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 detailing the suspected cause of Sir Henry Segrave's fatal crash and tributes from notable figures.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 174\5\ img184 | |
| Date | 14th June 1930 guessed | |
| WHAT CAUSED THE CRASH? NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE STRUCK SUBMERGED OBJECT. THEORY THAT MOVEABLE "STEP" BECAME TWISTED. Mr. F.{Mr Friese} Bamford, of F.{Mr Friese} Bamford and Co., the expert engineers who supplied the bronze propeller with which Sir Henry set up the new speed record yesterday, in an interview with a "Manchester Guardian" reporter, said that a new theory from the Rolls-Royce boat, in which one of the passengers, by the way, was Mrs. Halliwell, whose husband was in the district. The propeller, he said, "was fetched by car from Stockport to Bowness early on Friday morning, and had never been used. In the light of the experience gained in the trials, Sir Henry's plan was understood to be that after the journey up and down the measured mile he would examine the propeller and if necessary have it altered, but apparently he was so pleased with the performance at the start that he decided to make the third run straight away. Sir Henry had never before had the boat to open out, but in the third run he attained a very high speed, a very much higher speed than in the first two. Mr. Willcocks, another who was down from Miss England, was taking a note of the revolutions of the engine, and though his notes were, of course, lost, he may be able to remember what the revolutions during the third run from the start by contrast with the revolutions to the previous runs, it would be possible to calculate the speed." PROPELLER INTACT. The propeller on the boat was seen when this run was three-quarters completed to be suddenly and intermittently out of the water, and then the whole boat suddenly shot up. The whole boat seems to have turned over on the port side, and Mrs. Halliwell was thrown clear. Then she saw the propeller was still revolving, which suggests that the propeller shaft was not broken and the engine had not stopped. When the boat was righted this morning it was seen that the propeller was intact. When she dived the boat was lying on the port side, and the general belief, which prevails among all the boating people about Windermere, is that Sir Henry attempted a turn when travelling at a high speed, and the 'step,' which is a moveable fitting, became twisted. The fact that the propeller was intact, and that there is no mark or gash upon the hull, disposes of the suggestion that a submerged object was struck. The step, which is a new patented device, and intended to be used on all speed boats, is fixed to the bottom of the boat, but is so arranged that it can be altered to any angle, and it is upon the correct angle of the step that the speed of the boat depends. It is a new idea that this step might have become twisted. [Right Column] Planet - The Lancashire Daily Post Colonel [illegible]: All who knew him personally will ever remember him as one of the most lovable of men. I shall never forget his help and encouragement when I went to America for my speed attempt. He was of tremendous assistance to me." The Manager of Saunders, Roe (who built "Miss England I"): "We deplore the death of a great adventurer and sportsman. We shall miss him." Mr. Eric Lord (of Messrs. Lord and Co., Cowes, yacht builders): "Sir Henry was a very charming and very gallant gentleman, whom the whole world will deplore." The Hon. Victor Bruce: "Sir Henry was a simply splendid pilot, and certainly the right man to make the attempts on the records." Mr. George Farrar (secretary of the Marine Motor Association, which takes the official records): "By his death the sport of motor boating has suffered a severe loss." Mr. Stenson Cooke (secretary of the Automobile Association): "He has bravely and efficiently upheld British prestige on land, sea, and in the air." The Master of Sempill (president of the Royal Aeronautical Society) in a telegram to Lady Segrave: "The death of your gallant and talented husband will be keenly felt." Captain Malcolm Campbell: "I cannot find words to express the horror and grief with which I received the news of the death of Sir Henry Segrave when he was apparently on the point of consummating a record which I know it was his greatest desire to achieve." Lord Wakefield: "I mourn the loss of a friend. To say that he was the most courageous man I ever met is only a small part of my estimation of him. He was a man of outstanding courage; his career is evidence of that. He had the clearest grasp of difficulties and the most complete calmness and self-control in facing the dangers inevitable in his quest for the speed record on land and sea. Sir Henry Segrave pursued his ambitious goal with a determination entirely devoid of mere reckless daring. He studied the factors essential to success and he planned everything and thought for everything and everyone with him. His loss is a great one for his generation. He would have become a great man of affairs, and an outstanding figure in his day and generation. He was a most charming and loyal comrade, and an understanding..." [Image Caption] SIR HENRY SEGRAVE, LADY SEGRAVE, and LORD WAKEFIELD. [Handwritten note] Lancashire Daily Post | ||