Capt Paul Richard Tankerville James Michael Isidore Camille Chamberlayne AFC

known as 'Tanks' (rather than Paul Richard Tankerville James Michael Isidore Camille).

b 15 May 1895 in Larnaca, Cyprus, of an Austrian family;  educated at Eton, then a Captain in the 11th Hussars in WWI who transferred to the RFC in 1915. He then went to Canada in 1918, and was Chief Flying Instructor at the Toronto 'School of 'Special Flying' for a year.

Whilst racing at Hendon in July 1919, a couple of weeks after the Aerial Derby, Capt Chamberlayne had a "miraculous escape... [he] is to be congratulated on still being alive. He lost control of the machine and flew straight into one of the iron supports of a hangar. Fortunately the machine remained 'stuck' where it had hit, and he managed to extricate himself almost unhurt, although soaked with petrol."

He had already won the race, btw, and was just showing off.

Later, Chief Pilot of the Grahame-White School of Flying, then rejoined the RAF (India in 1920, Andover in 1927, Sqn-Ldr in Iraq 1932-35, Assistant Air Attache in Paris 1937 then Lisbon in 1938).

Wing Commander from 1938; Air Commodore in 1943.

When war was declared in Europe in 1939, he became desperate to return to Britain to see action and apparently "tried to upset the German Embassy by getting drunk and singing 'Rule Britannia' under their windows."

d. 3 May 1972