Kemenyek: "One Man Caravan".....Robert Fulton Jnr's epic around the world trip...

Robert Edison Fulton Jnr......who is this man?

Let me take you back to when I rode overland from Australia to Europe, and now in the UK and settled, for a time, with friends in London, I travelled down to Sussex to visit Charles Mortimer, Snr., who may be known to you as a prewar racer, initially on motorcycles, then with cars, including at Brooklands ( he had a son Chas.Mortimer, who was a successful English motorcycle road racer in the Continental GPs) and Chas.Snr ran a successful old book business and with whom I'd dealt with for some years.

As I was about to leave on my BMW R50/5 motorcycle, he pressed a book into my hand and said I should have it as a gift from him..." the author did a trip like you..." related Mortimer.

Upon reading it I found my trip paled into insignificance.....

Fulton had set off in 1932, a young man who had just completed an architecture degree at the University of Vienna, having been sent there by his wealthy parents from the USA, with a Douglas motorcycle, suitably modified by the Douglas company to his specification, even to the engine number which was RF69 and would no doubt puzzle future historians, to ride home around the world, taking in the various architecture in the many countries he would visit.

I won't pre-empt the story, as you should obtain a copy for your motorcycling bookshelves....it has been re-published within the last 15 years.....

But as always, older original copies seem to enhance the story....

When I returned to Australia in late 1976, having read it several times, I was facinated by the fact that he has shot over 4000' of 16mm movie film...had a documentary been made? How could I find out?

Two major wars had been fought since then...WW2 and the Korean War, one or both of which he could have been involved in, he perhaps now dead...

Flicking through the flyleaf of the book, revealed, "George G.Harrap & Co.Ltd"; London,Toronto,Bombay,Sydney.

Sydney, thats where I live....I checked the telephone directory and a telephone call got me Harrap's address in London.

A letter to the UK brought the response that it was originally published in 1937 by Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York.

A letter to them brought a facinating response...a card from Robert Fulton Jnr, with few words...

"My old publisher tells me you are trying to contact me, how can I help?"

I wrote to him indicating my feeble trip and admiring his, via his book, and wondering with all that movie film shot whether a documentary had been made.
I guess I secretly hoped , somehow there was a copy and he may lend it to me...

No response...a year later I wrote again.
Again no response.

I checked with TV stations in Sydney over the documentary aspect, again a blank...

Then in 1989 came a letter from Fulton... "I know it's been a long time..."

Seems his sons, involved in the movie industry had made an autobiography for Fulton and incorporated much of his world trip footage in it.

Would I like to borrow a video copy....?
Would I heck...

When it arrived, in NTSC format, the North American video system, our PAL system TVs wouldn't show it... $100 later I had two copies in PAL made by a professional film unit.

What a video.... Titled "One Man Caravan" it opened Fulton's life as an inventor, author etc with all that great 16mm movie footage taken during his world odyssey...

I've seen it again and again.

In 1990 my family were travelling to the UK and returning to Australia via an around the world ticket.
I could stop in New York.... cheekily I wrote to Fulton, mentioning I'd like to see him..

He responded by telling me he would be waiting at NY Kennedy airport to meet my flight.

I replied that I would be wearing a black sweater with "Velocette" in yellow on it.

We met...he took us to his 45 acre property near Newton, Connecticut..aptly called "Flying Ridge" where his 1938 SR-10 Stinson Reliant high wing monoplane was parked.
The P-51 Mustang he'd owned since 1953 and which I had seen together with the Stinson in his video, had only recently been sold...but would I like a flight with him in the Stinson? Would I like to ride his Douglas?

Talk about Nirvana.....

I subsequently visited him several more times, once with best friend Jim Day and the following pictures show some of that visit...the book and a special book he printed and published himself titled "The Winds of Life" are also illustrated.

Sadly Fulton has passed on in 2004 aged 95 years....

A great innings....

Repeating myself...get yourself a copy of his book- you'll thank me later for suggesting it!

Want to know more on Fulton?

The wikepedia site is a good start...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Edison_Fulton,_Jr.

Left click on images to enlarge......