From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Newspaper clippings reporting on the fatal accident of Sir Henry Segrave and Vic Halliwell with the Miss England II powerboat.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 174\5\ img192 | |
| Date | 23th June 1930 guessed | |
| COLUMN 1: This disaster occurred after Sir Henry, who already held the land record for speed, had set up a new motor-boat record with an average speed of 98.76 miles per hour. Sir Henry Segrave and Willcocks were frequently in Derby during the last few months in connection with the construction of the high-powered engines designed for the craft. Vic Halliwell lived at Cranmere, Chain Lane, Mickleover, with his wife and little son, Richard, aged 2 1/2. For the past three weeks they have been at Windermere, and Mrs. Halliwell was an eye-witness of the disaster. Mr. Halliwell was 31 years of age and hailed from Portland, Somerset. He was training at Bristol College in 1914, but left to join the R.A.F. At the end of the War he resumed his studies and took the B.Sc. degree at Bristol University. EXPERIMENTAL WORK. Subsequently he was for two years with Sunbeam Motors, Wolverhampton, where he worked under the direction of Capt. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} S. Irving, the designer of the Golden Arrow motor-car with which Sir Henry Segrave set up new records on land at Daytona Beach, Florida. He came to the Rolls-Royce works at Derby on December 9th, 1928, and he has been continuously engaged in experimental work on high-powered engines, including the testing of those which were fitted into the seaplanes by the Schneider Trophy race in which the '56' set up new air records. 'The death of Halliwell pains me greatly,' said Mr. F.{Mr Friese} H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Royce, Bart., the Chief Engineer of the firm. 'He was a clever young engineer.' Sir F.{Mr Friese} H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Royce and the directors of Rolls-Royce have dispatched telegrams of sympathy and condolence to Lady Segrave and Mrs. Halliwell at Windermere. LAKE DRAGGED. Although it had been stated (next to the 'Derby Daily Express') that Halliwell's body had been recovered yesterday, this was not the case. The police to-day dragged the lake in the hope of recovering his body. Apparently no one was thrown out when the boat turned upside down and death appears to have been instantaneous as no traces of him could be seen. Sir Henry and Willcocks were rescued from the water, and the boat sunk at a depth of 100 feet. BOAT SHUDDERS. In an interview Willcocks, who is the only man alive to tell the story, is reported as saying:— 'Miss England II.' ran so splendidly during the first and second run that we decided to have a full-throttle run, instead of returning to the boathouse and changing the propellers, as was originally intended. 'We were travelling faster than... COLUMN 2: ...Windermere to-day is a...mast. People are talking in whispers, and the races which were to have been held to-day by the local motor club have been cancelled. Lord Brecknock, vice-president of the Marine Motoring Association, described Halliwell as one of the finest mechanics that Rolls-Royce have ever turned out. Willcocks is this morning stated to be progressing favourably. His injuries are not serious, but shock of the experience has been so great that it is considered advisable to ask him for no details about the tragedy until he has rested for a few days. INQUEST ARRANGEMENTS. Provisional arrangements have been made for opening the inquest on Sir Henry Segrave in the village of Wray, on the other side of the Lake, this evening. Mr. F.{Mr Friese} E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Poole, of Ulverston, the coroner, will take only evidence of identification, probably from Sir Henry's father, Mr. Charles Segrave. The inquest will then be adjourned until the middle of next week or even until the week after, and not until then will the full facts be known. The witnesses will probably include Mr. Fellowes of the Rolls-Royce technical staff, and Mr. F.{Mr Friese} Cooper, designer of Miss England II. They will describe the equipment and design of the ill-fated boat. DIVERS CONSIDERED. Mr. Fred Cooper, the designer of Miss England II, stated to-day that if she is lying right side up she might possibly be raised by getting a grappling iron on the engine or cockpit. Greater difficulties would be experienced if she is upside down, as there would be nothing to grapple except the propeller shaft. The question of employing divers to assist in the salvage work is under consideration. Not until Miss England is brought to the surface and examined by the technical experts can the reason for the tragedy become fully known, and those connected with the enterprise are extremely reticent to-day. So far the question of salvage is being anxiously considered. There is no plant on Windermere sufficiently powerful to lift Miss England from where she lies, some 200 feet down on the bottom of the lake. The nearest raising plant is at Liverpool and its transportation to Windermere would in itself be a difficult task. LONDON FUNERAL. When the coroner has issued his certificate, Sir Henry's body will be conveyed from Windermere to London. Lady Segrave is still in seclusion and has not been seen in public since the disaster. COLUMN 3: Indeed, he arrived the next time in a hurry, but he agreed that there was an even more important purpose for his coming to Derby. Not until months later did Sir Henry reveal the secret. Above we reproduce a picture of the speed king talking to a 'Derby Daily Express' representative in Osmaston last August. PHOTO CAPTION: THE LAST PICTURE taken of Sir Henry Segrave (centre). Seated with him are Willcock, the injured mechanic (left), and Mr. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Ellor, of the Rolls-Royce Works, Derby. Vic Halliwell, the Derby engineer who was killed, is seen standing on the extreme right. Another Derby Rolls-Royce mechanic, Harold Green, is standing third from the left. | ||