather describes.
I was excited to find this photograph. I showed my mum that I’d found a photo of the house where Granddad was born. She said “Oh, yes; The Hollies” I said “What?! You knew? You won’t believe the many hours of research that went into finding the name of the place he was describing!!”
Note 4
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines!
For me, the most exciting parts of Granddad’s tapes are those where he describes something that I can look up on Google.
Basil would only be a child of six when he witnessed those early aircraft landing on The Stray in Harrogate. The facts in his head as he tells the story in the late seventies are not entirely accurate.
The Daily Mail Round Britain Air Race that Basil talks of took place in July 1911. The prize was £10,000.
The winner was André Beaumont who piloted a Blériot XI.
Although Blériot was indeed the first man to cross the Channel and win the £1,000 prize, he did not compete in Round Britain. Having said that, the name Blériot would have been on everyone’s lips as many of the competitors were flying in a Blériot XI aircraft.
S.F. Cody (who granddad calls ‘Lou Cody) was the last and fourth pilot to complete the course. He was not Buffalo Bill Cody’s brother but this was a popular misconception at the time. Cody was a Wild West Showman, and much influenced by Buffalo Bill, he took the name ‘Cody’ when he was young.
Gustav Hamel also competed (in a Blériot XI) but he did not complete the course, retiring at Thornhill, north of Dumfries.