John Stuart Hindmarsh (25 November 1907 – 6 September 1938) was an English racecar driver and

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

Career

Hindmarsh was educated at

Sherborne Sherborne is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north west Dorset, in South West England. It is sited on the River Yeo (South Somerset), River Yeo, on the edge of the Blackmore Vale, east of Yeovil. The parish include ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and then attended the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Indi ...

. He joined the Royal Army Tank Corps in 1928, then in 1930 learned to fly with 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 ...

. Hindmarsh also raced Talbot and

Lagonda Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008, 2010 to 20 ...

cars; he won the Le Mans 24-Hour Race in 1935 in a 4½ litre Lagonda M45R Rapide with Luis Fontés (222 laps; 3006.797 km; average speed 125.283 km/h). Hindmarsh was killed aged 30 while test flying

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

I L1652 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 airfields, ...

on 6 September 1938; he is thought to have been overcome by carbon monoxide fumes in the cockpit, and the aeroplane then dived almost vertically into the ground and exploded at the foot of St George's Hill almost opposite the Vickers factory entrance.

Family life

Hindmarsh married the multiple record breaking racing driver Violette Cordery on 15 September 1931 at

Stoke D'Abernon __NOTOC__ Stoke d'Abernon () is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district, in Surrey, England. It is on the bank (geography), right bank of the River Mole contiguously south of ...

parish church, and they had two daughters, one of whom married the racing driver

Roy Salvadori Roy Francesco Salvadori (12 May 1922 – 3 June 2012) was a British racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Salvadori won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in wit ...

. Widowed in 1938, Cordery retired from public life until her death on 30 December 1983 in Oxshott, Surrey.Obituary - Roy Salvadori

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, 6 June 2012, by Alan Henry

Racing record

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

John Hindmarsh
at Historic Racing {{DEFAULTSORT:Hindmarsh, John 1907 births 1938 deaths 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England English racing drivers English aviators Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Royal Tank Regiment officers Royal Air Force officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1938 20th-century British Army personnel 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel 20th-century English sportsmen