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).
Eyewitness statement from John George Aulsebrook Kitchen regarding the crash of the Miss England II motor-launch.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 174\5\ img096 | |
Date | 1st July 1930 guessed | |
JOHN GEORGE AULSEBROOK KITCHEN of "Brookfield", Storrs, Windermere, Engineer, will say:- On Friday June 13th I went out in my motor-launch to watch the trials of Miss England II. I took up a position at right angles to Miss England's course, opposite Wray Bay and about Two hundred and fifty yards on the Westmorland side of Miss England's course. I have been concerned in the designing and building of steam and motor boats for over thirty years and was making particular observation from a technical point of view as to the behaviour of Miss England II. I watched the first two runs of the boat and can say that I never saw a speed-boat run more perfectly. On the third run there was no variation of the perfect running until Miss England II reached a point immediately opposite my position when, without apparently altering her course, she appeared to slow down and travelled about 100 yards at this slower speed, throwing up more water than she had done previously. I then noticed her sheer to starboard at an acute angle, the bows slightly lifting. The sheer appeared to be corrected but the boat then seemed to get out of control, turned at right angles to her course and I then momentarily lost sight of her in the wall of water thrown up. I saw a man's legs appear over the top of the wall of water. When the water subsided I saw Miss England II inverted, lying diagonally across her course. She gradually eddied round until she was finally lying more or less on her course again, but upside down. I saw three objects in the water - one on the starboard side which I thought was a man's head nearly submerged and almost in line with the bows of Miss England II. The second object was clearly a man's head on the starboard side and almost in line with the stern of Miss England II. The third object was also clearly a man's head and arms directly astern of Miss | ||