JOHN MONEY

I first encountered tales of John Money during a visit to the grassy slopes and high elevations of the American War of Independence battlefield at Saratoga. Money, from Norfolk, UK, was an officer in General Burgoyne's ill-fated army which finally surrendered to American forces in October, 1777. He and his companions then spent the next three years in captivity. But there was much more to Mr Money than this.
Major John Money was born in 1740, the son of a tenant farmer at Trowse, near Norwich. John eventually joined the Norfolk Militia and then the 6th Eniskillen Dragoons, while during the Seven Years' War he was with Elliot's Light Horse and present at the battle of Tillinghausen. By 1771 he had transferred to the 9th (Norfolk) Regiment of Foot, where he was eventually promoted to the position of Deputy Assistant Quarter-Master-General.
Returning to England in 1781 following his US captivity, he retired from the army as a major on half-pay in 1784 and, back at Trowse, built a mansion he named Crown Point - better known today as Whitlingham Hall - close to the location of his father's former farm. Now in his mid-forties, Money could have retired to become a country gentleman. Instead, he evidently craved further excitement, and in the end turned to the latest innovation - ballooning.
Money's first flight took place in June, 1785, from Tottenham Court Road, in London. With two other companions 'in the basket' this so-called 'British balloon' took off, but after losing gas it came down near Abridge in Essex. Later, it took off again, this time with only two crew, including Money, and finally descended near Maldon, having covered 40 miles.
A month later Major Money was at it again, this time flying from Quantrell's Gardens in Norwich, watched by several thousand spectators. The plan was that it would fly with a crew of three, but because of difficulties with the inflation the passengers had to be reduced to one - Money - who took off and promptly discovered there was a problem with the gas release valve.
Unable to make landfall, Money and the balloon drifted out to sea, eventually coming down in the early evening about 20 miles off Southwold. Various boats set off in the dark to find him, and a Dutch boat saw him but did not stop. He was in the water for five hours until at about 11.30pm he was finally rescued by a Harwich cutter. Apparently none the worse for his adventures, he was taken to Lowestoft, feted as a celebrity and given grog. Then he took a post-chaise back to Crown Point.
The episode made Money famous, but his adventures were still not over. Returning to military life, he fought for Belgium against the Austrians, was present in Paris during the French Revolution - leaving shortly before the king was executed - and maintained an interest in the military possibilities of ballooning. In 1806 he addressed a letter to the Secretary of State for War on the defence of London against a possible French invasion.
John Money died in 1817, aged 77. He was a significant pioneer of early flying, the first soldier to fly, a military theorist and adventurer, an important figure on the local social scene, and probably the first aeronaut to be rescued at sea. He was buried at St Andrew's church, Trowse.
(Flying Lives With a Norfolk Theme, by Peter B Gunn. Published, Peter Gunn, 2010)