CHAPTER VII
A BIG CHEQUE, AN AERIAL DERBY, AND OTHER EVENTS
Echoes of the Seaplane Flight—Mr. Winston Churchill’s Views—Back to Work—The £1,000 Cheque—And a Gold Medal from Margate—The Carping Critic—And the Reply he Received—An Expedition to Eastchurch—Lost in the Air—Racing a Powerful Monoplane—An Exciting Aerial Derby—Hamel’s Bad Luck—Harry Finishes Third—And in the Sealed Handicap is Fourth—A Bad Crash at Hendon—Other Races—Michelin Efforts Again—Harry’s Bad Luck—He Puts up Some Wonderful Flights—A Headache in the Air.
CHAPTER VII
Harry and Kauper received many messages of appreciation immediately after their failure. Sir George Reid, High Commissioner for Australia, wired: “Win or lose, Australia is proud of you both.” Mr. Robinson, the Agent-General for Queensland, also wired: “Queensland warmly congratulates you both on splendid achievement, the merit of which is not detracted from by the regrettable accident that prevented you from reaching the goal.” Mr. Winston Churchill, who was then First Lord of the Admiralty, and was on board the Admiralty yacht at Deal when Harry passed overhead, to the Daily Mail wrote:
“Mr. Hawker has achieved a wonderful result, and the accident which prevented complete success in no way detracts from the merit of a feat at once memorable and serviceable. The whole competition has been of real value to British flying. Though we started last, we must persevere till the first place is gained and held.”
As various false reports as to the cause of the smash off the coast of Ireland were circulated, the Royal Aero Club found it expedient to issue an announcement as follows: “With reference to certain reports that the accident to the Sopwith biplane, used by Hawker in the recent race round Great Britain, was caused by the wings breaking in the air, the Royal Aero Club has carefully investigated the matter, and finds that the wings were entirely intact at the time the aeroplane struck the water.”
On the Saturday, Harry was busy at Brooklands testing two machines and carrying many passengers, including the late Mr. Pizey, instructor at the Bristol School, Salisbury, who was afterwards invited by Mr. Sopwith to pilot the tractor biplane, which he praised highly. Rain prevented any flying on Sunday. On the Monday, Mr. Sopwith, Mr. Green, Mr. Fred May, Mr, Perrin, and Harry were the guests of Mr. Thomas Marlowe, Editor of the Daily Mail, at a luncheon in the precincts of the Royal Automobile Club in commemoration of the flight. Mr. Harold Harmsworth, Mr. Hamilton Fyfe, Mr. Ashworth Briggs, and Mr. Sutton were also present. After luncheon, the company adjourned to the Daily Mail offices, where Harry received the handsome consolation prize of £1,000. Addressing him, Mr. Marlowe said:
“In handing you this cheque for £1,000 I may mention that this is the eleventh prize—making £24,750—that the Daily Mail has given for the encouragement of airmanship, and, like all the others, it is due to the direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe, the chairman of our company. I am sorry that, owing to his absence in America, he is unable himself to present it to you as a tribute to your courage and in recognition of the fact that you are the first man—and a British subject, too—to fly 1,000 miles over the sea. That, as I think we all agree, was a very great performance, one that shows that the waterplane is a weapon which will become of great value for military and naval purposes, and consequently a prime necessity of this island country.
“I have also to hand you a gold medal presented by the Mayor of Margate for the first airman to pass that town in this race, and another medal, which he asks me to hand to you for Mr. Kauper, your passenger. There is a third medal from the Mayor of Margate which he asks me to hand to Mr. Sopwith, the owner and designer of your waterplane.
“Here is a great bundle of letters which I have received for you. I have no doubt they all contain wishes in which we join—that you will be the first home when the race takes place next year.
“Finally, let me say that our greatest thanks are due to the Royal Aero Club, and especially to Mr. Perrin, the secretary of the club, for the admirable arrangements they made for the control and observation of the flight.”
Harry briefly expressed his thanks.
On behalf of the Sopwith Aviation Company, its founder proposed a vote of thanks to the Daily Mail for the “very sporting way” in which they had promoted the competition. The vote was seconded by Mr. Green, the builder of the engine.
In reply, Mr. Marlowe referred to the important parts played by Mr. Sopwith and Mr. Green. He said: “They made the flight possible. They brought it so near success that it must be achieved next year, and I can only hope that when the prize is won they may be very near the winning-post.”
The following editorial comment is from Flight, September 13th, 1913, and should be carefully studied by anyone who doubts the utility of aviation and in particular the usefulness of Harry’s flight round Britain:
“Under the heading of ‘Mr. Hawker’s Flight. What is the Moral of it?’ there was published in the Manchester Guardian of the 1st inst. a letter, signed by a Mr. S. V. Bracher, whose address is simply ‘London,’ and which is so full of false premises and erroneous conclusions that we can hardly allow it to pass without comment. The main proposition which he sets out to disprove is, as he says, that the enterprising newspaper which promoted the competition is now declaring that the lesson to be learnt from it is that the Navy must have a great many waterplanes, and that the designers of British engines and the builders of British waterplanes must make their plans immediately. He apparently does not think either that the Navy requires waterplanes, or that it is essential that British designers of engines and aircraft should make any plans for the future. He begins his argument by saying:
“‘To anybody able to keep cool amid the vast output of scare headlines and process blocks, it must be perfectly clear that one of the lessons of Mr. Hawker’s plucky adventure is that the time is not yet ripe for great public expenditure on aviation. His achievement has enabled everybody to realise the extreme precariousness and uncertainty of aerial navigation as hitherto developed.’
Continuing, Flight says:
“To take the first point, which apparently is that the Navy does not want waterplanes. We have no knowledge whatever of Mr. Bracher’s status as an authority in this matter. For all we know he may be the power behind the throne at the Admiralty—presuming that such a personality is needed by My Lords—or, on the other hand, he may know even less of the technical side of the subject than we ourselves. It seems to us that the best reply we can make to the proposition as stated is: Ask the Navy. But there is no need to ask the Navy, since we know perfectly well in advance what the Navy thinks of aerial navigation and its probable influence on war at sea. Is it for fun that the Navy is establishing aerial stations round the coasts and is training dozens of officers in the science of flight? Or must we regard things seriously and believe that the Naval authorities know their business? There is manifestly but one reply to this, and we can safely leave even Mr. Bracher to figure it out for himself. Unless we are content to ignore all the lessons of the past development of flight, and particularly those learned during the nearest approach to the ‘real thing’ it is possible to devise, we must come to the cold-blooded decision that the Navy not only wants waterplanes, but wants them rather badly.
“Having got thus far with our argument, we come to the next Bracher point, viz., that the main lesson of Mr. Hawker’s flight is that aviation is yet in so precarious a stage of development that it would be foolish to spend large sums of public money in the equipment of an aerial defence service. Does Mr. Bracher really seriously ask his public to believe that this is the one and only conclusion to be reached from the result of Mr. Hawker’s attempt to circle the coasts of Great Britain? Unless he is writing with his tongue in his cheek—and we do him the justice of saying that we do not think this for a moment—then he must be woefully deficient in imagination and wanting in the power of logical reasoning. Let us hark back and see what actually did happen during this flight. We need not go over all the details of it. Quite sufficient that we point out to Mr. Bracher and others who may be of his way of thinking that Mr. Hawker actually flew for a distance of more than a thousand miles—that is to say, a full two-thirds of the whole distance he set out to cover—and that he failed through absolutely no fault of the engine or of the machine. It was the lapse of the human factor that brought the enterprise to an untimely end. Therefore, it is fair to deduce the argument that already the machine and its engine have overtaken and passed the capacity of the man, and that if improvement is needed anywhere it is in the human and not the material machine. Let us say that we are not advancing this as a definite argument, but we do press the point that it is a fairer deduction than that reached by the correspondent of the Manchester Guardian.
“No one claims, as far as we are aware, that the aeroplane has reached its ultimate stage of development, but is that any argument for holding back provided we can be satisfied that it has arrived at a useful stage? Not for a moment could such a contention be allowed. As well might it be argued that because the Dreadnought is practically obsolescent before it is completed for its first commission, we should cease building battleships until such time as the final development has been reached. The man who would seriously argue thus would, deservedly, be accounted a dangerous lunatic. Upon the same ridiculous principle no one would go into the water until he could swim; no business undertaking would be engaged upon until a profit actually accrues at the moment of starting, and so on.
“The next point is this. Mr. Bracher says:
“‘Experts are saying that seaplanes require much stronger frames, vastly more powerful engines, and far more effective float devices than have yet been provided. In short, design must be revolutionised. Clearly this is the time for experiment, and not for any wide scheme involving heavy expenditure.’
THE SOPWITH ROLLS-ROYCE-ENGINED BIPLANE, “ATLANTIC,” IN WHICH HARRY AND GRIEVE ATTEMPTED THE ATLANTIC CROSSING. THE TOP OF THE FUSELAGE WAS MADE IN THE FORM OF AN INVERTED BOAT, WHICH THEY DETACHED IN MID-ATLANTIC. THE UNDERCARRIAGE WAS DROPPED SOON AFTER THE START, IN ORDER TO REDUCE AIR RESISTANCE.
[Facing p. 108.
“Now, this impresses us as being specious argument, since it is the sort of thing with which it is impossible not to agree in principle, but before we arrive at complete agreement we must examine the proposition and see what we mean by it all. Nothing was ever yet first produced in its final and perfect state, but this last has inevitably been reached by stages involving long and careful experiment. From the line-of-battle ship of the Nelson era to the last Centurion is a far cry. Again, in the case of under-water craft, there is an enormous gap between the original Holland boat and the latest submarine of the day. Now, what would have happened in either case if it had been agreed that these vessels were still ‘experimental’ and everyone had sat and waited for someone else to perfect them? Once more, the answer is obvious. We should be where we were a hundred or more years ago. Instead, however, of having adopted any such foolish policy, we have gone on building and equipping ships which were the best we knew how to construct at the time, and have developed accordingly until we have reached the super-Dreadnought and the submarine as we know them now—and still the end of development is not in sight.
“Next, Mr. Bracher makes it a cause of complaint that the Naval and Military Defence Committee propose to:
“‘Equip all the coast defences and defended ports of the Kingdom with aviation stations, and in the case of the former, permanent establishments are to be maintained as soon as the necessary buildings can be erected and fleets of aeroplanes provided. Of the cost of this scheme one-third will be borne by the Navy and two-thirds by the Army.’
“He adds the surprising information that:
“‘The trouble is that, as a cold fact, the whole cost will be borne by the taxpayer’!!!
“Now, unless we are content to assume that aviation has no bearing on military and naval operations, the answer is that these stations are necessary, even supposing the practical aeroplane has not yet materialised. That, of course, we do not allow, since we know the contrary to be the case. But even supposing it were so, we do know that its day is not far off, and as we construct dry docks large enough to take in battleships far exceeding in size those at present afloat, we must provide accommodation for our air fleet to be, for the sane and simple reason that it takes far longer to put up buildings than to construct the aircraft to occupy them.
“So far as we are able to read between the lines of the letter we have traversed, the meaning of it all is, that all the necessary experimental work is to be carried out by private firms at their own risk and cost, and that the State, which must ultimately benefit, should placidly stand aside and wait until private enterprise has accomplished the perfection of the machine. Never mind what is being done in other countries or what lead they may have or hold, let no penny of public money be spent on the development of aviation, but rather let that be left to the fools and the patriots. Such logic sickens us. Fortunately, we are able to think that it appeals to but a small minority of our countrymen.”
On Saturday, September 6th, 1913, ending a week of rainy and windy weather, Harry started from Brooklands for Eastchurch at mid-day, carrying Mr. Simms as passenger, in one of the 80 h.p. Gnome tractor biplanes, for the purpose of delivering the machine to the Admiralty. He, however, lost his bearings at 1,500 feet, owing to the dense fog, and landed at Cheam. After leaving there with the intention of returning to Brooklands, he got lost again, and this time came down to learn that he was at Guildford, whence he easily found his way back to Brooklands. He ultimately made the flight to Eastchurch in 56 minutes, two days later, against a strong wind. With a full load and passenger he made a record climb for one of these 80 h.p. Gnome Sopwith Tractors, rising to 3,200 feet in 7 minutes 15 seconds. Leaving Brooklands at 2.40 p.m., he made Eastchurch shortly before 4 o’clock.
In spite of an overcast sky and a gusty wind, on Sunday, September 7th, many people flocked to Brooklands to see their hero of the Round-Britain Flight, and Harry was kept busy by numerous admirers, writing his autograph in their books. He took up the winner of the ballot for a free passenger flight—Mr. J. S. Marsh of Birley Edge, Wadsley Bridge, near Sheffield—in addition to many other passengers. He also indulged in several exhibition flights, making steeply-banked turns and graceful spiral descents, thoroughly enjoying being back on a lightweight machine. On the following Sunday, the 14th, he took up several passengers and made exhibition flights in the evening, after a 30 m.p.h. wind had died down. In an impromptu race with Barnwell, whose mount was the 120 h.p. Martinsyde monoplane, he was obliged to yield to the superior horse-power of his rival’s machine.
In the Second Aerial Derby, for a Gold Cup and £200 presented by the Daily Mail, held on Saturday, September 20th, 1913, Harry was one of fourteen entrants, of whom eleven actually started and nine completed the course, all landing within an interval of 20 minutes. With a couple of passengers, Harry brought his 80 h.p. Gnome Sopwith Tractor over from Brooklands in the early afternoon, before the race, Barnwell on the 120 h.p. Martinsyde monoplane, and Raynham on his Avro, also bringing their machines over about the same time.
The course of the race was a single circuit of London, starting and finishing at Hendon, via Kempton Park, Epsom, West Thurrock, Epping, and Hertford, a total distance of about 95 miles.
Commencing at 4 o’clock, the pilots started at intervals of one minute in the following order:
| Baumann | (60 h.p. Caudron biplane). | |
| Verrier | (80 h.p. Henri Farman biplane). | |
| W. L. Brock | (80 h.p. Blériot monoplane). | |
| B. C. Hucks | (80 h.p. Blériot monoplane). | |
| Raynham | (80 h.p. Avro biplane). | |
| Hawker | (80 h.p. Sopwith biplane). | |
| Marty | (50 h.p. Morane-Saulnier monoplane). | |
| R. Slack | (80 h p. Morane-Saulnier monoplane). | |
| Barnwell | (120 h.p. Martinsyde monoplane). | |
| Hamel | (80 h.p. Morane-Saulnier monoplane). |
The weather was exceptionally fine, what clouds there were being very high, and the sun constantly breaking through. The organisation of the event left nothing to be desired, and the start at 4 o’clock was punctual to schedule. Early in the afternoon there was a gusty wind, but as time went on this became steadier, and during the actual race it blew from west-north-west at no more than 18 miles per hour. Throughout the greater part of the course the wind was a beam or side wind, which materially reduced the flying speed. The crowds were enormous, every enclosure being packed, and the motor-car paddock could not cope with demands. Fields and vantage-points all around were crowded. Both Harry and Hamel were loudly cheered as they passed out of the aerodrome above the thronged enclosures; Harry presumably on account of his recent glorious failure, and Hamel on account of his being favourite in the race through having chopped about ten feet off the span of his wings!
In the course of the race, Harry, who was sixth to start, passed Baumann before reaching the first turning-point, Kempton Park. As a matter of fact, Baumann landed and dropped out of the contest about half a mile before Kempton Park. Between there and Epsom, the second turning-point, Harry passed Verrier and caught up Hucks, with whom he was now one minute behind Raynham and half a minute behind Brock; and so when Epsom was reached he was flying neck-to-neck with Hucks to decide which of them should assume the third position. By the time West Thurrock, the third control, was reached, Harry had got it, both Hucks and Brock being left behind on their monoplanes. But although he had passed Brock, Harry was still only third, for Hamel had bounded up and was one minute and a half ahead. Raynham still led Hamel by half a minute. Behind Harry was Barnwell, only one minute’s flight away. Before Epping was reached Hamel had trouble with his petrol tap, and pluckily continued his flight, using one finger as a plug. At Epping, Harry had caught Raynham, and Barnwell led them both by about one minute. Hamel had dropped behind through the inconvenience of having to be a human plug for his petrol pipe. Nevertheless, when Hertford, the final turning-point, was reached, Hamel, with another burst of speed, was forcing his way past Barnwell, with Harry close behind, steadily gaining on Raynham. In the end Hamel won an exceptionally good race at an average speed of 76 miles per hour; Barnwell was second with 72.5 miles per hour to his credit; and Harry finished third at 67 miles per hour, beating Raynham by a few seconds.
In the Shell Sealed Handicap flown in conjunction with the Aerial Derby, Harry was fourth, Hucks, Barnwell and Brock taking precedence in the order named. Hamel, the scratch man, of course deserved to win the handicap, seeing that not only was he first home in the Derby, but also that he accomplished this under very great difficulties.
The day was marred by an unfortunate occurrence in which Mr. Pickles sustained a broken limb and internal injuries, and Mrs. de Beauvoir Stocks severe concussion, through side-slipping in a Champel biplane shortly after the race.
In the October Aeroplane Cross Country Handicap, held at Brooklands on Saturday, October 4th, 1913, Harry on an 80 h.p. Gnome Sopwith Tractor biplane was one of sixteen entrants, of whom only six started owing to rain and minor mishaps. He was second to Merriam, Barnwell and Knight being third and fourth respectively. On the Sunday, Harry made many exhibition flights in dull weather, and expressed his versatility by flying both 80 h.p. Gnome and 100 h.p. Green biplanes.
Wednesday, October 8th, was an unlucky day, for in attempting to start for the British Michelin prize, Harry crashed. At first it was thought to be serious, but at the Weybridge Cottage Hospital he was found to have escaped with only a severe shaking. By Monday he was fit and well. The Royal Aero Club issued a notice to members on October 18th which read:
“Mr. H. G. Hawker.
“Mr. H. G. Hawker, who met with an accident at Brooklands last week, has now recovered. He visited the club on Tuesday last, and is quite fit again.”
The accident occurred through his trying to cross over trees, houses, and other obstructions at too low an altitude, he having left the aerodrome without doing a preliminary circuit to gain altitude. There was a fairly strong breeze blowing at the time, and the configuration of the ground and the trees caused gusts. The machine dived to the ground and struck one of the banks of the River Wey where it approaches Brooklands track towards Cobham. The impact was slightly out of the straight, and the force was relieved by the breaking up of one wing. Harry received strains to his back, but was prevented from flying for only ten days. He was busy installing the 100 h.p. Green into the Sopwith in preparation for further Michelin attempts on October 25th.
In the 1913 competition for the British Empire Michelin Cup No. 1 and the £500 Prize, he had extraordinarily bad luck. The competition was originally to have ended on October 31st, but the donors of the prize, in consideration of the fact that by that date Harry’s attempt, when he crashed at the start on October 8th, was the only one that had been made, postponed the closing date until November 14th. In the meantime Harry made another effort on October 31st. After flying for three hours and travelling a distance of about 220 miles in twelve stages between Brooklands and Hendon on a 100 h.p. Green-engined Sopwith, he was obliged to alight owing to a very violent headache. This attempt could not therefore be recognised, as the minimum qualifying distance to be covered was 300 miles. Two days before the closing date, the competition was won by Harry’s rival, R. H. Carr, on a Grahame-White five-seater biplane fitted with the late S. F. Cody’s 100 h.p. Green engine. On the last day of the competition Harry attempted to beat Carr’s effort, but the weather was too rough, and the flight had to be abandoned in consequence.
Even sadder were Harry’s fortunes in the competition for the British Empire Michelin Cup No. 2 and the £800 Prize. On November 19th, after ascending at 9.30 a.m. and flying from Brooklands via Eastchurch, Shoreham, Salisbury, and Hendon on the 100 h.p. Green-engined Sopwith, a distance of 265 miles in five hours, without a stop, he was obliged to return to Hendon through trouble with his petrol supply. After passing over Hendon at 4,000 feet, and with only a few more miles to cover, he discovered that it was necessary to fly with one wing lower than the other in order to collect the petrol in his tank at the side where the outlet ran to the carburetter. The reason for the shortage was that the pressure pipe to the tank had developed a bad leak and was hot because the consumption of the engine had been underestimated. In fact the reverse was probably the case, for it was subsequently found that everything adjacent to the tank was literally drenched with petrol, and 4½ gallons still remained in the tank. It was an unfortunate circumstance that a strong wind blew from the direction of Brooklands, but for which Harry would probably have been able to glide there from the height at which he was at the time. There was no hope for it, however, and he was reluctantly obliged to return to Hendon in a long glide.
At 10.20 a.m. on Thursday, November 27th, Harry set out on yet another determined eleventh-hour effort for the Michelin No. 2 Cup, but between Croydon and Eastchurch the fog he encountered was so thick that, being unable to see his way, he landed at Brooklands after three-quarters of an hour in the air.
The British Empire Michelin Cup No. 2 and the £800 Prize were not awarded in 1913.
On a new 80 h.p. Sopwith, Harry flew to Farnborough from Brooklands on Saturday, November 22nd, returning at dusk. On the Sunday he had an impromptu race with Raynham in the course of exhibition flying. He again flew to Farnborough on Monday, November 24th, on the 80 h.p. tractor biplane, with Mr. Blatherwick and Mr. Simms as passengers.