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THE FIFTH AERIAL DERBY AIR RACE ROUND LONDON FOR THE ROYAL AERO CLUB TROPHY and cash prizes, value £1,000 |
Saturday 24th July 1920. Start and Finish: Hendon
Instructions:
| 1 | Hendon |
Start and Finish - (pass over on first circuit). The finishing line is in front of the Aerodrome Enclosures |
| 2 | Brooklands | Turning Point is a large white cross in the centre of the Aerodrome and Motor Racing track |
| 3 | Epsom | Turning Point is the Race Course Grand Stand which is at the top of Epsom Downs, making a conspicuous land-mark. |
| 4 | West Thurrock | Turning Point is at the Wouldham Cement Works, on north bank of the River near top of the bend a mile east of Purfleet and slightly to the east of West Thurrock Church. The actual point consists of a long rectangular buff-coloured building with a large diagonal white cross on the roof. Five factory chimneys stand in line at equal distances behind the building flanked by two taller chimneys and a high one further to the right. |
| 5 | Epping | Turning Point is Epping Church Tower in centre of Epping Village on the West side of London Road, 200 yards south of Church is a solitary water tower 120 feet high. |
| 6 | Hertford | Turning Point is a large white cross in Hartham Meadow immediately north of the town adjoining the railway stations and enclosed on the north, east and west by streams. |
2 laps - 200 miles. Start: 3pm
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Jimmy James' Nieuhawk - you'll have to imagine the blue and yellow chequers |
Story of the Race:
"Undoubtedly a tremendous success...an excellent demonstration of the safety, speed and certainty of air travel"
| Pilot | Aircraft (click here for more details) | Race No | Result | ||
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Mr Bert Hinkler | Avro 534 Baby | G-EACQ | 1 | 2nd |
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Capt H A Hamersley | Avro 534 Baby | G-EAUG | 2 | 1st |
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Mr Frederick S Cotton | Airco DH.14a | G-EAPY | 4 |
Retired - forced landing near Hertford (petrol leak, causing a fire - passenger Mr Harwood injured, a/c damaged) |
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Capt William L Jordan | Sopwith 7F1 Snipe | G-EAUW | 5 | 5th |
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Flt-Lt Walter H Longton | Sopwith 7F1Snipe | G-EAUV | 6 | Reired - 2nd lap |
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Flt-Lt John S T Fall | Sopwith 7F1 Snipe | G-EAUU | 7 | Retired - forced landing at Epping on the first lap |
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Capt D G Westgarth-Heslam | Avro 539 | G-EALG | 8 | Retired - forced landing (fuel problem) near Abridge. |
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Mr Jimmy James | Nieuport Nieuhawk LC.1 | G-EAJY | 10 | 3rd |
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Mr R H Nisbet | Martinsyde F.6 | G-EAPI | 11 | 6th |
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Sqn Ldr Thomas O'B Hubbard | Martinsyde F.4a | G-EAPP | 12 | 8th |
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Mr Harry G Hawker | Sopwith Schneider Cup 'Rainbow' | G-EAKI | 13 | Disqualified - did not cross finish line (would have been 3rd) |
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Mr Cyril F Uwins | Bristol Type 32B Bullet | G-EATS | 14 | 7th |
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Mr Frank T Courtney * | Martinsyde 'Semi-Quaver' | G-EAPX | 15 | 4th. 1st in Speed Section (but then made a bad landing and overturned, fortunately without serious injury) |
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Major Leslie R Tait-Cox | Nieuport Goshawk | G-EASK ** | 16 | Retired - forced landing at Brooklands on first lap |
* replacing Fred Raynham, who had hurt his arm
** Tait-Cox held the British air speed record in this aeroplane - 166.5mph on 17 June 1920.
Starters: 14 Finishers: 8 (or 9 if you count Harry Hawker)
Did not start:
| Pilot | Aircraft | Race No | ||
| Mr Leth Jensen | Spad 29 | 3 |
The Aviators |
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Flt-Lt Frederick Sidney Cotton OBE
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in 1916, when a Flt Sub-Lt in the RNAS b. 17 June 1894 in Bowen, Queensland, Australia RNAS in WWI; he invented the 'Sidcot' flying suit, which was standard issue in the RAF until the 1950s. There was a curious period in early 1920 when four sets of people tried to fly from Cairo to Cape Town; not for any particular prize or competition, but just because they fancied being the first to do it. Frederick Cotton and his engineer Capt W A Townsend flew a DH.14a and were the least successful of the lot, making a forced landing in southern Italy and writing off the machine before they even got to Cairo. In the winter of 1920-21 he and Alan Butler were in Newfoundland, "doing some extremely useful work surveying, spotting for seals, etc", and the following September they both competed in the Croydon Aviation Meeting. In late 1922 he had "exciting times" in flying from Newfoundland to the newly-discovered gold fields at Labrador. He then settled into being a pilot in Newfoundland, although he came back to England occasionally, for example for the 'Portsmouth Trophy Race' round the Isle of Wight in 1934, in which he came second. Married 3 times, clever, sometimes quite rich (although he died penniless) and rather, er, "unorthodox" (bleedin' awkward, by the sounds of it), he spent WWII as an unofficial advisor to the Admiralty, especially involved with photographic reconnaisance and airborne searchlights. d. 13 Feb 1969 in London |
in 1920
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Capt Frank Thomas Courtney
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| An Irishman and early aviator; he test-flew the prototype D.H.18 - de Havilland's first purpose-designed airliner - in March 1920 and often flew it in service.
Also flew in the 1929 Cleveland National Air Races. Also flew the Cierva autogyro in 1925, (but not in the King's Cup) |
photo: 1972, holding the King's Cup at the RAF Museum, Hendon, aged 78| Flt-Lt Joseph (aka John) Stewart Temple Fall DFC AFC | ||
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in 1916 when a Flt Sub-Lt, RN |
photo: 1920 |
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b. 17 Nov 1895 in Cowichan, Vancouver B.C. Canada WWI ace with the RNAS (36 victories, making him the 7th-highest scoring Canadian); he stayed in the RAF from its inception in 1918 until he retired in 1945 as a Group Captain. d. 1988. |
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