Violette Cordery (married name Hindmarsh; 10 January 1900 – 30 December 1983) was a British racing driver and long distance record breaker.

Early life

Cordery was born in London to Henry Cordery and had an elder sister (Lucy)/Leslie and a younger sister Evelyn who also participated in her driving exploits.

Motoring

Cordery was employed as a driver to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Noel Macklin Sir (Albert) Noel Campbell Macklin (28 October 1886 – 1946) was an innovative British car maker and boat designer. He founded Eric-Campbell in 1919, Silver Hawk in 1920, Invicta in 1925 and Railton in 1933. In 1939 he founded Fairmile Mari ...

of the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

(RNVR) at

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. He subsequently invalided out of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1915 and transferred to the RNVR. Macklin was married to her elder sister Lucy. In 1920 she competed in the

South Harting South Harting is a village within Harting civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B ...

hill climb driving a

Silver Hawk ''Silver Hawk'' () is a 2004 superhero film directed by Jingle Ma and starring Michelle Yeoh, Richie Jen, Luke Goss, Brandon Chang and Michael White. Yeoh plays the title character, a masked comic book style heroine who rides a motorcycle, s ...

, manufactured by Noel Macklin. Cordery also competed in two British Motor Cycle Racing Club handicap events driving an

Eric-Campbell The Eric-Campbell was a British car made from 1919 to 1924 by Eric-Campbell & Co Limited of Cricklewood, London. The company was formed by H Eric Orr-Ewing and Noel Campbell Macklin. Manufacturing Eric-Campbell was formed by H Eric Orr-Ewing an ...

, also manufactured by Noel Macklin. In May 1921 she won the ladies' race at the Junior Car Club meeting, averaging . In 1925 she publicised the new Invicta car, also manufactured by Noel Macklin, by racing and breaking records. At the West Kent Motor Club meeting at Brooklands she won the half mile sprint in a 2.7 litre Invicta, and went on other victories and records. In 1926 she set a long distance record at the

Autodromo Nazionale Monza The Monza Circuit ( Italian: ; ) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis and the oldest in mainland Europe ...

, Italy, when she co-drove a 19.6 hp Invicta for at . In July 1926 she averaged for at

Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

, Paris, and became the first woman to be awarded the

Dewar Trophy The Dewar Trophy is a cup donated in the early years of the twentieth century by Sir Thomas R. Dewar, MP, to be awarded each year by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) of the United Kingdom "to the motor car which should successfully complete the m ...

by the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private Club (organization)#Country or sports club, social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, London, Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, ne ...

. In 1927 she drove an Invicta around the world in five months, covering at an average speed of . She traveled through Europe, Africa, India, Australia, the United States, and Canada accompanied by a nurse, a mechanic, and a Royal Automobile Club observer. In 1929, with her younger sister Evelyn, she covered of the

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, ...

circuit within 30,000minutes (approximately 20 days, 20 hours) at an average speed and earning a second Dewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club. By 1930 her 4.5-litre Invicta tourer had completed return journeys from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

, London to

John O'Groats John o' Groats () is a village 2.5 mi (4 km) north-east of Canisbay, in the historic county of Caithness, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's north-eastern tip and is popular with tourists. The northernmost point of mainland Scotland is n ...

and London to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Cordery was a member of the London Ladies' Motor Club a

motorcycle club A motorcycle club is a group of individuals whose primary interest and activities involve motorcycles. A motorcycle group can range as clubbed groups of different bikes or bikers who own same model of vehicle like the Harley Owners Group. There ...

for women based in London, founded in 1926/7 by racer and stunt rider Jessie Hole (later Jessie Ennis). The club president was Kathleen Pelham Burn (Countess of Drogheda), Betty Debenham was press secretary and other members included Nancy Debenham, Marjorie Cottle and

Mrs Victor Bruce Mildred Mary Petre (10 November 1895 – 21 May 1990) was a British record-breaking racing motorist, speedboat racer and aviator in the 1920s and 1930s, and later, successful businesswoman. Commonly referred to as Mrs Victor Bruce, she was also ...

Family life

Cordery married the racing driver and aviator

John Stuart Hindmarsh John Stuart Hindmarsh (25 November 1907 – 6 September 1938) was an English racecar driver and aviator. Career Hindmarsh was educated at Sherborne, Dorset and then attended the Royal Military College. He joined the Royal Army Tank Corps in ...

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. They had two daughters, of whom Susan 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 by Hindmarsh's death while test flying a

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 ...

, she retired from public life until her death on 30 December 1983 in

Oxshott Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the large towns of Esher and Leatherh ...

, Surrey. She was cremated at Randalls Park crematorium.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

References

External links

British Pathe Video of Violet Cordery's Invicta beginning its 'Round the World' trip in 1927
*Tejera, P. (2018).
Reinas de la carretera
'. Madrid: Ediciones Casiopea. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordery, Violette English female racing drivers English racing drivers Brooklands people Land speed record people English feminists 1900 births 1983 deaths English rally drivers Female rally drivers People from Oxshott Circumnavigators of the globe Racing drivers from London 20th-century English sportswomen