King's Cup - 1938

The Aviators

 (RAeC photo  missing)

 b. 22 November 1908 in London, a Director.

RAeC Certificate 13625, 4th March 1936

'Master of Fox Hounds of the Bedale Hunt'; lived at Firby Hall, Bedale Yorks in 1936.

 Mr Leslie Harold Talbot Cliff

 in 1930, aged 22

b. 5 Jun 1908 in The Curragh, Ireland.

In 1930, a Law Student', address given as the Langham Hotel, London.

m. 1935 Violet H [Supple]

By 1936, 'A flying instructor at Brooklands, and a skater of some repute' - he and Violet "skated pairs, winning bronze medals at the World Championships in 1936-37, a silver medal at the 1936 European Championships, and they came fourth in the 1938 Worlds and 1933 and 1937 Europeans.

They won the British Championship every year from 1934-38. When they sought to regain their title after the war, in May 1946, they were beaten by Dennis and Winnie Silverthorne." 

see https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/cl/leslie-cliff-2.html

  1936

see http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-1936-world-figure-skating.html

d. 2 Aug 1969 - "Brunthorpe", Mont Gras d'Eau, St. Brelade, Jersey

 His obituary in 'Flight' says "Leslie Cliff, AFC, who died recently at his home at St Brelades Bay, Jersey, was one of those who played their part in popularising British private flying in the early thirties.

In 1928 he owned a D.H. Puss Moth and learned to fly in it at Lympne, and in 1935 he became one of the instructors of the Cinque Ports Flying Club at Lympne; he moved from there to Brooklands in 1937.

In the following year he entered the King's Cup Air Race in a Miles Hawk and flew with his wife Violet into third place. The summer of 1939 found Leslie Cliff at Sywell, instructing at the RAF EFTS there.

Later he volunteered as a night fighter pilot on Beaufighters. When it was discovered that he had been a civil instructor with twin experience he was retained as an instructor, training pilots for night fighting. Towards the end of the war he was sent to Robertsfield, Liberia, for anti-submarine duties."

 F/O Arthur Edmond Clouston

  in 1936, aged 28

Famous D.H. Comet pilot, from New Zealand. Civil Test pilot at RAE Farnborough in 1936. Flew Desoutters in other races.

  With the Brittania Trophy

© The Royal Aero Club [0654-0280]

d. 1984

 Mr Geoffrey Raul de Havilland

  1936

Geoffrey Junior, aka 'Young D.H.' born in 1910 and learnt to fly at Stag Lane at a tender age. Took over as chief test pilot at de Havillands when Bob Waight was killed.

Second Brit to fly a jet-propelled aircraft on its first flight, the Vampire in 1943. Killed when the second DH108 Swallow broke up and crashed in the Thames estuary in 1946.

Flight 18^th April 1946

As a test pilot young D.H., as he is universally called,has not an exceptionally long history. He took over the chief test pilot's position in October, 1937, when R. J. Waight unfortunately lost his life on the T.K.4. Being, however, the son of his illustrious father, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, who designed, built and test flew his own aircraft from 1911 onwards, young Geoffrey can be said to have been ''in the industry'' from the very cradle. It is not generally known that Sir Geoffrey took his R.Ae.C. ticket No. 53 in February, 1911, on the second machine of his own design and construction, and that he has made many of the first flights on new D.H. types right up to the Moth Minor in 1938.

Geoffrey's first flight is lost in the dim past, but certain it is that at the tender age of six he was flying with father at Hendon in a D.H. 6 (also known as the Clutching Hand). When 18 years of age he left school and came to de Havillands as a premium apprentice for 4 years and learnt to fly on Moths at the firm's reserve training school. After spending two years in the drawing office—much of the time being spent looking out of the windows envying the pilots—he joined the Air Operating Company, who were doing a lot of air survey work in South Africa. This, however, gave him but very little flying, and at the end of six months, he came back to England to become a flying instructor to the D.H. Technical School. The aircraft were wooden Moths built by the students. In 1929 he took his B licence; a very simple business in those days. Some 20 or 30 hours' solo flying, a little cross-country work, a simple "Met" exam, and about one hour's night flying at Croydon was sufficient to qualify.

In 1934 Capt. Hubert Broad was chief test pilot of de Havillands, and Bob Waight looked after the production side. There was so much work, however, that Geoffrey was given the opportunity to lend a hand testing Tiger Moths, Dragons, Rapides, Express Air Liners, and Hornet Moths.

Broad left the company in 1935 and Waight took over, starting, with the Dragonfly and later the Albatross. It was during the period when the prototype Albatross was going through its development flying that Waight lost his life, and de Havilland took over as chief test pilot. Nobody could have taken on a more interesting or more complex job because the Albatross was completely experimental from tip to tail. Engines were new, construction was new, and the layout was extremely advanced.

He had a curious experience on the Albatross. While its strength was ample for all flying loads, some unfortunate drilling had weakened the fuselage under ground loads, and shortly after landing from a test flight the machine broke in halves on the ground.

When war broke out lie was busy testing Oxfords and Flamingoes, but when things became desperate at the time of the Battle of Britain, de Havillands did a big job doing emergency repairs to shot-up Hurricanes.

Dick Reynell of Hawkers came over and gave Geoffrey the "know how" on Hurricanes. A little later Dick went out on operations with his old squadron (No. 43) and was, unfortunately, shot down.' He was an excellent test pilot and a gallant gentleman.

Improvised Runway

Geoffrey flew the first Mosquito at Hatfield on November 21st, 1940, but he is more proud of the first flight of the prototype Mosquito fighter. This was built at a dispersal factory with no airfield. To save some six week's wasted time in transport and re-erection at Hatfield, Geoffrey used local fields by having bridges built over ditches to give him a 450yd run for take-off, and then flew the fighter to Hatfield.

He is, of course, one of the only two men in Britain to have made first flights on jet-propelled aircraft. The Vampire was flown for the first time on September 21st, 1943, but Geoffrey had already flown the Gloster E.28 at Farnborough. The first airing of the Vampire proved it to be a tribute to the D.H. design and aerodynamics staff, as it behaved almost exactly as they had forecast. There was, however, somewhat of an aileron overbalance which limited the speed to 250 m.p.h. and a rather severe tip stall.

Geoffrey de Havilland had made a number of investigation flights on Mosquitoes for compressibility effects, but on the Vampire he has done extensive work. The Vampire, under the effects of compressibility, executes a series of sudden high-speed stalls: the path of the machine is similar to an artist's conception of a streak of lightning, and unless the pilot is strapped-in tightly he is likely to be knocked out by hitting the cockpit roof.

Geoffrey, with another pilot, has flown the Vampire in tight formation at over 500 m.p.h., and to investigate snaking, which is causing considerable trouble on most jet aircraft, he has flown the Vampire with rudder locked.

Like most of the test pilots, he is living on borrowed time, they having at some stage of their careers had close shaves. Strangely enough, Geoffrey's nearest go was on about the mildest type he ever flew. It was the first production Moth Minor. The prototype had completed its spinning tests, and the same tests on the production model appeared to be only a matter of form. He was flying with John Cunningham (now Group Capt., D.S.O.,D.F.C., and test pilot for the D.H. engine division) at the time. The Minor was put into a spin at 5-6,oooft, but after it had failed to come out in five turns and the engine had stopped, a panic decision was made to abandon ship.

Test-flying a Hurricane, too, almost saw him off. This particular aircraft had had a gruelling time in the Battle of Britain, and the whole canopy came off at 4,000ft.hitting him in the face as it blew backwards. At first blind through the amount of blood in his eyes, he flew more by instinct than anything else until he found he could get a little relief by holding his face close to the instrument board. The blood dispersed a little and he was able to land through what appeared to be a thick yellow haze. He wears the scars across his nose to this day, and there was a terrible moment during that flight when he thought he was really blind.

On another occasion the oxygen bottle contained only compressed air, and the effects from this were at first blamed on the previous night's party.

At the other end of the scale was the test of the T.K.5, a tail-first aircraft built by the technical school. Impecunious at the time, Geoffrey had already mortgaged the bonus for the first flight. Imagine his consternation then when, after roaring the whole length of Hatfield airfield, the machine showed no sign of lifting. The forward elevator was ineffective. The T.K.5 never did fly and was finally abandoned.

In the days of peace before the war Geoffrey de Havilland was to be seen at all the air meetings and twice finished 4th in the King's Cup Race flying the TK1 and TK2.

  1931, aged 26

Cecil, brother of Hugh. From Kensington, London. Sometimes known as "Sphinx".

M.A.(Oxon); rowing blue in 1925 and 1926 (when he was the "best man in the crew, as always"); the first member of the Oxford Air Squadron to qualify as a pilot.

Flew, with Winifred Spooner, a Desoutter in an attempt to reach Cape Town in 1930, but they had to ditch in the sea off Italy, and swim about a mile to shore.

Winner of the King's Cup in 1931; here is his "Competitor's Armband" from the race:

Apparently, after the race, "a triumphant Cecil 'Sphinx' Edwards was invited to Sir Robert MacAlpine's house to celebrate the win (Sir Robert had lent Sphinx his Bluebird aeroplane). On leaving the party, Sir Robert grabbed the trophy, said "Well done Edwards" and that is the last that Sphinx or the family would ever see of the trophy. It is now awarded at Henley as The Prince of Wales Challenge Cup after mysteriously being donated to Henley by an antique shop owner."

with many thanks to Gavin Jamieson, who found the armband among his family's archives

Killed in WWII: 31st August 1940, when a Wing Commander (pilot) 53 Sqn RAF; buried in Rotterdam, Holland.

  1934, aged 21

b. 26 December 1912; brother of Ruth [the family were from Brazil, although he and Ruth were both born in London].

Racing driver, winning the Le Mans 24 hour race in a Lagonda with John Hindmarsh, a test pilot, in 1935, as well as the Manx Grand Prix and a number of lesser events. (The Lagonda can now be seen in the Netherlands National Motor Museum).

Monday 02 December 1935 - "RACING MOTORIST SENT TO PRISON

Judge and a Case of “Wicked Recklessness

LICENCE SUSPENDED FOR 10 YEARS

Luis Fontes, the 22-year-old racing motorist, was sentenced to three years’ penal servitude, his licence was suspended for ten years from the date of his release, and he was ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution at both the police court and the assizes by Mr. Justice Du Parcq at Warwick Assizes on Saturday.

He was charged with the manslaughter of Reginald Francis Mordike at Coleshill 6th October. The Judge said that it was the worst case he had ever known. When he considered what Fontes did on the day of the tragedy it appeared to him to plain that was not a question of whom he was likely to injure or kill, but how many he would injure or kill. He behaved with wicked recklessness, for which the only excuse that could offered was that he was drunk. The Judge added that if he had not thought that Fontes was drunk he would say that the case was almost as black as murder, for any reasonable person behaving as Fontes behaved would have known it was almost inevitable that someone would be killed. He considered that Fontes had been treated in regard to certain other motoring offences with deplorable leniency.

SENTENCES OF PENAL SERVITUDE

Fontes was defended by Sir Henry Curtis Bennett, K.C., and Mr. Arthur Ward, and pleaded guilty.

There had been evidence at different points that he was driving his motor car at recklessly high speed and he was on number of occasions completely on the wrong side of the road; that he drove with complete disregard of the safety of other users; that, finally, he was under the influence of drink to such extent as not to be able to have full control of the car. Mr. Marshall mentioned how a man, recognised as Fontes, went to the house of a gardener at Castle Gardens, smashed a panel in the door of his house, went upstairs and lay on his bed. Witnesses w'ho saw him formed the opinion that he was under the influence of drink. It was alleged that Fontes was racing with another car, and at a cross-roads an AA patrol man had to jump out of the way. Further along another car was forced to go on the grass verge, and behind this car were two motor cyclists one of whom Mordike, the man who was killed.

The motor cyclists were travelling about 15 miles an hour, three feet from their proper side of the road. Fontes’s car, travelling at a very fast speed, collided head-on with and knocked him off his machine.

DID NOT STOP

Neither Fontes’s car nor the other car stopped, but further on they were held up in traffic. Then Fontes drove to a garage and told a garage man to put right his front tyre, which was deflated. Fontes did not get out of the car, but sat back in the seat and switched on the wireless. He was droswy and did not realise what was going on around him. Subsequently doctors certified him as being under the influence of drink. To a police officer he said, I struck the motor cyclist, the motor cyclist struck me, it is fifty-fity. It serves the cyclist right.” Drink was found in the car. The motor cyclist died the next day.

Police-Superintendent Horsman told the judge that Fontes’s father died when he was young and Fontes inherited, at 21, a considerable fortune. He received a good education, and from 1932 to 1934 he took a course in automobile repair work. Since then be had been engaged, with some success, motor racing. There was a number of convictions against him, four being for careless driving, and one for dangerous driving. while there were several for minor offences."

Operated a speedboat firm in Torquay.

Owned:

1935 Miles Hawk Speed Six G-ADGP 

and

1938 B A Eagle 2 G-AFKH 

with his sister Ruth, King's Cup 1935

Killed in WWII: 12th October 1940, when a First Officer with the Air Transport Auxiliary; his Wellington stalled and crashed following engine failure. Buried Mapledurham, Oxfordshire

see also Fontes, Luis Goncelvis (ata-ferry-pilots.org)

 1935, aged 19

 1936

Shown here, for comparison, just before, and just after, he grew his moustache.

"Giles Guthrie is the only son of Sir Connop and Lady Guthrie. His enthusiasm for flying has roused his father's active interest in the aviation industry. Only 20 years of age, he is the youngest pilot and the only undergraduate to take part in a long distance air race. For the Johannesburg race, the Cambridge University authorities gave him special leave of absence.

Despite his youth, he is a pilot of considerable experience. The Percival Vega Gull in which Charles Scott and he won the Johannesburg race, first tasted victory in the King's Cup this year. Giles Guthrie then flew as co-pilot with Charles E Gardner .

When Sir Connop decided to enter the machine in the Johannesburg race and chose Charles Scott to fly it, one condition was that Scott should take young Giles with him."

- from the Celebration Dinner programme after the race (October 14th 1936 at Claridge's Hotel).

Had used his Vega Gull for a "good deal of continental touring".

Later Sir Giles, J.P., merchant banker.

Died 1979

  1932, aged 20

b. 7th November, 1912.

The extraordinary Mr Spitfire. Leant to fly in (of all places) Skegness. "After 25 hours solo bought a Comper Swift and in the 1933 King's Cup Race won the Siddley Trophy with it." In 1936, still the youngest competitor in the race.

d. 24th February, 2007

  1933, aged 24

Lloyds Insurance Broker; he married actress Florence Desmond after Tom Campbell Black's death.

Honorary Flying Instructor to the Insurance Flying Club at Hanworth

 photo: 1930, aged 19

b. 14 April 1911 in Doncaster

The Aeroplane described him in 1936 as "A mining engineer... has to climb up several thousand feet to get into his Speed Hawk Six - from the bottom of the family coal mine." (Ha!)

[From 1937 his father, also called William, was Chairman of the Doncaster Amalgamated Collieries, Ltd, until they were nationalised. William Snr was a keen racehorse owner; his horse 'Nearula' won the 2000 Guineas in 1953 and he died in 1964 aged 89.]

Bill didn't work in the family coal mine, however.

From 1939 to 1948, he was test pilot for Hawkers - initially testing Hurricanes, right up to the prototype Sea Hawk - then later in their Sales Department in the Middle East.

d. 1 Mar 1992

His grand-daughter is Kate Humble, the TV presenter. (See 'Who Do You Think You Are', Series 6). She says 'He was unbelievably handsome... a rogue, a very good-looking rogue. I was 23 when he died. He lived abroad, but came back to England in the late 1980s, when he got ill. Because he wasn't a good father to my father, and didn't really like children, I only got to know him better when I was an adult.'

  1932, aged 21

b. 15 Mar 1911 in London; "5ft 10ins, build: medium, eyes: hazel".

Father: William Thomas Lowe. Educated at Seaford College, Sussex.

A salesman in 1932, when 'Flight' said he was 'in the wholesale fish business' (in fact, he worked for Mac Fisheries Ltd).

For the 1938 King's Cup Race, (in which he came 9th out of 19), 'Flight' described him thus: "He has been a consistent competitor in air races, though last year - when he had the bad luck to retire at Glasgow in the eliminating contest - was his first King's Cup race. He won the 1937 Manx Air Derby. He lives at Twickenham, Middlesex, and plays golf and Rugby football."

   Flight

He also won the 1936 Portsmouth - Shoreham - Portsmouth race, averaging 126mph, in his Comper Swift (presumably the very lovely G-ABWE, although he later owned the Gipsy-engined [and therefore plug-ugly, imho] 'WW'):

    AJJ

He modified 'WW in 1938 to have a hinged racing windscreen and a fairing between the wing bracing struts, which are visible here. Them fairings must have made the visibility even worse...

He married Enid Eileen Thirlwell in 1939, and they had a daughter in 1943.

Air Transport Auxiliary in WWII - see https://www.ata-ferry-pilots.org/index.php/category-blog-1940/102-lowe-stanley

 d. 1993; Enid d. 2002.

  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)

  1938, aged c.25

b. c.1913. From Kensington, London.

"a serving RAF Officer with 614 Sqn, stationed at Cardiff. He is an 'A' licence holder and has 1500 hours flying experience. Recreations are squash and golf"

Killed in WWII: 29th March 1945 when a Wing Commander RAF; buried Tenby, Pembrokeshire.

  1930, aged 29

 A Londoner. 

A Fishmonger - "C. Tutt & Sons" but a prominent pre-war racing pilot, owning:

- a 1929 D.H. Gipsy Moth, G-AAJW;

- a 1931 D.H. Gipsy Moth, G-ABPK;

- a 1932 Comper Swift, G-ABWE;

- a 1933 GAL ST.4 Monospar 2, G-ACEW.

Air Transport Auxiliary in WWII - see https://www.ata-ferry-pilots.org/index.php/category-blog-1941/410-tutt-charles-henry

d.1992, Surrey

  1930, aged 22

b. 7 April 1908, in Lambeth, London

As you can see, he was over 6ft 4in in height. Despite this, learnt to fly in Kent, got his aviator's certificate in 1930 and then became an instructor at Brooklands in Surrey.

Pilot, with Owen Cathcart Jones, of one of the D.H. Comets for the MacRobertson Race in 1934; given third prize (erroneously, in my view, but it's probably a bit late to say that now).

In 1935, got annoyed with Owen Cathcart Jones for something he said in his book that Ken felt "reflected on his courage and ability as a pilot", and even went to court over it. Owen replied that "that was the last thing he intended, as Mr. Waller and he had been, and still were, very good friends", which seemed to settle the matter.

He and Max Findlay competed in the Schlesinger Race to South Africa in 1936, in an Airspeed Envoy (No 13), but this crashed on take-off in Northern Rhodesia, killing Findlay and the radio operator; Ken was thrown out through a hole in the fuselage and badly hurt.

After WWII, became Miles Aircraft's chief test pilot (he delivered a Hillman Minx car to Orkney in 1948 at a cost of £35, you may remember). 

  1933, aged 22

a Cambridge M.A., "pilot for Parnall and Nash and Thompson; 6 feet 5in tall'. [Or possibly he was "over 6 ft 8in"!] 

Killed on 27 April 1944, in an accident when flying a prototype Gloster Meteor.

  1936, aged 28

"Tough, broken-nosed" Hugh "transferred to the RAF Reserve in 1934 after serving with shore-based boats and float-planes and with the school of Naval Co-operation at Lee-on-the-Solent.

Later chief flying instructor to the York County Aviation Club at Sherburn-in-Elmet, and flying instructor to the Blackburn RAF Civil FTS at Hanworth and demonstrating B.2 Trainer and Cirrus-Minor-in-B.A. Swallow alternately."