William Humble MBE (14 April 1911 – 1 March 1992) was a well-known pre-

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

aviator, known as an

air race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a pre ...

r and for his aerobatic displays. He was also an officer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

Special Reserve, and the

Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rei ...

. Although he qualified as a

mining engineer Mining engineering is the extraction of minerals from the ground. It is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, metallurgy, geotechnical engineering and surveying. A mining engineer m ...

the lure of flying proved too strong, and he did not enter the family mining company. During the war he became an important

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

for aircraft manufacturer

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in list of aircraft manufacturers, aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers ...

. Having tested some of the early jet aircraft, he retired from test flying in 1948, becoming a sales executive for Hawker. He is the grandfather of British

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

Kate Humble Katherine Mary Humble (born 12 December 1968) is an English television presenter and narrator, mainly working for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes. Humble served as president of the Royal Society for the Protection of Bir ...

Early life

Humble was born on 14 April 1911, the son of William Humble senior, a mining engineer and mine owner in the

South Yorkshire coalfield The South Yorkshire Coalfield is so named from its position within Yorkshire. It covers most of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and a small part of North Yorkshire. The exposed coalfield outcrops in the Pennine foothills and dips under Permian ro ...

, and also associated with the

Staveley Coal and Iron Company The Staveley Coal and Iron Company Limited was an industrial company based in Staveley, Derbyshire, Staveley, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, north Derbyshire. History The company was registered in 1863, appearing in provincial sto ...

. Humble was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, following his father in qualifying as a mining engineer in 1930. He learnt to fly in the Auxiliary Air Force in 1929 (while still at university), and on 27 July 1930 he was commissioned as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...

on probation in the Special Reserve of the

, his rank was confirmed on 25 October 1931, and he was promoted

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

on 27 January 1932. He was a founder member of No. 504 (City of Nottingham) Squadron, and during this period received flying instruction from Arthur Marshall. He transferred to the Reserve of Air Force Officers, Class A on 16 May 1932. In 1935 he entered the

King's Cup Air Race The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association. The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...

, flying a

Miles Hawk The Miles M.2 Hawk was a twin-seat light monoplane designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft Limited during the 1930s. It is the first of the company's aircraft to attain quantity production. The Hawk's developm ...

, he would enter again on several subsequent occasions. On 24 April 1936 he transferred to the Auxiliary Air Force, becoming a founder pilot of No. 609 (West Riding) (Bomber) Squadron, he returned to the Reserve of Officers on 31 August 1937. He married for the first time in 1936, but divorced just a few years later.

Test pilot

Following the outbreak of the Second World War Humble was invited to join Hawker Siddeley's team of test pilots, taking up the role on 10 October 1940. The testing team was led by George Bulman and Philip Lucas. Humble was initially involved in testing

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

as they came off the production line at the rate of seven a day. Having proved his ability, he was soon assigned to help test and develop new aircraft types, initially the

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor aircraft, interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems we ...

, and then later types derived from it, the

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...

, Hawker Fury and Sea Fury. The Typhoon became particularly important as a "tank-buster" during the

Normandy Campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

, and the Tempest in the fight against the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

. Development of the Fury was a particularly difficult experience. The aircraft could approach the

sound barrier The sound barrier or sonic barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other undesirable effects experienced by an aircraft or other object when it approaches the speed of sound. When aircraft first approached the speed of sound, th ...

in a dive, causing unexpected handling problems; the

Bristol Centaurus The Centaurus was the final development of the Bristol Engine Company's series of sleeve valve radial aircraft engines. The Centaurus is an 18-cylinder, two-row design that eventually delivered over . The engine was introduced into service ...

engine was also still relatively new and experienced many problems, on more than one occasion it was only Humble's skill as a pilot which prevented a crash. Bulman had retired towards the end of the war, Lucas then became Hawker's chief test pilot. In mid-1945, Lucas was promoted to the board of the company, and in early January 1946, Humble was appointed the new chief test pilot. Hawker now moved into the jet age, with Humble making the first test flight of the Hawker P.1040 from

Boscombe Down MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the D ...

on 2 September 1947. This ultimately entered service as the

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design originat ...

Later life and legacy

Humble retired from testing in 1948, remaining with Hawker as a sales executive. He continued to give demonstration flights, and his skill as a display pilot is credited with helping to win Hawker sales. His main sales territory was the Middle East, and he spent much time in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. According to his

obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' he was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1949. He returned to the United Kingdom permanently in the late 1980s when his health began to deteriorate. He died on 1 March 1992, survived by his second wife, Georgina, his son (by his first wife) and his daughter. In an episode of the BBC television programme, '' Who Do You Think You Are?'', first broadcast on 29 July 2009, TV presenter

investigated her family history, starting by finding out more about her grandfather, Bill Humble. During a visit to the

RAF Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body and is a registered charity. It has two public sites, Royal Air Force Museum London and Royal Air Fo ...

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

, she was shown film footage of her grandfather flying, and spoke to one of his former colleagues, Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Humble, Bill 1911 births 1992 deaths People educated at Repton School Alumni of the University of Cambridge English aviators Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force officers English test pilots People from Doncaster Hawker Siddeley 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel Military personnel from Doncaster