The Real Life Story of Gerhard Zucher

So what was the real story behind Gerhard Zucher's rocket mail and his trip to the Outer Hebrides? Did the rockets fail? Was he really imprisoned by Hitler and later executed? Did he fall in love with a local village girl? Read on to find out...

Gerhard Zucher was from the Hasselfelde in the Hartz mountains of Germany and was a pioneer of rocket technology during the inter-war years. His experiments fascinated the nation at a time when rockets were seen as dangerous and at the forefront of cutting edge science.

Gerhard Zucher was interested in using his rocket science to benefit mankind and to our knowledge, never made a rocket for military purposes. One of the areas he was most interested in was rocket mail, where the science of his inventions could be used to bridge remote communities. He hoped to build the first mail rocket to cross the English channel, but first needed to convince his financiers that this was not an impossible task. He was also keen to make a living through postal mail by selling 'unofficial stamps'. After various attempts to secure support and funding in his native Germany which was in the middle of an economic depression and had vast unemployment, he approached the relatively prosperous British Government with the proposal of sending medicines and post to inaccessible areas, they agreed to fund him.

Part of the reason the British Government were willing to fund Zucher's trials was due to an embarrassing national story which had made the papers around that time. It concerned a mother on the Isle of Scarp, off the Isle of Harris, who was expecting twins and got into difficulties. Due to bad weather conditions she was unable to make communication with the neighbouring village on the mainland, to ask them to send the doctor. One baby was born on Scarp but the woman was still experiencing labour difficulties with the second. The alarm was raised and the unfortunate woman was transported by rowing boat to Huishnish and taken by horse and cart to Tarbert (25 miles) and then by bus to Stornoway (37 miles) where the second twin was delivered! The twins were born on different days, on different islands and in different counties. The question was asked at parliament as to how the greatest empire in the world could have allowed this to happen. Zucher is reported to have been photographed with the twins later that year.

In 1934, Zucher selected the Isle of Scarp on the West coast of Harris as the location for his 'Rocket Mail' experiments. As reported by the Stornoway Gazette and West Coast Advertiser, in July of that year, he travelled to the islands to begin his research, accompanied by his associate and financier Frau Dombrowski, a stamp collector and a publicity agent. His plan was to build a rocket that could cross the dangerous one-mile strip of water between Scarp and mainland Harris. This stretch is often impassable by boat due to dangerous tidal currents. It was the first over-water rocket flight ever attempted. At the time Zucher was relatively famous for constructing the largest rocket in the world.

Zucher made two unsuccessful attempts at launching his mail rockets on Scarp. Locals recall that he was comforted with tea and scones in the mission house after his failure. He used a smaller version of his original designs which had a solid fuel cartridge 22" long and ½" diameter. His rocket was packed with over 1200 letters which had been stamped with the special rocket mail stamp: 'Trial Firing 28/11/38 Scarp Harris.' The letters also each had a 'Western Isles Rocket Post' postage stamp at an additional cost. The rocket exploded over the beach and the 1200 letters fluttered to the ground. Zucher was heard to exclaim "it was the cartridge…the powder had not been properly packed and air pockets caused the explosion!"

Some reports claim that there were over 30,000 pieces of mail stuffed into the rocket canister for its maiden flight. Many members of the public in places a lot further a field than Scarp were keen to have their letters carried aboard the first over-water rocket mail. After the explosion, many were recovered, a little singed, but were delivered all the same! These letters now fetch a high price at auction among collectors.

Zucher tried again but interest in his experiments dwindled due to his unsuccessful attempts on Scarp. When his visa expired that year, he returned to Germany and then the trail gets hazy. A notice in the Hamburg Fremdenblatt paper announced: "GERHARD ZUCHER HAS BEEN EXECUTED - for an attempt to sell an invention important for Germany to a foreign power"

It is believed by some that he was imprisoned during the Second World War for refusing to co-operate with the Nazis on the development of the V1 and V2 missiles, and was sentenced to death at a concentration camp.

Other reports claim he returned to East Germany, had a family and made rockets for peace in 1960, dying peacefully in 1985. Some people say that Zucher was willing to sell his ideas on rocket science to the Nazis, but that they already had a whiz kid called Von Braunn who was developing liquid fuel rockets, which had far greater potential. It is suggested that he was in fact banned from Britain, as he represented 'a threat to the income of the post office and the security of the country' and was forbidden to ever touch rockets again. He served in the air force during the war and after 1945 found himself a citizen of East Germany.

Whatever the truth about Gerhard Zucher, he was an enigmatic and personable showman who by all accounts, had a special affection for the Island of Scarp. It is reported that it was his greatest wish to return there someday. Unfortunately it was a wish never realised, but he succeeded in putting Scarp on the map and helped to draw attention to the poor communications which existed in the remote communities of the Highlands and Islands. Whether or not he fell in love on the island is anyone's guess. Although we cannot say how his life ended, we hope he enjoyed his stay in the Outer Hebrides before the troubles began and his experiments failed. When the excitement, curiosity and warm hospitality of the locals would have left him with the memories of happy days on Scarp.