31-403: Major Sir Malcolm Campbell MBE (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called Blue Bird , including a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam . His son, Donald Campbell , carried on the family tradition by holding both land speed and water speed records. Campbell
62-441: A Bentley Continental GT Speed. The recorded speed was 180.361 mph. On 21 July 2015, at Pendine beach, the 90th anniversary of Sir Malcolm Campbell's first world land speed record in "Blue Bird" was recreated by his grandson, Don Wales, also a land speed record holder, in the fully restored car. Commenting on the restoration appeal, Wales said: "This beautiful car has been lovingly restored and looked after by Doug Hill and
93-532: A Fascist pennant of the London Volunteer Transport Service , though there has been no photographic evidence to support this claim. Campbell died after a series of strokes in 1948 in Reigate , Surrey, aged 63. He was one of the few land speed record holders of his era to die of natural causes, for so many had died in crashes. Major (United Kingdom) Major ( Maj ) is a military rank which
124-450: A home-built 'wooden shed' (using an Audi RS4 twin turbo engine, installed in a metal frame with wooden shed cladding) set a new speed record, achieving 101 mph (163 km/h), breaking its own previous record of 80 mph (130 km/h). The following day, 45-year-old Guernsey businessman Zef Eisenberg set a new land speed 'sand' record of 201.5 mph (324.3 km/h) on his 350-horsepower supercharged Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle,
155-630: A nephew of Donald Campbell , set the UK electric land speed record at Pendine Sands in Blue Bird Electric 2 , achieving a speed of 137 mph (220 km/h). The Ministry of Defence (MOD) acquired Pendine Sands during the Second World War and used it as a firing range. The beach is still owned by the Ministry of Defence; prominent signs warn of the dangers of unexploded munitions and public access
186-483: A regiment or battalion were still usually commanded by captains. After World War II , major became the usual rank held by officers commanding all companies, squadrons, and batteries. In the 21st century British Army, officers normally attain the rank after around eight to 10 years of commissioned service. A common job for a major is the command of a sub-unit of 120 or fewer junior officers and soldiers. Pendine Sands Pendine Sands ( Welsh : Traeth Pentywyn )
217-545: A top speed of 112.9 mph while riding behind a modified truck driven by former British Truck Racing Championship winner, Dave Jenkins. The preparations for the record attempt were documented in Episode 1 of a Channel 4 series called Speed with Guy Martin , first broadcast in the UK in December 2013. On 7 May 2015, actor Idris Elba broke the historic 'flying mile' UK land speed record, originally set by Malcolm Campbell , in
248-423: Is a 7-mile (11 km) beach on the shores of Carmarthen Bay on the south coast of Wales . It stretches west to east from Gilman Point to Laugharne Sands. The village of Pendine (Welsh: Pentywyn ) is close to the western end of the beach. In the early 1900s the sands were used as a venue for car and motor cycle races. From 1922 the annual Welsh TT motor cycle event was held here. The firm, flat surface of
279-494: Is restricted. From Monday to Friday part of the beach is closed off because of MOD operations. Between 9 July 2004 and May 2010 all vehicles were banned from using Pendine because of safety concerns, but since May 2010 cars have again been allowed access. Parry-Thomas's car was buried in the sand dunes near the village of Pendine after his accident. In 1969, Owen Wyn Owen , an engineering lecturer from Bangor Technical College, received permission to excavate Babs , which he spent
310-623: Is used by both the British Army and Royal Marines . The rank is superior to captain and subordinate to lieutenant colonel . The insignia for a major is a crown . The equivalent rank in the Royal Navy is lieutenant commander , and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force . By the time of the Napoleonic wars , an infantry battalion usually had two majors, designated the "senior major" and
341-570: The Battle of Mons in August 1914. Shortly afterwards he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment , a Territorial Force unit, on 2 September 1914. He was soon drafted into the Royal Flying Corps , where he was a ferry pilot, for his instructors believed he was too clumsy to make the grade as a fighter pilot. During the late 1930s, he commanded
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#1733085303824372-465: The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu . He broke nine land speed records between 1924 and 1935, with three at Pendine Sands and five at Daytona Beach . His first two records were accomplished whilst driving a racing car built by Sunbeam . In 1925 Campbell set a new lap record of 100 mph (160.93 km/h) at Brooklands in a streamlined Chrysler Six . On 4 February 1927, Campbell set
403-645: The provost company of the 56th (London) Division of the Territorial Army . From 1940 to 1942, he commanded the military police contingent of the Coats Mission tasked with evacuating King George VI , Queen Elizabeth and their immediate family from London in the event of German invasion. On 23 January 1943 he was transferred from the Corps of Military Police to the General List . On 16 December 1945, having attained
434-694: The water speed record four times, his highest speed being 141.740 mph (228.108 km/h) in the Blue Bird K4 . He set the record on 19 August 1939 on Coniston Water , Lancashire (now in Cumbria). Campbell stood for Parliament without success at the 1935 general election in Deptford for the Conservative Party , despite his links to the British Union of Fascists . Reportedly, he once adorned his car with
465-407: The "junior major". The senior major effectively acted as second-in-command and the majors often commanded detachments of two or more companies split from the main body. The second-in-command of a battalion or regiment is still a major. During World War I, majors wore the following cuff badges: During World War I, some officers took to wearing similar jackets to the men, with the rank badges on
496-496: The 150 mph (240 km/h) barrier was broken by Campbell. In April 1926, Parry-Thomas added approximately 20 mph to break the land speed record at 171.02 mph (273.6 km/h). Campbell raised the record to 174.22 mph (280.38 km/h) in February 1927 with his second Blue Bird . On 3 March 1927, Parry-Thomas attempted to beat Campbell's record. On his final run while travelling at about 170 mph (270 km/h)
527-583: The VHRA and their pre-1949 hot rods and saw 80 vehicles being timed flat out on the sands. This annual event involves participants from around the world. The event culminated in the VHRA winning a Motoring Event of the Year accolade at the International Historic Motoring Awards. In September 2013, Guy Martin broke the UK speed record for a bicycle ridden in the slipstream of another vehicle. He hit
558-532: The age limit of 60, Campbell relinquished his commission and was granted the honorary rank of major . Campbell competed in Grand Prix motor racing , winning the 1927 and 1928 Grand Prix de Boulogne in France driving a Bugatti T37A . Campbell broke the land speed record for the first time in 1924 at 146.16 mph (235.22 km/h) at Pendine Sands near Carmarthen Bay in a 350HP V12 Sunbeam , now on display at
589-446: The beach created a race track that was straighter and smoother than many major roads of the time. Motor Cycle magazine described the sands as "the finest natural speedway imaginable". In the 1920s it became clear that roads and race tracks were no longer adequate venues for attempts on the world land speed record . As record-breaking speeds approached 150 mph (240 km/h), the requirements for acceleration to top speed before
620-474: The car crashed. There is an untrue urban myth that the exposed drive chain broke and partially decapitated him; Babs went out of control and rolled over. Parry-Thomas was the first driver to be killed in a world land speed record attempt. One further attempt at the Land Speed Record was planned by Giulio Foresti in the "Djelmo", but Foresti crashed during a test run on 26 November 1927, totally destroying
651-419: The car. In 1933, Amy Johnson and her husband, Jim Mollison , took off from Pendine Sands in a de Havilland Dragon Rapide , G-ACCV "Seafarer", to fly non-stop to New York. Their aircraft ran out of fuel and was forced to crash-land at Bridgeport, Connecticut , just short of New York; both were seriously injured in the crash. In June 2000, Donald Charles "Don" Wales, grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell and
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#1733085303824682-434: The first time a speed in excess of 200 miles per hour had been achieved at Pendine. This was the fastest speed achieved by a wheel powered vehicle ever at Pendine. In 2019, Eisenberg set a new record of 210.332 mph (338.497 km/h) in a modified Porsche 911 . He broke the records for flying mile and flying quarter on the same day. Pendine Sands has been used as a location for filming, including BBC's Top Gear and
713-917: The land speed record at Pendine Sands , covering the Flying Kilometre (in an average of two runs) at 174.883 mph (281.447 km/h) and the Flying Mile in 174.224 mph (280.386 km/h), in the Napier-Campbell Blue Bird . He set his final land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on 3 September 1935, and was the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph, averaging 301.337 mph (484.955 km/h) in two passes. Campbell developed and flotation-tested Blue Bird on Tilgate Lake, in Tilgate Park , Crawley . He set
744-582: The measured mile and safe braking distance afterwards meant that a smooth, flat, straight surface of at least 5 miles (8.0 km) in length was needed. The first person to use Pendine Sands for a world land speed record attempt was Malcolm Campbell . On 25 September 1924 he set a world land speed record of 146.16 mph (235.22 km/h) on Pendine Sands in his Sunbeam 350HP car Blue Bird . Four other record-breaking runs were made on Pendine Sands between 1924 and 1927; two more by Campbell, and two by Welshman J. G. Parry-Thomas in his car Babs . Firstly
775-497: The next 16 years restoring. The car could be seen on display at the Museum of Speed in Pendine village during the summer months, prior to demolition of the building for redevelopment. In 2011, Aardman Animations claimed the world's largest stop motion film set for Gulp , a short film . The beach was used as a 'canvas' with some props and characters sculpted from the sand. The film
806-459: The play The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck at the Haymarket Theatre . Campbell married Marjorie Dagmar Knott in 1913, but they divorced two years later. Campbell then married Dorothy Evelyn Whittall in 1920; their son Donald was born in 1921, and their daughter, Jean, in 1923. Dorothy, who became Lady Campbell when he was knighted in 1931, later described him as "quite unfitted for
837-557: The role of husband and family man". They divorced in 1940. Campbell married Betty Nicory in 1945 in Chelsea . Campbell wrote a number of "motoring mystery" novels including Salute to the Gods which was the source material for the 1939 motion picture Burn 'Em Up O'Connor . At the outbreak of the First World War , Campbell initially enlisted as a motorcycle dispatch rider and fought at
868-599: The shoulder, as the cuff badges made them conspicuous to snipers. This practice was frowned on outside the trenches but was given official sanction in 1917 as an alternative, being made permanent in 1920 when the cuff badges were abolished. From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the rank of major. It was superseded by the rank of squadron leader on the following day. By World War I , majors were often commanding independent companies, squadrons , and batteries , but those that were organically part of
899-411: The team and it's only right that such an iconic car deserves to have the final pieces in place to complete her!"' The new gearbox will be part of a long-term project to restore the car to its 1925 specifications. This would also require the fabrication of two full-length exhaust pipes, a new seat and upholstery, and the re-manufacture of a slightly dropped nose cone and rear wheel spats. On 12 May 2018,
930-627: Was born on 11 March 1885 in Chislehurst , Kent, the only son of William Campbell, a Hatton Garden diamond seller. He attended the independent Uppingham School . In Germany, learning the diamond trade, he gained an interest in motorbikes and races. Returning to Britain, he worked for two years at Lloyd's of London for no pay, then for another year at £1 a week. Between 1906 and 1908, he won all three London to Land's End Trials motorcycle races. In 1910, he began racing cars at Brooklands . He christened his car Blue Bird , painting it blue, after seeing
961-418: Was captured using Nokia N8 , then Nokia's top-of-the-range mobile phone. Overhead shots were obtained via a telescopic cherry picker platform on wheels. On 21 and 22 June 2013, Pendine Land Speed Racing Club initiated land speed racing events again on the sands. The Vintage Hot Rod Association hosted their inaugural Amateur Hot Rod Races on Pendine Sands on 7 September 2013. Racing was open to members of