CLAUDE GRAHAME-WHITE 1879-1959

Claude Grahame-White, Collection of Dave Lam, 8-3-07

	The Aviator	Family Stories	Queenslea Claude's Home	The Author

 

ONLINE RESOURCES      If you search for "Claude Graham-White" using the Google search engine, (5-21-04), you will find about 102 links. If you search on "Claude Graham-White +aviation" you still get 75 links.

Claude 'Claudie' Graham-White (1879 - 1959)      As usual, probably the best place to start is on on Dr. Russell Naughton's website, The Pioneers. He has assembled a comprehensive collection of facts, photos and links which will help you to answer most of your questions about his life and career. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

 

Claude Grahame-White with his dismantled biplane Description: This image shows Claude Grahame-White (wearing a scarf and leather flying cap in the foreground of the photograph) accompanying his damaged Farman Biplane to the railway station at Lichfield, from where it was shipped back to London for repairs. Photo & text from Staffordshire PAST-TRACK Collection of Mr. John Godwin

Claude Grahame-White with his dismantled biplane      On this page of the Staffordshire Past-Track website, the first in the series of three, you will find a thumbnail of Claude Grahame-White. It is the source of the photo immediately above. You will find a total of 11 thumbnails on this page       I wish to thank Mr. Andy Holt, EJITU Web Development Manager, for graciously allowing me to reproduce the photos.You will find that this website is a unique resource and offers photos of immense historical interest. I am sure you will want to spend some time enjoying the other photographs and features. You can access it by clicking on the title above.

LONDON TO MANCHESTER AIR RACE - 1910       This page on the Staffordshire Past-Track website offers a collection of wonderful photographs, along with descriptive text. You can anticipate the story of the contest between Louis Paulhan and Claude Graham-White from the excerpt below. "Description: In late April 1910, Staffordshire found itself the scene of some dramatic developments in the race between an Englishman and a Frenchman for a £10,000 prize.       The prize money had been offered by the Daily Mail almost four years earlier for the first aviator to complete a flight between London and Manchester ( where the newspaper had its main offices) within a 24 hour period.       The first attempt to win the prize was made by Englishman Claude Grahame-White, but his attempt failed after he landed in a field at Hademore Crossing near Lichfield where his plane was blown over in high winds."       To access the page, click on the title above.

 

GRAHAM-WHITE FACTORY      It was Doug Killick who alerted me to the story of the restored Graham-White Factory on the RAF Museum website. The story is introduced by the following excerpted paragraph: "The historic Grade II* listed Grahame-White Factory, part of Claude Grahame-White's original works, has been dismantled and reconstructed on Museum land to become a new exhibition hall. After careful restoration it stands as a breathtaking example of an important industrial building of the time."      You will find two photographs of the factory, one before restoration and the second after. You can access the site by clicking on the title above. If time permits, you will find much more of interest on the homepage."

 

Fitting tribute to a hero of the skies by Harry Keegan December 17, 2003      This article, found in the archives of the Barnet & Potters Bar TIMES website, was recommended to me by Doug Killick. "An important new exhibition at the RAF Museum celebrates the history of powered flight. HARRY KEEGAN reports on how close Hendon, rather than Heathrow, came to being London's airport "Mr Claude Grahame-White as the courageous champion of an act still in its infancy, has set his mark on Hendon. The name of the town is flashed over the face of the earth and water to the confines of civilisation by the exhibits which take place over its aviation grounds."      The article is online as of today, 8-4-04, and can be accessed by clicking on the title above.

 

CLAUDE GRAHAME-WHITE DIES      Well known to Early Birds was Claude Grahame-White who died in Nice, France, August 19, 1959. Mr. Grahame-White in 1909 turned his attention to aeronautics, opening the first British flying school. He was the first English pilot to carry mail in Britain, and was the first to fly by night. He flew the Daily Mail's air race in 1910 and the Gordon Bennnett Race in the U.S. the same year, winning the latter. He will be remembered by EB's for his exploits at an early Boston air meet. During World War I he was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps and took part in the first British air raid by naval planes on Zeesbrugge. His later aviation interests were extensive. He was the author of numerous books on aviation. From The Early Birds of Aviation CHIRP January, 1960,Number 62

Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this pioneer aviator please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back