Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

and on

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam. His son,

Donald Campbell Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

, carried on the family tradition by holding both land speed and water speed records.

Early life and family

Campbell was born on 11 March 1885 in Chislehurst, Kent, the only son of William Campbell, a

Hatton Garden Hatton Garden is a street and commercial zone in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, abutting the narrow precinct of Saffron Hill which then abuts the City of London. It takes its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, a favouri ...

diamond seller. He attended the independent

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

. 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 Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gove ...

for no pay, then for another year at £1 a week. Between 1906 and 1908, he won all three

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

Trials motorcycle races. In 1910, he began racing cars at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

. He christened his car ''Blue Bird'', painting it blue, after seeing the play '' The Blue Bird'' by

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

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 Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

was born in 1921, and their daughter, Jean, in 1923. Dorothy was known as Lady Campbell and later described him as "quite unfitted for the role of husband and family man". They divorced in 1940. Campbell married Betty Nicory in 1945 in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. 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 ''Burn 'Em Up O'Connor'' is a 1939 race car film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Cecilia Parker, Nat Pendleton and Harry Carey. The screenplay was written by Milton Merlin and Byron Morgan from the novel ''Salute to the ...

''.

Military service

At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Campbell initially enlisted as a motorcycle dispatch rider and fought at 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 The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

, a

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

unit, on 2 September 1914. He was soon drafted into the Royal Flying Corps, where he served as 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 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 The Coats Mission was a special British army unit established in England in 1940 for the purpose of evacuating King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and their immediate family in the event of a German invasion of Britain during the Second World War. I ...

tasked with evacuating King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

, 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 the age limit of 60, Campbell relinquished his commission and was granted the honorary rank of major.

Grand Prix career

Campbell competed in Grand Prix motor racing, winning the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

and 1928 Grand Prix de Boulogne in France driving a Bugatti T37A.

Land speed record

Campbell broke the land speed record for the first time in 1924 at at

Pendine Sands Pendine Sands ( cy, Traeth Pentywyn) is a 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 ( cy, Pentywyn, link=no) is close to the west ...

near

Carmarthen Bay Carmarthen Bay ( cy, Bae Caerfyrddin) is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conserva ...

in a 350HP V12 Sunbeam, now on display at the

National Motor Museum, Beaulieu The National Motor Museum (originally the Montagu Motor Museum) is a museum in the village of Beaulieu, set in the heart of the New Forest, in the English county of Hampshire. History The museum was founded in 1952 by Edward Douglas-Scot ...

. He broke nine

land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...

s between 1924 and 1935, with three at

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 at

in a streamlined

Chrysler Six The Chrysler Six was a series of cars that were all installed with the Chrysler Straight Six when the company assumed operations of the Maxwell Automobile Company in 1924, and Chalmers Automobile Company in 1926. The Chrysler Six initially cons ...

. On 4 February 1927, Campbell set the land speed record at

, covering the Flying Kilometre (in an average of two runs) at and the Flying Mile in , in the Napier-Campbell ''Blue Bird''. He set his final land speed record at the

Bonneville Salt Flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

on 3 September 1935, and was the first person to drive an automobile over 300 mph, averaging in two passes.

Water speed records

Campbell developed and flotation-tested ''Blue Bird'' on Tilgate Lake, in

Tilgate Park Tilgate Park is a large recreational park situated south of Tilgate, South-East Crawley. It is the largest and most popular park in the area. Originally a part of the ancient Worth Forest, the park and adjacent areas (including the modern-day ...

, Crawley. He set the water speed record four times, his highest speed being in the '' Blue Bird K4''. He set the record on 19 August 1939 on

Coniston Water Coniston Water in the English county of Cumbria is the third-largest lake in the Lake District by volume (after Windermere and Ullswater), and the fifth-largest by area. It is five miles long by half a mile wide (8 km by 800 m), has ...

, Lancashire (now in Cumbria).

Politics

Campbell stood for Parliament without success at the 1935 general election in

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

for the Conservative Party, despite his links to the British Union of Fascists. Reportedly, he once adorned his car with a Fascist pennant of the London Volunteer Transport Service, though there has been no photographic evidence to support this claim.Zander, Patrick Glenn.
Right Modern: Technology, Nation, and Britain's Extreme Right in the Interwar Period
'. Georgia Institute of Technology. May 2009. Page 99.

Death

Campbell died after a series of strokes in 1948 in

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earliest archaeological evidence for huma ...

, 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.

Honours and awards

*In recognition of his service during the First World War, Campbell was appointed a Member of the Military Division of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

on 3 June 1919. *In 1931, on his return from Daytona Beach where he set a land speed record of , he was given a civic welcome and a Mansion House banquet in London, and was knighted at Buckingham Palace by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

on 21 February 1931. *He was awarded the

Segrave Trophy The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...

in 1933 and 1939. *He was inducted into the

International Motorsports Hall of Fame The International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is a hall of fame located adjacent to the Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) located in Talladega County, east central Alabama. It enshrines those who have co ...

in 1990. *He was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...

in 1994. *In 2010, an

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

blue plaque commemorating Campbell and his son was installed at Canbury School, Kingston Hill,

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable ...

, where Donald was born in March 1921 and the Campbell family lived until late 1922.

References

External links

www.SirMalcolmCampbell.com

www.racingcampbells.com – dedicated to the memory of Campbell and his son Donald

Leather Cap and Goggles
a
A History of Central Florida Podcast
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Malcolm Land speed record people Water speed records People in sports awarded knighthoods International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees English people of Scottish descent Brooklands people Brighton Speed Trials people English racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Bugatti People educated at Uppingham School Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Segrave Trophy recipients British motorboat racers 1885 births 1948 deaths BRDC Gold Star winners Bonneville 300 MPH Club members People from Chislehurst Knights Bachelor English fascists British Army personnel of World War I Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Military Police officers British Army General List officers