King's Cup - 1928

  Click here to see the Newsreel!  

	"After its engine had been started up, its passenger put in his early morning physical exercises in setting the windmill in motion [using a rope]. Then Reynolds lowered his flag, and C.8 L.2 proceeded majestically across the aerodrome, at the far end of which it made a wide circle to the right, gathering speed the meanwhile and, almost completely hidden from view owing to the "dip" in the ground at that end, looking for all the world like a threshing machine working overtime. It continued thus over the aerodrome back towards the starting line, and then, turning into the wind, the pilot opened out and up it went in fine style, banking round into the course for Norwich as smartly as any of the other machines. It would  seem that it is only a matter of evolving some means of quickly reviving up the windmill and the Autogiro would take off as speedily as the ordinary type of machine." [the next model, the C.19, had an ingenious pivoting tail to deflect the airflow and thereby turn the rotor on the ground.]
Cyril Uwins in the Bristol 101

Friday 20/Saturday 21 July, 1928. Hendon - Brooklands

Weather: Fine (for once) but a chilly wind

The story of the race:

The first woman entrant to win a prize - Winifred Spooner bagged third.

Guy Warwick crashed in Scotland - the race's first fatality.

Starters: 36 (out of 38 entrants).  Finishers: 23

Did not start:

The Aviators

 F/O (later Flt-Lt) (Sir) Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley KBE, CB, AFC

  photo: 1929, aged 25

 Batchy', twin brother of David, b. 12 Jan 1904

1929 Schneider pilot and later Air Marshall in the RAF and Chief of Air Staff for the Pakistan Air Force. Put on a bit of weight later on, and ended up as Sales Director for Folland Aircraft.

Died 18 Apr 1970.

http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/AtcherleyR.htm

  Flt-Lt David William Frederick Bonham-Carter CB, DFC

  photo: 1921, aged 20

  photo: 1930, aged 29

 No, I don't think he's related to Helena. He was related to Florence Nightingale, though!

b. 22 February 1901; an RAF Officer at Martlesham Heath in 1936, later Group Capt and Station Commander at RAF Waddington in WWII, despite being stone deaf by then; seconded to RCAF and involved in Canada with the Empire Training Plan, then Air Commodore (first President of Newark Air Museum).

Died 1974 in Ipswich.

 Capt Hubert Stanford Broad MBE AFC

  photo: 1930, aged 33

b. 18 (or 20) May 1897

shot through the neck in WWI by one of Richtofen's Red Circus pilots; [c.f. Angus Irwin]; second in Schneider 1925, to Jimmy Doolittle.

In 1928, he spent possibly the most boring 24 hours of his life by beating 'all existing figures' for long endurance flights in light aeroplanes (unfortunately there was no official 'record' to beat as such, the FAI not recognising such things). His log makes, um, rivetting reading:

--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--

5:30pm: Hendon

7:40pm: Gloucester

8:30pm: Coffee and sandwiches

11pm: Over Central London, 3,000ft; watched theatre crowds leaving

Midnight to dawn: Remained over Edgeware

2:30am: second meal

4:10am: First signs of dawn

5:10am: Biggin Hill. Saw night bomber in air

...

Noon: Stamford. Very sleepy

4:30pm: Ipswich

--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--0--

Having trimmed the controls, Hubert settled down and read 3 complete novels 'to relieve the boredom'.

When he finally landed, he he said that he was very stiff with cramp, and promptly went home to sleep. His Moth still had 12 gallons of fuel, so it could have kept going for another 4 1/2 hours...

He was named as co-respondent in Beryl Markham's divorce in 1939.

de Havillands test pilot until 1935 (Bob Waight succeeded him) - broke the world's speed and height records for light aircraft in the original monoplane Tiger Moth, then joined RAE Farnborough; Hawker test pilot post-WWII; died 1975

FLIGHT MARCH 28TH, 1946

 No. 2. CAPT. H. S. BROAD, Senior Production Test Pilot, Hawker Aircraft Co.

 FOR sheer wealth of flying experience it is doubtful whether there is another pilot in the world to equal Hubert Broad. He has flown everything from diminutive single-seaters to multi-engined--bombers, and including a number of out-and-out racing aircraft. His logbooks, of which he has filled some nine or ten, total over7,500 hours' flying time and 182 separate types. These are honest types—not modifications or different mark numbers of the same aircraft. Many of these he has also flown as seaplanes. Broad, at the age of nineteen, learnt to fly at the Hall School of Flying at Hendon in 1915. The aircraft on which he made his first flight (there was no dual, a pupil did straights across the airfield until he felt it was safe to do a circuit)was the single-seater Caudron with35 h.p. Y-type Anzani engine. Believe it or not, with this tiny horsepower the Caudron occasionally was made to stagger into the air with two people on board, but the passenger had to sit on the wing by the side of the nacelle.

 Early Days

 The end of 1915 found Broad in the R.N.A.S. at Eastchurch, and he was on the very first course at Cranwell, which was then a R.N.A.S. establishment rejoicing in the name of H.M.S. Daedalus. His first tour of duty at the front was with No. 3 Squadron at Dunkirk. He was among a number of pilots lent by the R.N.A.S. to the R.F.C. No. 3 Squadron flew Sopwith Pups, and it was while he was on one of these, escorting a bombing raid by 90 h.p. R.A.F.-engined B.E.s, that he was shot through the neck by one of Richtofen's later Goering's—Red Circus pilots.

 On recovery he spent a while as an instructor at Chingford and then went for his second tour of operations with No. 46 Squadron, who flew Sopwith Camels. The end of the 1914-18 war found Broad instructing at the Fighter Pilots' Flying School at Fairlop.

 Peace found him, as it found so many other young fellows ,with the ability to fly aircraft superbly and no other means of making a living. But a good living could be made by joy-riding in the early 1920's. First he joined the Avro Company, who were running joy-riding in a fairly big way, and in 1920 went to the Adiron Lakes in America with two Avro 504 seaplanes. These two aircraft saw their last days in Long Island, where they were completely wrecked by an autumn gale.

 By the next year he was back in England competing in the Aerial Derby air race round London on a Sopwith Camel. He finished 6th.In October, 1921, Broad joined de Havillands. Those who know this great concern now will smile to learn that when it started in those days it consisted entirely of two fabric hangars and a hut at Stag Lane. If memory serves, the capital of the company at that time was £100.

 The D.H. series numbers, which started in the Aircraft Manufacturing Co. Ltd., were carried on in this new firm, and Broad flew every one of the D.H. designs from the D.H.27 to the D.H.90. In the same period he did a lot of test flyingfor other aircraft constructors.

 He did the W.10, Handcross, Hendon, and some others for Handley Pages, the Parnall Pipit and the Saunders A. 10 fighter. On the Gloster Grebe he ran into wing flutter for the first time (this trouble, in those days, was on a par with the compressibility troubles we have now).

 Seaplane testing

 Another big job he did was most of the development work on the Gloster II and III racing seaplanes. Over a period I used to go with him to Felixstowe regularly. As a Press man I was forbidden the precincts of the R.A.F. seaplane station, but there was a perfectly good Great Eastern Railway pier alongside the station. I used to climb over the fence and watch the proceedings from the pier head. Broad nearly lost his life there one day in October,1924. As he was landing the Gloster II a forward strut to the floats collapsed, and the aircraft turned completely over. Mrs. Broad was watching from the shore, and it seemed a very long time before Hubert appeared on the surface.

 In 1925 Hubert Broad flew the Gloster III racing seaplane in the Schneider Trophy contest which was held that year over Chesapeake Bay in America. This was the race in which Henri Biard, flying the SupermarineS.4—the true forerunner of the Spitfire—crashed in the water with wing flutter. Broad finished this race second to Jimmy (now General) Doolittle. That must have been a vintage generation, because many names from that period have found their way into the high-spots of this last war.

With the advent of the D.H. Moth in all its variants, Broad was to be seen performing aerobatics at most flying club meetings and entering many of the races. These included the King's Cup Race, which he won in 1926. He was flying a delightful Cirrus I Moth, which was a study in ivory and red. His average speed over the whole732 miles was 90.4 m.p.h. His piece de resistance in aerobatics was a perfectly formed big loop, the base of which was only some 150ft from the ground. It was a joy to behold, but very dangerous to perform. Broad had sufficient sense to realise this and sufficient courage to stop doing it.

 "Hooked"

 It was during an aerobatic show that Hubert had his closest shave in a life packed with incident. And it was so simple. Flying a D.H. Tiger Moth with no one in the front seat, he did a slow roll—a stunt at which he was a master. The safety belt in the empty cockpit was loosely done up. While the Moth was inverted the belt hung down and, as the aircraft turned the right way up again, the belt came back over the joy-stick. The result was that Broad had only about 1 1/2 inches of stick movement; but, nothing daunted, he made a sort of tail-up, seaplane landing. In this connection it is to be remembered that there were no lovely 2,000-yard runways on which to this sort of thing. In those days there was not a single runway available in Britain; not even for the take-off of over-loaded aircraft for long-distance records!

 Another unhappy moment occurred when he found the tail trim (the incidence of the whole tailplane was adjustable)of a D.H.34 had been connected in reverse. By a good deal of jockeying he managed to get into Northolt. On yet another occasion a careless mechanic left a screwdriver jammed in the chain and sprocket of the rudder actuating gear. This necessitated a down-wind, crosswind, finishing up into-wind landing at Hendon airfield, because that was a bit bigger than Stag Lane.

 One of the prettiest little aircraft he ever flew was the original D.H. Tiger Moth monoplane. This was tailored exactly to fit Broad. Physically he is not of big stature and few other pilots could get into the machine. In the front of the cockpit was a bulkhead which had two holes just large, enough for the feet to be threaded through, and these holes had to be padded with sorbo rubber so that Broad's shins did not get barked while landing and taxying. Springing was almost non-existent. Span was22ft 6in and length only 18ft 7m.

 In August, 1927, on this machine he broke the world's record for light aircraft for both speed and height. For the former the figure was 186.47 m.p.h., he having taken19 min 59 sec to cover the 10 km, and for altitude he reached 20,000ft in just 17 min. A year later he took two more world's records on the D.H. Hound.

 In 1935, after 20 wonderful years of service, he left de Havillands and later did some flying for the Air Registration Board. From here he went to the Royal Aircraft Establishment and finally joined Hawkers to be in charge of all their production testing at Langley. He will be 50 in a matter of a few weeks, yet every day sees him at oxygen height testing Tempest IIs. As he says, he has gone from 35 h.p. in the Anzani to over 3,000 h.p. in the Centaurus and Sabre VI, and from 2 ½ lb/sq ft in the Caudron to 40 lb/sq ft in the Tempest II.

photo: 1921, aged 23

Chairman of de Havilland; the story goes that in 1921 he asked the one-year old de Havilland Aircraft Company to build a fast two-passenger touring aeroplane to his specification,

and stumped up £3,000 for them to do it. The money saved the company from extinction and they appointed him to the board of directors forthwith. He held the position until he retired in 1950.

The aeroplane became the DH37, (which he named, firstly, 'Sylvia' after his sister, then, rather diplomatically, 'Lois', after his wife, q.v.), which he entered in the very first King's Cup Race in 1922 and again in 1924, coming third.

He and Lois set up a world speed record of 120mph for 1000 km in 1928, and they also flew to Cape Town together .

Entered the MacRobertson Race in 1934 (assigned No 59) but didn't take part.

Was still aviating in 1970.

 Mr John Conway Cantrill

   in 1961

 'Jack', b. 28 May 1898 in Manchester.

Manchester University OTC then RFC (Admin Dept) during WWI, later test pilot for Avro. Volunteer instructor with the Lancashire Aero Club and, from 1930, Manager of Aviation Dept of Cellon [manufacturer of aircraft dope and finishes].

In 1925, "Mr. Cantrill, having no pupils down at the aerodrome, spent the afternoon shooting and returned with two good hares. This shooting is becoming a popular pastime for those who are waiting to fly."

Taught Winnie Brown to fly; rejoined the RAF in December 1939, again in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch.

In 1944 he resigned his commission as a Wing Commander, and rejoined Cellon.

d. 1978 on the Isle of Wight.

Capt (later Sir) Geoffrey de Havilland O.M. K.B.E A.F.C Hon.F.R.Ae.S

   1911, aged 29       1936, aged 54

William Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill AFC

  1930

Ah... yes... the aviation pioneer, chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society, right-wing sympathiser and occasional spy (for the Japanese), who was motivated by his 'impetuous character, obstinacy, and flawed judgement', rather than money.

William Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill - Wikipedia

  1917, when a 2nd Lieut in the RFC, aged 20

  1928, aged 31

Technical director of Air Freight.

b. 9 Nov 1897 in Walton, Liverpool

Aged 18, and described as a "trick-cyclist", he was summoned in 1915 for committing a breach of the Realms Act by taking a photograph of one of his Majesty's ships at Barrow; he pleaded not guilty, admitted that he was carrying a camera, and was fined £5.

A close friend of Bert Hinkler, he made an extensive search over the Alps at his own expense when Bert went missing on his fatal flight in 1934, but then sued the Daily Mirror when they published their hair-raising account of his exploits, "Captain Hope's Ordeal in the Alps". He said there was "not one word of truth in it."

 m. 1920 Marjory [Stone]

Three-time winner of the King's Cup Race (1927, 1928 and 1932)

In the 1926 King's Cup race, "he had to descend at Oxford while racing for home in the last lap with a small “airlock" in his petrol pipe, which effectually put his tiny Moth machine out of the running. He landed in a small field - so small that he found it impossible take off again when his minor trouble had been rectified without pushing his  plane through three fields to a broader stretch of country, where he could rise. By this time it was so late that he decided that would abandon the race and go on at his leisure to Hendon.

Interviewed at his home in Hendon yesterday, Mr. Hope said: “The only thing that I am really disappointed about is that I feel sure that if this trifling mishap had not occurred I should most certainly have won. For three laps I was racing neck and neck with Captain Broad, with an aggregate speed equal to his - between 90 and 91 m.p.h." Daily Herald

At the end of the 1928 race, "Thinking all was over he proceeded to loop and stunt before landing, and having landed switched on his well known winning smile. Suddenly there was a terrific hooting, and Sir Francis McClean in his white Rolls-Royce came tearing across to tell Hope he had not crossed the finishing line... Within 30 seconds Hope was in the air again, discovered the finishing line, landed, and again switched on the winning smile fortissimo." C G Grey

Entered for the MacRobertson Race in 1934 (No 24) but didn't take part in the end.

 m. 1954 Hilda L [Stone or Hunt]

d. Oct 1979 - Isle of Wight

  1927, aged 23

A civil engineer from Slough; in 1936 he and Marcel Desoutter decided that an airport at Gatwick might be a nice idea (it was, after all, "outside the London fog area").

He later married Australian-born Muriel Nora 'Cherry' Davies and they ended up near Sydney; he died in 1980, but she survived until 2011 - aged 101. see
http://www.smh.com.au/national/obituaries/love-and-duty-shaped-long-life-20110923-1kp9i.html

Known as 'John Willy'; Welsh Regiment (attached to RFC) in WWI (11 victories).

d. 1929 in the Fairey Long-Range Monoplane which crashed near Tunis while trying to break the world distance record; buried in Newtimber, Sussex.

  1916, when a Captain in the Welsh Regt, aged 26

  1924

b 7 Oct 1890, Llandilo, Carm, Wales

British Army 1913-16; RAF 1916-43; 

Won the Hanworth-Blackpool Air Race, 15 Jul 31; 

Died in WWII -  14 May 43, when serving with Station Flight, RAF Middle Wallop, his Hurricane IIb HV895 exploded and crashed in Sudbourne Marshes, during a flight from Martlesham Heath to Orford Ness bombing range to test a new bomb.

Research: thanks to Steve Brew

  1926, aged 21

A Paper Maker from Surrey

  1917

b. 1 May 1899, Nottingham

RFC in France and Italy during WWI 

Pilot-Instructor for the Nottingham Aero Club 1924-29

Emigrated to Canada in May 1929. Joined Canadian Airways as a mail pilot in October until the contract was cancelled.

1930 - Bernard Martin 2nd left at Walker Airport, Ontario (the aircraft is a Pitcairn Mailwing)

He then did 'crazy flying' for a while, as "Doctor Dore", wearing a long beard and carrying a cane.

d. 17 Jun 1933 when Chief Pilot for the Fairchild Aircraft Co., Montreal. His plane burst into flames on landing. 

"Killed in Canada While Testing ’Plane 

MONTREAL

Mr. Bernard Martin, one of Canada's best known air pilots, was killed when a new aeroplane, which he was testing for commercial flying, crashed near here, bursting into flames. He was born at Nottingham, England, where his father is said to be still living. In 1917, Martin was the youngest flyer in the R.A.F. unit with which he served on the French front. After the War, he was a flying instructor in England for several years before coming to Canada and joining the Commercial and Air Mail Service."

 Buried in Montreal.

photo: 1921, aged 27

presumably Jack Noakes, b. 9 Apr 1894 in Brighton

RAeC Certificate 1092 (1915); later an Air Commodore

  1930, aged 32

Australian aeronautical genius who ended up in the USA and New Zealand, via Luton.

b. 23 Feb 1897 in Albury, N.S.W. In 1915, while training in England, he became only the third person on record to recover from a spin (supposedly, Fred Raynham [q.v.] was the first). He later wrote: "After that I found that spinning was great fun and spun a Bristol Scout the next day. Very much later, on the Western Front, I found a spin was a very speedy way of dropping on the enemy - especially through a handy cloud."

Designer, and pilot, of some of the finest racing and record-breaking aeroplanes of all time.

"He always flies his rakish Mew Gulls in a soft felt hat and tries to look as much unlike an intrepid birdman as possible, though he has never yet deceived the handicappers by this ruse." 

  King's Cup 1934; sans trilby, for once

Flight said he "has an uncanny navigational sense in thick weather, but sometimes flies pensively past his destination in 100-mile visibility".

Michael Madigan wrote: "It was very difficult to resist his puckish humour and not to fall under his spell... In his early flying days he had a fox-terrier called Ginger Mick. This dog always sat in the [open] rear cockpit tethered to a spar. One day as Edgar was preparing to land he went into a loop to lose height, forgetting about his passenger. After levelling off he heard strange scrabbling noises from the back and looking out saw Ginger Mick frantically dog-paddling in the air suspended by his lead. Edgar managed to manoevre Ginger back into the plane, and after landing he thought he would never see Ginger Mick again as he rushed off, but Ginger was as persistent an aviator as his master and reappeared, to settle in his place at start-up, large as life, and eager for more."

 In 1956, with the EP.9 'Prospector'. And trilby.

© The Royal Aero Club

d. 21 Jan 1984; his ashes were taken by the RAAF "to be scattered in the very field in Richmond, N.S.,W., where it all began."

"Edgar Percival had a strong character, a high mental and moral sense, and was a perfectionist - the qualities which made him successful. He was the dominant presence which compelled attention in a group. This dominance arose from his vast knowledge of aviation in all its aspects... all this and his strength of will did not make him an easy associate. He could see problems clearly, had the energy to solve them, and drove himself relentlessly, which made him rather intolerant of those less gifted."

(All quotes via Martin Barraclough, for which many thanks)

  1916, when a 2nd Lieut in the 2/5th Royal Warwickshire Regiment, aged 25

from Lancashire, later an Air Commodore; retired to Kenya.

Felt that aviation wasn't as much fun after the invention of the parachute.

In 1927-8 he entered as 'Harold Brooklyn', and 1929-31 he entered as 'J Wellworth'; I have no idea why.