Aviator

1935

Test pilot for Heston Aircraft Company.

In 1937 he formed Hordern-Richmond Aircraft Ltd at Denham, which made propellors; now part of Permali Gloucester Limited.

d. 1993

One of the original 16 pilots of Imperial Airways in 1924

b. Cheshunt, Herts 26 Nov 1899

RNAS and RAF in WWI, then joined Supermarine, followed by British Marine Co. as a flying-boat captain on the route from Southampton to Guernsey. When BMC became part of the newly-formed Imperial Airways in 1924, he was one of their founder-pilots.

In December 1926, he reported seeing a 'Mock Sun': "While approaching Ostend at a height of a thousand feet, shortly after 4 p.m. yesterday Captain H. H. Horsey, Imperial Airways pilot, flying a Handley Page Napier air liner from Cologne to London, had the unusual experience seeing two suns in the sky.

The two suns were exact replicas, even to the colouring of the clouds around them. Captain Horsey imagined that was "seeing things," but was reassured when his engineer, who was seated beside him, said that he also could see this phenomenon.

The Air Ministry meteorological expert at Croydon Aerodrome, after receiving a report of the pilot's experience, declared the occurrence to be a very rare phenomenon known to meteorologists as a 'mock sun.'"

(Ahem), apparently this expert was referring to a 'parhelion'; "Parhelia occur when the sun or moon shines through a thin cirrus cloud composed of hexagonal ice crystals... (they) most commonly appear during the winter in the middle latitudes."

Here's what they must have seen:

In June 1927, he created a new record for big passenger aeroplanes, by flying from London to Cologne in one hundred and sixty minutes, at an average speed of 130 miles an hour.

Address in 1932: 138 King's Hall Rd, Beckenham, Kent

A flight commander in the ATA in WWII, but died 6th January 1941 after he hit cables and crashed on 2nd January,  2.5 miles NW of Wroughton ferrying a Curtiss Mohawk.

G.P. Olley wrote in his obituary: "An atmosphere of gloom settled over the war-time base of British Overseas Airways Corporation when the tragic news came throught that Captain H. J. Horsey ('Horse' to his friends, and that meant every one) had died suddenly from the injuries he had received in an accident some days before."

Gordon reported that, a few days before, "poor old 'Horse' was concerned that he had broken his clean record - up to then, he had never had a major crash, or harmed a hair of the head of a single passenger."

Herbert is buried in Hatfield Heath, Essex.

  1920, aged 38

b. 14 Aug 1882 in London

A really early flier - RAeC Certificate No 222, in 1912; up to then he had been the Secretary of the Royal Aero Club, but transferred to the RFC as a Second Lieutenant (on probation) in July 1912.

In 1911 he had helped to translate Robert Petit's "How to build an aeroplane' from the French, including the prediction that aluminium "will soon be completely abandoned in aeroplane construction".

He wrote several other books, including "The Boys' book of Aeroplanes" (1913).

After WWI he continued in the RAF in Egypt, Palestine and, er, Bircham Newton in Norfolk. His final posting was as commander of the RAF station in Hinaidi, Iraq from 1929-31, and he then retired as a Wing Commander.

  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 23

 The wonderful Shuttleworth Collection was set up in his memory by his mother, starting with his cars and aircraft. It has several aeroplanes of the period:

see Shuttleworth Home - Shuttleworth Events & Attractions

Killed in WWII: 2nd August 1940 in a flying accident in a Fairey Battle; buried Old Warden, Beds

  1929, aged 27

'A Member of the London Stock Exchange'

Killed in WWII: 10th August 1941, when Acting Lieutenant, HMS Daedalus RNVR; buried West Norwood Cemetery

  1926, aged 38

Born in Xlanga, S Africa but living in Northumberland; 'a shopkeeper'

  1916, when a 2nd Lieut, Royal Irish Rifles, aged 18

  1931

born in Motihari, India; educated at Marlborough and Sandhurst. RFC in WWI: 2 victories, but was then shot in the foot by a member of Richtoven's squadron.

Post-WWI, was "engaged in the estate business" (whatever that means).

  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

Later a Wing-Commander; 

Wing Commander R. W. Jackson (R.A.F.), Albert Street, Castleton. January, 1945. New Year's Honours List 1945. Twice mentioned in despatches, and given the Air Efficiency Award in 1944.

"TECHNICAL BRANCH.

Promotion. Notification cancelled. 13th Sept. 1949  '(p. 4395, col. 2) concerning

R. W. JACKSON, O.B.E., A.M.I.Mech.E., A.iR.Ae.S.(70343)."

  1912, aged 18

  1920

 b. 2 June 1894 in Narberth, Pembrokeshire (which is in Wales); in 1913, he and his brother Henry were the first people in Pembrokeshire to build and fly their own aeroplane.

It was a sort-of-Caudron biplane and during its first flight it fell 60 feet to the ground, luckily without serious injury, and had to be rebuilt. It worked all right after that, though.

After WWI, he became test pilot to the British Nieuport Company; in April 1920 he flew the Nieuport in Bombay on a publicity trip, and its handling was "much admired". Nieuport later became Gloster Aircraft, and among his many accomplishments was the British Speed Record of 196.6 mph in a Gloster Bamel in 1921.

d. 4 Feb 1944, although he had "given up flying some time before".

 photo: 1933, aged 58

From Sunderland, maker of Pyrex glassware

  1930, aged 27

d. 1984.

Amy Johnson (Amy Mollison)

Royal Aero Club Certificate 8662 (28 Jun 1929)

  1929

1934

Amy Johnson, Hull's Finest

a.k.a. Amy Mollison

Born 1^st July 1903 in Kingston upon Hull;  Amy was 'a slight young woman with heavily lidded eyes, dentured teeth, a shy smile and a soft Yorkshire accent' [she later developed a rather fake upper-class BBC one, possibly under her husband Jim's influence].

 By 1929, a secretary (albeit one with an economics degree, and an engineer's licence to go with her aviator's certificate) turned solo record-breaking pilot and all-round nation's sweetheart. Married for six years to Jim Mollison (which was a Big Mistake).

On May 26th, 1932, after her solo flight from America, Amelia Earhart was the guest of the Royal Aero Club in London, and amongst the ladies in attendance were Lady Bailey, Amy, and Winifred Spooner (less than a year before her untimely death).

Air Transport Auxiliary in WWII (Died in Service)

Amy's aircraft included:

a 1928 DH.60G Gipsy Moth (G-AAAH) which she named 'Jason', and is now in the Science Museum;

a 1930 DH.80A Puss Moth, G-AAZV, 'Jason II';

a 1930 DH.60G Gipsy Moth, G-ABDV, er, 'Jason III'.

After 1930 she owned:

a 1932 DH.60G III Moth Major, G-ABVW,... ummm, let me guess... yes... 'Jason 4', and

a 1932 DH.80A Puss Moth, G-ACAB, 'The Desert Cloud'.

 b. 7 Apr 1902

Filed several patents when working for Power Jets Ltd, e.g. "A means for injecting liquid coolant into the gas flow path through the turbine in a direction initially transversely to the median thereof whereby the gas flow deflects the coolant, still in liquid form, on to the region of the leading edges of the turbine rotor blades."

d. 1976 -  Kensington, Greater London

  1915

I'm guessing this must be him, although he was reported as 'Major C H Johnstone'

A Motor Engineer, b. 9 June 1892 in London.

  1931

b. 23 Sep 1906, Orpington

A ground engineer with Cirrus Engines.

He was taught to fly by the late Col. G. L. P. Henderson, and obtained his "A" licence in 1929.

The 1931 King's Cup was his first air race.

d. 1975 - Brent, London

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