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 clipping reporting on the coroner's inquiry into the fatal accident of Sir Henry Segrave in the Miss England II powerboat.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 174\5\ img081 | |
Date | 13th June 1930 | |
TOP ARTICLE FRAGMENT: ...the quest for speed is a practical one. ...at technical advances. Designers ...adapted to successful everyday use de-vices which were first thought out in connection with speed attempts. Mr. Willcocks is of opinion that there exists no better sheet of water in England for the purpose than Lake Windermere. He showed his appreciation of this when he so warmly thanked everyone at the close of his evidence on Saturday for the assistance they had rendered during the trials of Miss England II. He has had practical experience as a helmsman himself, but not on such a high-powered boat as Miss England. Round about 40 m.p.h. has been Mr. Willcocks' racing speed, and like many more motor boat racers he has had exciting moments in the course of his experiences, particularly those referred to at the inquiry, when he came to grief through colliding with driftwood in the Bristol Channel. It is in the Segrave spirit that Mr. Michael Willcocks is anxious to "carry on," and is looking forward to the resumption of record-breaking. MAIN ARTICLE: Local Witnesses at Coroner's Inquiry It is many years since so many people gathered in Hawkshead Police Court, as on Saturday afternoon, when Mr. F.{Mr Friese} Poole, coroner, Ulverston, resumed the inquiry into the deaths of Sir Henry Segrave and Mr. Halliwell. Mrs. H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Handley (Messrs. Gater and Son, solicitors, Ambleside and Windermere), represented the designer of the boat, Mr. Fred Cooper; Mr. Allan V.{VIENNA} Nutt, Derby, represented Messrs. Rolls Royce Ld.; Mr. O.{Mr Oldham} N. Pattinson, Windermere, Messrs. Saunders Roe Ld., boatbuilders, Cowes. Mr. Handley briefly referred to the evidence to be put forward and the investigations which had been made. WILLINGLY UNDERTOOK RISK Mr. Nutt, on behalf of the engineers, said the engines were of the same type as those used in the Schneider Trophy race. In order to ensure that the engines were in perfect order the services of Mr. Halliwell, who was one of their most experienced engineers, were placed at the disposal of Sir Henry Segrave, and at his request. Mr. Halliwell knew the risk, but willingly and enthusiastically undertook the task. In addition to Mr. Halliwell, Mr. Illot, an enthusiast under Messrs. Rolls Royce Ld., was there from the beginning of the trials as adviser, and they also had the assistance of two Rolls Royce mechanics. Before and after each trial the engines were thoroughly examined and they had performed their duties satisfactorily. Dr. Taylor Hall, Windermere, gave evidence of a post mortem examination upon Mr. Halliwell in which it was found that the cause of death was the fracture of the third and fourth cervical vertebrae. P.C. Armstrong spoke to the recovery of the body 80 yards from where Miss England sank. The finger and thumb of the left hand held a piece of paper and the right hand was holding a pencil. It had been seen written at the time of the accident, the pencil being attached by a piece of string to the top button of his coat. The piece of paper containing notes about the engine's revolutions was handed to the coroner. SURVIVOR'S GRAPHIC STORY. Michael John Willcocks, "Fermain," Titsey Avenue, Clowdon, Somerset, engineer, said he was employed by the late Sir Henry Segrave as his engineer and riding mechanic on Miss England II. He met him just after his job until after he had explained the risks and that the enterprise would be highly dangerous. Twice previously he had been capsized in racing motor boats. He was with Sir Henry on every run he made in Miss England II. The boat was remarkably stable and on every occasion gave them a smooth ride. He accompanied Sir Henry and Mr. Halliwell on Friday, 13 June. They went out to attack the record. The boat was on the port side, and Sir Henry was in the centre. They first made a run over the measured mile from south to north. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and everything functioned perfectly. They turned round and covered the mile again at a higher speed. Everything again functioned perfectly. Sir Henry and Mr. Halliwell both had stop watches and by previous arrangement were timing the boat. At the end of the second mile Sir Henry gave him the accustomed signal to examine the transmission, gearbox, and the forward part of the hull, which was part of his routine work. Everything appeared to be in order. He was about to go forward to make a manual examination when Sir Henry touched him on the wrist. He returned to his seat, Sir Henry slapped him on the shoulder and got his thumbe up. He was obviously delighted. He (witness) shouted at Sir Henry "broken" (meaning the record) and he nodded. He then accelerated and turned the boat for a third run. The boat was then travelling much faster than on any previous run. Normally when the boat was at speed he was fully employed attending to the greasers, and the temperature control cock, but he had occasional opportunity of glancing ahead. He was actually looking ahead when he suddenly felt a dull thud which seemed to be on the port side. Immediately after the boat listed slightly to port and then the bow dipped and the boat checked. There was a slight turn to starboard, then the bow lifted and she ally the hull rolled to starboard. When the boat was slightly more than half over he was spilled out. SHOT OUT HEAD FIRST. "I shot out head first," continued witness, "but twisted round before I struck the water. I came to the surface very quickly, I turned round in the water two or three times, saw a black figure with its movement of arms going backward and forward with head and shoulders just out of the water. I had my back to the boat and just saw one disturbance of the water and saw no further object. I then turned round in the water and made for Miss England II. The boat was then inverted with the bows pointing slightly towards the Westmorland shore and the stern towards the Lancashire shore, diagonally across her course. I tried to keep my feet up, then I came across what I took to be one of the hatches. I got over this and lay across it, but it went down. I let go, came up saw something on my right and realised I could make neither the boat nor the cushions. I saw a dark boat coming up inshore and a light boat from towards the centre of the lake. I looked to the on-coming boats and judged from the spray they were travelling at an enormous rate. He was pulled out of the water by Mr. Robert... who was in Major Pattinson's boat." Mr. Willcocks added that he was responsible for making a personal inspection of the gearbox, gearbox cooling system, the steering gear, the outside of the hull and step before and after every trial run. On each occasion he found everything in perfect order. He was present when Miss England II was raised to the surface and was the first person to look in. He immediately looked at the switches and clutch levers. The switches were on and the clutches were engaged. He returned to the shed about Miss England II. On the way he disengaged the clutches and found that they were operating perfectly and that he was able to rotate the whole of the transmission by hand. He also tested the steering which gave full helm in both... SIDE ARTICLES: RYDAL FETE Effort on behalf of Ambleside Cot At Wordsworth's old home, Rydal Mount, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Huddleston, yesterday (Thursday) held a garden fete and dog show in aid of the Ambleside Cot (Dr. Barnardo's Home) at Baby Castle, Hawkhurst, Kent. In order to maintain this Cot the Ambleside district is pledged to an annual quote of £50. The gathering was favoured with delightful weather which attracted a large gathering. The canine department was managed by Mrs. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} Arthur Jackson, Mr. G.{Mr Griffiths - Chief Accountant / Mr Gnapp} Grundy, Com. McCullagh and Miss Chalinger. The side-shows comprised a cinema, managed by Mr. Hulbert, the films representing tree-felling in Lakeland and Old English Dances. Cock golf was supervised by Mr. Frank Hardy. The general arrangements were superintended by Mr. Hulbert and Mr. Berian and Mr. Hothes rendered assistance. Tea was served by Mrs. Grundy, the Misses Fitz-Gibbon, Aldous, Tiny and Dot Mitchell, Chapman, Todd, Illingworth, Bell, Joan Yates, "Hainton" partner, Young, and Pickering A.{Mr Adams} Mrs. "fery lady" attracted considerable custom. The judges for the dog show were Mrs. Barzor, Windermere (any variety terrier and toy dogs); Mrs. A.{Mr Adams} H.{Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} Raikes, Windermere (comic classes); Mr. C. Clark, Burton (sporting and non-sporting). The awards were: Fox Terriers: A.{Mr Adams} Faulkner's Grasmere Floss, Grasmere; 2. Frith's Crump's Haws, Grasmere. Mrs. Nora's Grasmere Bonzo, Bor, Ambleside. Cairn and West Highland:- 1 Miss F.{Mr Friese} Holme's Morven of Fairley (W. Highland), Windermere; 2 R.{Sir Henry Royce} Ford's Flint (Cairn), Ambleside; 3 Miss. A.{Mr Adams} Morley's Nick, Orange. Mrs. Handler's Judy, Ambleside. A.O.V. Terrier - 1 Miss Tweedie's Lakeland Terrier, Winder-mere; 2 Miss M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} B. Walker's Ian, (Scotch) Windermere; 3 Mrs. Godson's Perry Welsh; Windermere; mrs. Mrs. Nicholl's Lakeland Terrier, Windermere. Sport. - 1 Mrs. Bennett's Domino (spaniel), Windermere; 2 O.{Mr Oldham} Thornborough's Floss, Mrs. Boy (wire-haired terrier); 3 Mrs. Holle (spaniel). Windermere. Sport. Non-sporting:- 1 Miss. Ede's Dodgson's Bruno (collie), Ambleside; 2 J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} Eyles's Lakeland Beauty (Alsatian), Windermere; 3 Miss N. Lister's Sandy Mrs. Airey Prince (collie), Windermere; 3. Mrs. Tecker's Pekinese, Windermere; 3 Mrs. Moss's Yorkshire Terrier, Windermere; 3. Mrs. Gair's Pug, Windermere. Tail with best doc - 1. Mrs. Prickett's Pom, Windermere; Tail with longest dog - 1 Mrs. Boroat's Borzoi, Windermere. 3 Mrs. Moss's Yorkshire Terrier. Best performing dog - 1 M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} Emslie's Binkle (Fox Terrier), Eilerwater; 2 Mrs. Lunn's Prince (Pskinese), Grasmere; 3. Mrs. Moss's Cairn Terrier, Windermere. Tortoise - Mrs. Handler's Just, Ugliest dog - Mrs. Lunn's Prince. Curliest tail - Mrs. Gair's Fix. BROUGH. NORTH STAINMORE WOMEN'S INSTITUTE - The monthly meeting of the Women's Institute was held on Tuesday, when Miss Clark presided, and Mr. Anderson, Newton Rigg, gave a demonstration of "Fruit Bottling and Fruit Canning." Members' exhibits were judged in a competition won by Miss Anderson, Mrs. Bousfield and Miss M.{Mr Moon / Mr Moore} Alderson. Miss Bousfield and Miss ... WOMEN UNIONISTS - The monthly meeting of the Women Unionists was held on Wednesday afternoon at Angill Castle, Mrs. Oxley Ingham presided. She welcomed the Hon. Mrs. Howard, who gave an address, in which she emphasised need for unity. Mrs. J.{Mr Johnson W.M.} E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Walton expressed thanks to Mrs. Howard, after which Miss Violet Hanlon, Kendal, gave a demonstration. Tea was served on the Gerald was thanked by Mrs. Ingham. who was thanked by Miss Bailey. | ||