THE RACING CAMPBELLS

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BLUEBIRDS 1929 - 1967

On March 23 1921, Malcolm Campbell was building a dog kennel in his garage, while a baby boy was born into the world. The baby's name, was Donald Malcolm Campbell. Donald was to continue a tradition, started by his father before him and was to make record breaking history for many years, especially 43 years later, when in 1964 he became the only person to set both land and water speed records in the same calendar year. A feat that will probably never be seen again.

The 'Speed Kings' as they were to be known, were a father and son pushing the boundaries of speed on water and land. Between them they achieved no less than 21 official world speed records, 11 on water and 10 on land. Donald had to work hard for his records, for unlike his father who was well off and spent virtually none of his own money on attempts, Donald had to use his own money, mortgage his home and battle on at times, with limited support. Donald's record breaking was in a time when some people thought it was no longer a matter of national pride.

Father and Son - Malcolm Donald and Donald Malcolm Campbell

It is a testament to Donald, that regardless of the many problems encountered, he never gave up. The 360 mph Utah crash in 1960, while disheartening and a huge financial blow, only made him stronger. In the shadows of his fathers abilities, some people thought he just could not do it, that he did not have it in him, Donald simply proved them wrong with his determination and courage.

Of course one cannot talk about the Campbell's without mentioning Leo Villa. Leo was the backbone to every single record attempt that Donald and Malcolm undertook. Therefore, it would have to be a fair assumption that without Leo Villa's guidance and skills, several, if not all of the records, may not have happened.

Sir Malcom Donald Campbell 1885 - 1949

Born in Chiselhurst, Kent on 11 March 1885, Malcolm was the only son of a successful Hatton Garden diamond merchant. He first became involved with racing whilst in Europe studying the diamond business as his father had done before him. Germany would be the place which would see him begin his quest for speed. At the turn of the century, he advanced from being a bicycle enthusiast to a motorcyclist enthusiast. Malcolm, how with a thirst for racing went on to win three successive gold medals in the London to Lakes End Trials between 1906 and 1908.

In 1909, he became interested in aeroplanes and in 1910 began car racing at Brooklands, initially christening his cars "The Flapper". In 1912 he adopted the name 'Blue Bird' after seeing the stage play 'The Blue Bird' by Maurice Maeterlinck. Malcolm was now married, but after only two short years he divorced. When World War I started he was drafted into the Royal Flying Corps, having had some previous flying experience. He remarried after the war and his son, Donald was born in 1921, followed by a daughter, Jean, two years later.

In 1923 after driving many different racing cars including an Austro Daimler, Star, Talbots, Italas and Chryslers, he purchased the former Land Speed Record holding 350HP V12 Sunbeam from Kennelm Lee Guinness, (of the famous brewing family and inventor of the K.L.G. spark plug) which would see him clock 146.16mph on Pendine Sands and officially take the Land Speed Record for the first time in 1924. Realising the Sunbeam's limitations, he employed the talents of Amherst Villiers to design what would become the Campbell-Napier Blue Bird which would, in 1927, allow him to take the record for a second time, clocking a speed of 174.88mph. Malcolm was not the only man in quest of records, however. Among his challengers was England's Henry Segrave. Segrave set a new record of 203.79 mph on the hard packed sand's of Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1927. The following year, 1928, Campbell fought back and recaptured the record with 206.95 mph at the beach.

Malcolm returned home a record holder again, but less than two months later, the Americans fought back and reclaimed the record for the first time since 1906. Malcolm, now with the news that the British challenge would be taken up by Segrave with Golden Arrow, set about rethinking Bluebird in an attempt to regain the Land Speed Record.

After a very expensive and less than impressive attempt at Verneuk Pan, South Africa in 1929, a new Reid Railton designed, Gurney Nutting bodied Blue Bird appeared in 1931. Fitted with a Napier Sprint Lion VII Schneider Cup aircraft engine, it would propel him to a speed of 246.09mph on 5th February 1931, earning him a new record, a Knighthood and the coveted Lord Wakefield Trophy for his achievements. In the years to come, he would also be awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1933 and 1939.

By 1935, Malcolm had raised the mark to 276.82 at Daytona Beach, but now concerned with the soft sand and lack of tractionat the beach, wanted to find another site to reach the ultimate mark of 300 mph. He found this at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and on 3rd September 1935, he became the first man to exceed 300 mph. Malcolm was also a shareholder and director in several businesses, including Brooklands racing circuit, where he was active in the running of the track and designed the Campbell road racing circuit within the confines of the site. This circuit was used from its opening on 1st May 1937 to the outbreak of World War II.

In 1937 having achieved his goal on land, he aspired for the same result on water, setting the Water Speed Record in the all new Blue Bird K3 Hydroplane on 1st September at 126.33 mph. The following day, dissatisfied with his first record, he raised it again to 129.56 mph. The following year, 1938, saw him go to Lake Hallwyl in Switzerland, where he raised the record to 130.93 mph.

Donald Malcolm Campbell C.B.E.  1921 - 1967

Donald was born on March 23 1921. His father, Malcolm was building a dog kennel in the garage during the birth. Donald was looked after by a nanny and his mother and occasionally could be found with Leo Villa in his fathers workshop. At the age of six he was sent to Manor House in Sussex, where discipline is believed to have been very strict.

In the Easter of 1932, at the age of nine he was moved to St. Peter’s Preparatory School where he excelled at individual activities including boxing and shooting and began supplementing his income by selling autographs of his famous father. In July 1934, Donald moved to Uppington Public School, the same school his father had attended. He was placed in the same 'house' as his father and on finding his fathers initials, 'MDC' carved into a beam, proceeded to add his own, 'DMC', like father, like son. He remained in the same form for three years, showing little interest in education, but excelling in sporting pursuits. At the age of sixteen he contracted German Measles, which developed into Rheumatic Fever.

On leaving school his father got him a job at Lloyds Insurance Brokers, where Donald was an office boy on £1 a week. What Donald really wanted to do however, was to be a pilot and a fighter pilot at that. In June 1939, whilst riding his motorbike he had an unfortunate accident, fracturing his skull and hurting his back, this confined him to bed for several weeks.

In September 1939 he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and passed the preliminary medical exam, failing to inform them that he had suffered from Rheumatic Fever. In 1940, he reported to RAF Cardington near Bedford and was given the number A.C.H. 964147. After further medical tests at the RAF Halton Hospital, he was given a discharge because of his history of Rheumatic Fever.

Some weeks after returning home, he collided with a Canadian army truck and fractured his skull for the second time, keeping him out of action for a considerable time. After his recovery he joined Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd as an assistant to the aircraft sales manager and later became a maintenance engineer for the company. Without his fathers knowledge he married Daphne Harvey in 1945 and their daughter, Georgina was born in 1946. The family moved to Reigate Hill in the same year and Donald pursued his business interests in Kine Engineering, which he had invested £1,200, money he had saved during the war.

After Sir Malcolm’s death in 1948, he purchased Bluebird K4 and the 1935 Blue Bird car for a nominal sum. On hearing that the American Henry Kaiser was building a boat to attack the record, he approached Leo Villa with the idea of ‘keeping the flag flying’, Leo agreed. They visited Peter du Cane, the managing-director of Vosper’s and K4 was converted back to it’s 1939 configuration.

Between 1949 - 1951, Bluebird K4 went through many modifications, and in 1951 won the Oltranza Cup. In September of 1951, while travelling at between 160-170 mph, K4 hit a submerged log and sank. There is also some talk that K4 actually had a structural fault, allowing the gearbox to rotate and punch a 6ft x 7ft hole in the hull. She was recovered, stripped of all usable components and the hull burnt.

In 1952 Donald married Dorothy McKegg and approached Norris Brothers Ltd - consultant engineers to design a new propeller driven craft, this was changed to jet power after realising the speeds he wanted were impossible with prop power. The new Bluebird K7 was constructed at Samlesbury Engineering Ltd and handed over to Donald on the 26th November 1954, after being unveiled by Lady Wavell Wakefield. On the 23rd July 1955, Donald set a speed of 202.32 mph, enough to break Stanley Sayer’s record in Slo Mo Shun.

At Lake Mead on 16th November 1955 he achieved a new record of 216.2 mph. This was not without drama however, as a month earlier K7 sunk at Lake Mead. After K7’s return from the United States, many modifications were made and between 1956 and 1959, Donald raised the water speed record 4 occasions to 260.35mph on Coniston Water.

In 1958, Donald married for the third time to Tonia Bern, a Belgium cabaret singer. In 1959, he purchased Roundwood Hall near Reigate and launched into a new project for the land speed record. The attempt was at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with substantial backing from British Petroleum. After several build up runs the car veered of the course and crashed at around 360mph. Donald received a fractured skull (for the third time), burst eardrum and various other injuries. Whilst in hospital Donald announced that he wanted to have another go at the record, on hearing this, Sir Alfred Owen, owner of Motor Panels, admiring Donald's courage, rebuilt a replacement for free.

In 1963 the car was transported to Lake Eyre in South Australia, when the team arrived shortly after, the weather turned nasty and rained heavily destroying the course. The attempt was postponed to 1964, where on 17th July, Donald set a new record of 403.1mph, in appalling conditions. It needs to be mentioned however, that in ideal conditions, the car would have topped 450mph. Donald had been under extreme pressure from the media who though he had lost his nerve. Several backers and sponsors had criticised his running of the project, which left him feeling bitter and angry, he never fully recovered from the attack.

On New Years Eve 1964, on Lake Dumbleyung in Western Australia, he set a new water speed record of 276.30 mph. This was to be his finest achievement, he had done the double of water and land speed records in one calendar year, a feat that will probably never be seen again. This achievement however, went virtually unnoticed in Britain and cost Donald financially.

On returning to Britain, Donald planned to build a new jet powered land speed record car and started preliminary designs with the Leo Villa and the Norris brothers. With potential sponsors not showing much interest in his supersonic car idea, Donald decided to give the project more exposure and announced his intention of breaking 300mph on water.

He returned to Coniston Water in 1966 with only one sponsor, the Daily Sketch, (he had approached BP for fuel and lubricants but had been turned down) and after problems with the engine, weather and mechanical issues, it looked like he might finally be able to break the water speed record on the 4th January 1967.  While playing cards the previous night, Donald had turned over the ace and queen of spades, being a superstitious man, he remembered that Mary Queen Of Scots had drawn these same cards the night before she was beheaded.

Wednesday 4th January 1967 dawned with a flat calm lake and dead still air, these were perfect conditions for a record attempt. The timekeepers were called and Donald took to the water in K7 at around 8.30am. At 8.42am he started up the Orpheus Turbo-Jet in K7 and ran his first timed pass for the day. He was clocked at 297mph on a glass smooth lake with K7's trim absolutely perfect. At the turnaround Donald circled the refuelling barge but did not stop to refuel. He waited just under four minutes for his wash to subside from the first run, and being unable to check with Leo Villa, who was watching the conditions in the center of the lake due to a radio communication problem, announced he was commencing his return run. This was to be a fatal mistake, as the new water brake fitted to K7 had churned up the lake surface and there was still some rippling on the surface.

Donald turned K7 around and headed back down the course at a fantastic pace for his return run, describing his run by radio to his crew. Just before the end of the measured kilometre, with her planning points out of the water and travelling at a reported speed of 328 mph, she rose gracefully, bows first from the water, did a backward somersault and plunged back into the water nose first, killing Donald instantly. The main hull continued down the lake, cartwheeling for several hundred feet, destroying itself and shedding unidentifiable bits and pieces everywhere. Within 30 seconds of the crash K7 was gone, having sunk to the bottom of Coniston in 150 feet of murky water. Donald disappeared into the lake with K7 and an extensive search was undertaken, but he was never found. A brave and heroic man died that day, and the Campbell legend was created.

On January 28th, 1967, it was announced in the London Gazette that Donald had been awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Gallantry (OBE), for ‘his courage and determination in attacking the world water speed record’. There was widespread feeling that this fell far short of what his efforts deserved. It was said, 'that under existing rules he could not receive the George Cross or Albert Medal, which are the two highest posthumous awards given to civilians, as he had not saved anybody’s life'.

Donald had received the Segrave Trophy on four occasions, 1955, 1958, 1964 and 1966 for his skills on both water and land, the final trophy posthumously. In 1955 he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). His father, Sir Malcolm was once heard to say to Donald, 'you will never be like me, we're built different'. Donald proved him wrong, for he was stronger and more determined than his father gave him credit.

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