Glen Kidston
Encyclopedia
George Pearson Glen Kidston (23 January 1899 – 5 May 1931, Natal
, South Africa
) was a record-breaking aviator
and motor racing driver from Britain. He was a member of the well known Bentley Boys
of the late 1920s, and possibly the wealthiest of that already wealthy set. His father, A.G. Kidston, was a grandson of the original A.G. Kidston who was a metal and machinery merchant in Glasgow
with interests in the Clyde Shipping Co., local solicitors, accountants and banking interests amalgamated into the Clydesdale Bank
. Andrew Bonar Law
MP
was a Kidston and Chancellor of the Exchequer
during World War I
, being briefly Tory
Prime Minister
in the year of his death 1923 ("The Forgotten Prime Minister, the life and times of Andrew Bonar Law, 1858-1923 (1955) "). Kidston was one of the four, core Grosvenor Square
-based Bentley
team drivers, whose day-long parties passed into contemporary legend.
A former Lieutenant Commander
in the Royal Navy
, he was torpedo
ed thrice ( with a loss 1,459 lives in the sinkings of , and ) in the same morning during the action of 22 September 1914
against German submarine under the command of Commander Otto Weddigen
as the fleet manoeuvered. Following repatriation he served in the dreadnought, , with the British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland
, running gunnery orders on open deck under direct enemy fire. Kidston grasped submarine tactics and served on several leading edge British submarines, including the notorious , that he served on (Source: Family records) in North Sea trials. During the trials the X1 embedded itself in the seabed as its gauges were faulty, but was freed after a dangerous period on the sea bed. In December 1926 he received his command of the H-class
submarine, the Beardmore-built , built at Portsmouth
. Away from his duties as a submariner he was an early pioneer of naval flight (Source: Family records).
Glen Kidston competed in numerous motor races including prestigious events such as the Monte Carlo Rally
, Isle of Man TT
motorcycle races, and Shelsley Walsh
hillclimb
. As a naval amateur he raced a Sunbeam motorcycle
up the hill climb in Hong Kong
and conducted speed trials on the sands, bringing the bike with him in his submarine which was patrolling the China Station (Source: Family records). Kidston entered the 1929 Irish Grand Prix Éireann Cup at Phoenix Park
but was narrowly beaten by the Alfa Romeo
of former Russian Imperial Guard officer Boris Ivanowski
. This was achieved at the expense of Britons Glen Kidston and Henry Birkin
, whose Bentleys were second and third respectively. He also owned and raced the first Bugatti
in the UK and entered the Le Mans 24 hour race
in 1929
and 1930
. On the second occasion he won the race, driving a Bentley Speed Six
in partnership with Woolf Barnato
, with the Bentley team delivering an epic 1-2-3-4 victory.
In 1929 Kidston was travelling from Croydon
to Amsterdam
in a German airliner. 21 mins into the flight he sensed an imminent crash
and assumed the safety position, likewise assisting his fellow traveller Prince Eugen von Schaumberg-Lippe. On impact, Kidston kicked out the fuselage whilst alight all over and doused himself in the wet grass. He re-entered the burning wreck to save the badly burned Prince who subsequently died; the flames prevented him assisting others. Kidston fought through a mile of wood at night to summon help. As he flagged a motorist down, his clothes were still smoking. He rang the details to Croydon Airport personally before flying for a brief flight to rebuild his nerve. He was then hospitalised with extensive burns. Kidston was the sole survivor. (Source: Canberra Times Friday 8 November 1929, p. 5).
Kidston was a renowned big game shot and travelled on pioneering safaris in remote Kenyan districts. Films of these expeditions, of his early naval and other aviation and Bentley team work are held at the British Film Institute
due their quality and pioneering footage.
In April 1931, Glen Kidston completed a record breaking flight from Netheravon to Cape Town
, South Africa
. He completed the journey in just 6½ days, flying his own specially adapted Lockheed Vega
monoplane and averaging 131 mph. However, Kidston was never to make the return trip. After earlier near misses in aeroplane, motorcycle, speed boat and even submarine accidents, Kidston was killed, only a year after his Le Mans triumph when his borrowed de Havilland
Puss Moth
broke up in mid-air while flying through a dust storm over the Drakensberg
mountains. A memorial to him stands to this day at the place where his aircraft crashed, being an aluminium propellor set in stone to warn passing aviators. His gravestone at St. Peter's in Glasbury-upon-Wye
on the Welsh borders, his childhood home, reads "Time and tide wait for no man", with a sun dial (Source: Family records).
News of Kidston's death broke in the London evening papers and both Margaret Whigham, later Duchess of Argyll
, and Barbara Cartland
, both amongst Kidston's lovers, claim in their memoirs to have fainted on leaving the theatre and seeing the headlines. Cartland named her first son Glen in his memory. The Hollywood femme fatale Pola Negri
is also reputed to have known Kidston.
He married Nancie Miriel Denise Soames in 1925 and had a son, Archibald Martin Glen (1927–1978).
Natal Province
Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
) was a record-breaking aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and motor racing driver from Britain. He was a member of the well known Bentley Boys
Bentley Boys
The Bentley Boys were a group of wealthy British motorists who drove Bentley sports cars to victory in the 1920s and kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive...
of the late 1920s, and possibly the wealthiest of that already wealthy set. His father, A.G. Kidston, was a grandson of the original A.G. Kidston who was a metal and machinery merchant in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
with interests in the Clyde Shipping Co., local solicitors, accountants and banking interests amalgamated into the Clydesdale Bank
Clydesdale Bank
Clydesdale Bank is a commercial bank in Scotland, a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group. In Scotland, Clydesdale Bank is the third largest clearing bank, although it also retains a branch network in London and the north of England...
. Andrew Bonar Law
Andrew Bonar Law
Andrew Bonar Law was a British Conservative Party statesman and Prime Minister. Born in the colony of New Brunswick, he is the only British Prime Minister to have been born outside the British Isles...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
was a Kidston and Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, being briefly Tory
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in the year of his death 1923 ("The Forgotten Prime Minister, the life and times of Andrew Bonar Law, 1858-1923 (1955) "). Kidston was one of the four, core Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the exclusive Mayfair district of London, England. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from their surname, "Grosvenor".-History:...
-based Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
team drivers, whose day-long parties passed into contemporary legend.
A former Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, he was torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
ed thrice ( with a loss 1,459 lives in the sinkings of , and ) in the same morning during the action of 22 September 1914
Action of 22 September 1914
The Action of 22 September 1914 was a naval engagement that took place during the First World War, in which three Royal Navy cruisers were sunk by one German submarine while on patrol. Approximately 1450 sailors were killed, and there was a public outcry at the losses...
against German submarine under the command of Commander Otto Weddigen
Otto Weddigen
Otto Eduard Weddigen was a German U-boat commander during World War I.-Biography and career:He was born in Herford and started his military career in the Kaiserliche Marine in 1901...
as the fleet manoeuvered. Following repatriation he served in the dreadnought, , with the British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland
Battle of Jutland
The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle between the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The battle was fought on 31 May and 1 June 1916 in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark. It was the largest naval battle and the only...
, running gunnery orders on open deck under direct enemy fire. Kidston grasped submarine tactics and served on several leading edge British submarines, including the notorious , that he served on (Source: Family records) in North Sea trials. During the trials the X1 embedded itself in the seabed as its gauges were faulty, but was freed after a dangerous period on the sea bed. In December 1926 he received his command of the H-class
British H class submarine
The British H class submarines were Holland 602 type submarines used by the Royal Navy. The submarines constructed for the British Royal Navy between 1915 and 1919 were designed and built in response to German boats which mined British waters and sank coastal shipping with ease due to their small...
submarine, the Beardmore-built , built at Portsmouth
HMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
. Away from his duties as a submariner he was an early pioneer of naval flight (Source: Family records).
Glen Kidston competed in numerous motor races including prestigious events such as the Monte Carlo Rally
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rally Monte Carlo is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco which also organises the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. The rally takes place along the French Riviera in the Principality of Monaco and...
, Isle of Man TT
Isle of Man TT
The International Isle of Man TT Race is a motorcycle racing event held on the Isle of Man and was for many years the most prestigious motorcycle race in the world...
motorcycle races, and Shelsley Walsh
Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb
The Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb is a hillclimb in Worcestershire, England, organised by the Midland Automobile Club . It is one of the oldest motorsport events in the world, and is in fact the oldest to have been staged continuously on its original course, first having been run in 1905...
hillclimb
Hillclimbing
Hillclimbing is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course....
. As a naval amateur he raced a Sunbeam motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
up the hill climb in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and conducted speed trials on the sands, bringing the bike with him in his submarine which was patrolling the China Station (Source: Family records). Kidston entered the 1929 Irish Grand Prix Éireann Cup at Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
but was narrowly beaten by the Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
of former Russian Imperial Guard officer Boris Ivanowski
Boris Ivanowski
Boris Ivanovsky was an officer of the Russian Imperial Guard who went into exile after the Russian revolution and made his way to fame in the 1920s as a racecar driver...
. This was achieved at the expense of Britons Glen Kidston and Henry Birkin
Henry Birkin
Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.-Background and family:...
, whose Bentleys were second and third respectively. He also owned and raced the first Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
in the UK and entered the Le Mans 24 hour race
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 1929
1929 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1929 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 7th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 15 and 16 1929.Prior to the event, the ACO modified the course near the actual town of Le Mans so that it did not enter as far into the suburbs...
and 1930
1930 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 8th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 21 and 22 June 1930. The pairing of Odette Siko and Marguerite Mareuse would go in history as the first women to compete and finish in the race.-Official results:...
. On the second occasion he won the race, driving a Bentley Speed Six
Bentley Speed Six
The regular Bentley 6½ Litre and the high-performance Bentley Speed Six were Bentley cars in production from 1926 to 1930. They were created out of the desire for more engine power by Walter Owen Bentley by adding two cylinders to the straight-4 engine used in his Bentley 4½ Litre car. The Speed...
in partnership with Woolf Barnato
Woolf Barnato
Joel Woolf Barnato was a British financier and racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. He achieved three consecutive wins out of three entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.-Early life:...
, with the Bentley team delivering an epic 1-2-3-4 victory.
In 1929 Kidston was travelling from Croydon
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
to Amsterdam
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol ) is the Netherlands' main international airport, located 20 minutes southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. The airport's official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, reflects the original Dutch word order...
in a German airliner. 21 mins into the flight he sensed an imminent crash
1929 Luft Hansa Junkers G 31 crash
The 1929 Luft Hansa Junkers G 31 crash occurred on 6 November 1929 when a Junkers G 31 of Luft Hansa crashed at Godstone, Surrey, United Kingdom whilst on an international scheduled flight from Croydon, Surrey, United Kingdom to Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, the Netherlands...
and assumed the safety position, likewise assisting his fellow traveller Prince Eugen von Schaumberg-Lippe. On impact, Kidston kicked out the fuselage whilst alight all over and doused himself in the wet grass. He re-entered the burning wreck to save the badly burned Prince who subsequently died; the flames prevented him assisting others. Kidston fought through a mile of wood at night to summon help. As he flagged a motorist down, his clothes were still smoking. He rang the details to Croydon Airport personally before flying for a brief flight to rebuild his nerve. He was then hospitalised with extensive burns. Kidston was the sole survivor. (Source: Canberra Times Friday 8 November 1929, p. 5).
Kidston was a renowned big game shot and travelled on pioneering safaris in remote Kenyan districts. Films of these expeditions, of his early naval and other aviation and Bentley team work are held at the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
due their quality and pioneering footage.
In April 1931, Glen Kidston completed a record breaking flight from Netheravon to Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. He completed the journey in just 6½ days, flying his own specially adapted Lockheed Vega
Lockheed Vega
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Allen, Richard Sanders. Revolution in the Sky: Those Fabulous Lockheeds, The Pilots Who Flew Them. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1964....
monoplane and averaging 131 mph. However, Kidston was never to make the return trip. After earlier near misses in aeroplane, motorcycle, speed boat and even submarine accidents, Kidston was killed, only a year after his Le Mans triumph when his borrowed de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
Puss Moth
De Havilland Puss Moth
|-See also:-References:* Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 . London, Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10010-7-External links:*...
broke up in mid-air while flying through a dust storm over the Drakensberg
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
mountains. A memorial to him stands to this day at the place where his aircraft crashed, being an aluminium propellor set in stone to warn passing aviators. His gravestone at St. Peter's in Glasbury-upon-Wye
Glasbury
Glasbury , also known as Glasbury-on-Wye, is a village in Powys, Wales which lies at an important crossing point on the River Wye, connecting the former counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. The village is just outside the Brecon Beacons National Park, north of the Black Mountains. The...
on the Welsh borders, his childhood home, reads "Time and tide wait for no man", with a sun dial (Source: Family records).
News of Kidston's death broke in the London evening papers and both Margaret Whigham, later Duchess of Argyll
Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll
Margaret, sometime Duchess of Argyll , was a notorious British Socialite, best remembered for her 1963 divorce case against her second husband, the 11th Duke of Argyll, which featured salacious photographs and scandalous stories.-Birth and youth:Margaret was the only child of Helen Mann Hannay and...
, and Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ , was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century...
, both amongst Kidston's lovers, claim in their memoirs to have fainted on leaving the theatre and seeing the headlines. Cartland named her first son Glen in his memory. The Hollywood femme fatale Pola Negri
Pola Negri
Pola Negri was a Polish stage and film actress who achieved worldwide fame for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles from the 1910s through the 1940s during the Golden Era of Hollywood film. She was the first European film star to be invited to Hollywood, and became a great American star. She...
is also reputed to have known Kidston.
He married Nancie Miriel Denise Soames in 1925 and had a son, Archibald Martin Glen (1927–1978).