Bentfield Charles Hucks was born on 25 October 1884 at Bentfield End, Stansted Mountfichet, Essex, the son of William and Kate Elizabeth Hucks (née Petch). He was apprenticed to the commercial vehicle manufacturer then in 1904 he started his career in the automobile business, being sales manager of the Automobile Company, based in Charles Street, Cardiff but following having his driving licence suspended for speeding, changed his interests to flying.

Hucks He joined Grahame-White in 1910 as a mechanic and toured with him in England and America. He taught himself to fly on a Blackburn Monoplane at Filey and gained his RAeC Aviator's Certificate on 30 May 1911, flying the same Blackburn Monoplane at Filey. By early 1912 he was re-employed by Grahame-White as a demonstration pilot.

In June 1912 New Zealander Harold Barlow, the donor of the cash prizes in connection with that year's Aerial Derby, paid the Grahame-White Aviation Co £1000 for the release of Hucks from his six months' contract with them, being replaced by Marcel Desoutter. Barlow then accompanied Hucks on a flight from France with his new Blériot XI-2, named The Firefly. This was the main aircraft Hucks used in his 1912 and 1913 exhibition flying and he eventually bought it from Barlow towards the end of 1912, shortly before the latter's death, following which J C Savage took over as Hucks' manager. By September 1913 The Firefly had been replaced by a new 80 h.p. Blériot 2-seater called The Tornado.

After seeing Adolphe Pégoud's exhibitions of 'looping the loop' at Brooklands, Hucks was fired with an ambition to emulate him, and decided to make an attempt at the first opportunity. In early November 1913 he went to France, and after a conference with M. Blériot commenced training. In the meantime his machine, a new 50 h.p. Bleriot, was altered, under M. Bleriot's direction, to suit the altered conditions under which it was to be used. On 15 November, and in spite of wind and rain, Hucks decided to make the attempt. He made one of the S dives, the machine being on its back for 9 seconds. He also flew the machine upside down for 30 seconds and twice he looped the loop.

Following the outbreak of WWI, Hucks was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps Special Reserve on 12 August 1914 as a 2nd Lieutenant (on probation) and appointed Flying Officer. On 13 September was sent to Brooklands and join 1 Squadron and was confirmed in rank on the 30th. He embarked for France on 26 October, but was sent home invalid after an attack of pleurisy, posted to 1RAS Farnborough on 4 February 1915. Promoted to Lieutenant on 15 February, He joined 15 Squadron at Hounslow on 7 May 1915, and was appointed Flight Commander, with the temporary rank of Captain on 30 July.

Promoted to the substantive rank of Captain on 1 September, Hucks went on to work in the Aeronautical Inspection Department, before working as a test pilot for Airco at Hendon, where he undertook virtually all the test-flying for the D.H.5 and was seconded to Westlands to help with the D.H.9A development programme . Towards the end of the war he developed the Hucks Starter, an auxiliary power unit that provided initial power to start up piston aircraft engines, an essential vehicle on aerodromes through to the early 1930's.

On its formation on 1 April 1918, Hucks received a temporary commission in the RAF with the rank of Captain.

Bentfield Charles Hucks died from pneumonia 6 November 1918 in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

Herbert Ramsay Playford Reynolds was born on 16 August 1887 in Baroda, India, the son of Playford Reynolds and Jessica Ellen Reynolds (née Campbell). He attended Malvern School and the Royal Military Academy Woolwich before being commissioned as a 2nd. Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 11 January 1908, promoted to Lieutenant on 15 June 1910.

Reynolds learned to fly with the Bristol School at Larkhill, Salisbury Plain and gained his RAeC Aviators Certificate on 6 June 1911 flying a Bristol Biplane. Seconded to the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing) on 1 July 1912, he was appointed Flight Commander, with temporary rank of Captain. On 15 December 1912 he was posted to 4 Squadron at Farnborough.

On the outbreak of WWI the squadron embarked to France, but Reynolds was posted back to England and appointed General Staff Officer, 3rd Grade, at the War Office on 16 September 1914. He was promoted to Captain on 30 October and immediately to Brevet Major.

On 3 December Reynolds returned to the RFC, joining his squadron In France and was appointed Acting DAA/QMG in February 1915. On 27 March he was promoted to Squadron Commander and posted to the Command of 1 Aircraft Park, Aire, and then No 1 Kite Balloon Squadron from November 1915 to February 1916. Between 30 November 1916 and 30 November 1917 Reynolds returned to the Royal Engineers, commanding a Field Company.

On its formation on 1 April 1918, Reynolds received a temporary commission in the RAF with the rank of Captain. He was appointed to the HQ, RAF with the British Expeditionary Force as a Staff Officers, 3rd Class, on 17 May, returning to England in September. He was appointed to 1 (Southern) ARD on 14 October, then moved around between 2 (Northern) ARD, 3 (Western) ARD and 5 (Eastern). He resigned his commission in the RAF on 17 June 1919 and returned to the Royal Engineers. Reynolds retired from the Army in April 1924.

During WW2 Reynolds was granted a commission for the duration of hostilities as a Flying Officer (on probation) in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the RAF, confirmed in that appointment and to be Flying Officer from 14 October 1941. Later promoted to Flight Lieutenant, he relinquished his commission, granted permission to retain rank, on 10 February 1954.

Major Herbert Ramsay Playford Reynolds died in December 1977 in Canterbury, Kent.

Thomas Henry Sebag-Montefiore was born on 9 November 1887 in Paddington, London, the son of Arthur Montefiore Sebag-Montefiore and Harriette Sebag-Montefiore (née Beddington). Educated at Clifton College, Clifton, Bristol, Gloucestershire, and at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich, he was commissioned as a 2nd. Lieutenant on 25 July 1906 in the Royal Artillery, promoted to Lieutenant on 25 July 1909.

Sebag-Montefiore gained his RAeC Aviator's Certificate on 13 June 1911 flying a Bristol Biplane on Salisbury Plain. He remained in the Royal Artillery and was never seconded to the RFC.

Promoted to the rank of Captain on 30 October 1914, Acting Major from 25 September to 30 October 1916 and again from 3 November 1916, he fought in France, Belgium, Italy and Germany. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on 1 January 1917 and promoted to Major on 2 February 1917. Appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 3 June 1918, he was promoted to acting Lt.-Colonel (whilst commanding Artillery Brigades) from 30 November to 29 December 1918.

Post war Sebag-Montefiore was placed on the half pay list from 30 May to 14 August 1922, following which he was seconded for service with the Territorial Army on 1 December, being posted as Adjutant with the 99th (Bucks. & Berks. Yeomanry) Brigade. He vacated this appointment and was restored to the Establishment of the Royal Artillery on 22 February 1925.

Sebag-Montefiore was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel on 1 July 1932 and then to Lieutenant-Colonel on 22 November 1934. He retired on the 22nd.

In retirement, Sebag-Montefiore was Honorary Secretary of the Royal Artillery Association and appointed Honorary Colonel, 79th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, from 17 May 1939 to 17 May1944. During WW2, he returned to service as Commandant of the 125 OCTU, Royal Artillery from September 1939 to June 1944.

Lt.-Colonel Thomas Henry Sebag-Montefiore, DSO, MC died on 11 June 1954 in Watford, Hertfordshire.

Henry Richard Busteed was born in North Carlton, Victoria Australia 6 November 1887, the son of Henry Richard Busteed and Jessie May Busteed (née Marson). He worked at the Tarrant Motor & Engineering Co, helping make Tarrant cars. Amongst those also working at the Tarrant company were Harry Hawker and Henry (Harry) Kauper (1888 - 1942), the trio becoming known as 'The Three Harrys'. Amongst other employees at the company were Eric Harrison and Horace Clive "Horrie" Miller (1893 - 1980), a pioneering Australian aviator and co-founder of MacRobertson Miller Airlines.

Along with Harrison, Hawker and Kauper, he travelled to Diggers Rest, north-west of Melbourne, to see Harry Houdini (Ehrich Weisz) make the first public demonstrations of powered flight made in Australia on 21 March 1910, following which 'The Three Harrys', along with Harrison, decided to go to England to become involved in aviation, arriving in May 1911.

Busteed learned to fly with the Bristol School at Larkhill, Salisbury Plain, and gained his RAeC Aviators Certificate on 13 June 1911 flying a Bristol Biplane, the first Australian to hold a pilot's licence. He started working as a test pilot for the British and Colonial Aeroplane Co, working alongside his old colleague Eric Harrison. He then joined the company's foreign sales team where one of his first jobs was to demonstrate the Boxkite in Spain, where he became the first man to fly a powered fixed wing aircraft in that country in November 1911.

Busteed returned to Spain in 1912, to demonstrate Bristol's latest aircraft, demonstrating the Bristol Boxkite at Cuatro Vientos Airfield near Madrid before the King of Spain. The demonstrations lead to an order for five Bristol aircraft, and a request that Busteed should stay for a while to run the Spanish School of Military Aviation. Whilst in Spain Busteed won the Avia Cup for flying across Madrid from the Celibes Statue to the Royal Palace and back.

Busteed volunteered to join the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps and on 25 January 1913 was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Special Reserve. He subsequently received Flying Certificate No.74 from the Central Flying School on 23 April 1913. On 4 October 1913, he resigned his commission in the Military Wing and joined the Royal Naval Reserve, and was attached to the RFC Naval Wing as a Flight Lieutenant. At the same time, he retained his position as test pilot with the British and Colonial Aeroplane Co (Bristol).

Busteed had been offered the position as the first training officer of the Australian Flying Corps, but declined the offer, taking the appointment with the Royal Navy instead. The position at the AFC was taken by Eric Harrison and Henry Petre who started the central flying school at Point Cook Victoria.

Following the formation of the Royal Naval air Service on 1 July 1914, Busteed transferred to the new service on 3 August 1914 as a Flight Lieutenant, and served at RNAS Isle of Grain as a test pilot. Following Special Duty in the USA during 1915, he was promoted to Flight Commander on 28 June and posted as CO of RNAS Hendon on 13 September.

Promoted to Acting Squadron Commander on 30 June 1916, Busteed was appointed Commanding Officer of Eastchurch Test Flight School, Isle of Sheppey, on the 14 August 1916, confirmed in rank as Squadron Commander on 31 December. On the 7 March 1917 he left Eastchurch to take command of the Experimental Constructive Department based on the Isle of Grain, appointed as Wing Commander on 31 December. There he began work on flight deck operations, working with Wing Commander Richard Bell Davies VC, and supervised the trials on catapulting aircraft from ships.

Busteed was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) on 1 January 1918 and conferred with the Croix de Guerre by the President of the French Republic on 17 May.

On its formation on 1 April 1918, Busteed received a temporary commission in the RAF with the rank of Lt. Colonel, retaining command at the Isle of Grain, renamed the Marine & Experimental Establishment on 18 March 1920. Presented with the Air Force Cross (AFC) on 1 January 1919, he was awarded a permanent commission in the RAF as a Lt. Colonel (Wing Commander when the RAF introduced its own ranking system the same day). In 1920, whilst at Grain, he submitted Patent No. 141934 for improvement in aircraft emergency flotation gear.

From 14 November 1921 Busteed was Officer Commanding, RAF Base, Gosport, Coastal Area, No 10 Group. Appointed to the Air Staff, HQ No 1 Group, Kenley between 16 April and 1 September 1923, he was next with Coastal Area Command, supernumerary, waiting for the recommissioning of HMS Furious - now fitted with a flush flight deck. On 8 May 1925 Busteed joined HMS Furious as Senior Fleet Air Arm Officer.

Further commands included 10 Squadron on 3 January 1928, when it reformed at Upper Heyford, and 482 Coastal Reconnaissance Flight, RAF Cattewater, from 8 October 1928 (re-designated 203 Squadron on 1 January 1929). Busteed was promoted to Group Captain on 1 July 1928 and posted as Officer Commanding, Reception Depot, West Drayton, on 4 July 1929. His career temporarily ended on 14 November 1932 when he was placed on the retired list.

In 1938 Busteed was made Commandant of the RAFVR, Southampton District, and on the 8 March 1939 appointed to a Commission in Class CC, RAFO in the rank of Air Commodore. On 3 September 1939 he relinquished this commission and returned to the Active List as Officer in Charge of the No 33 (Balloon Barrage) Group and later the No 34 (Balloon Barrage) Group, retiring again on 1 August 1941.

In his retirement Busteed reconditioned cars in his garage in Penzance.

Air Commodore Henry Richard Busteed OBE, AFC died on the 14th June 1965 in Penzance, Cornwall.

Frederick Hugh Sykes was born on 23 July 1877 in Addiscombe, Surrey, the son of Henry Sykes and Margaret Sykes (née Sykes, a distant cousin). Sykes first attended a school in Brighton then transferred to the Whitgift School, Croydon, which he attended from 1889 until sent to Paris in 1891, to learn French and German. After visiting Switzerland as part of his education, Sykes returned to London to work temporarily as a clerk in a shipping firm before travelling to Ceylon to learn the business of tea planting. Realising success was unlikely, he returned to England, taking a circuitous route through the Orient and North America.

Sykes sailed for South Africa and upon his arrival in Cape Town, and, on 26 March 1900, enlisted as a trooper, Number 6060, in the Imperial Yeomanry Scouts regiment of the British Army at the start of the Second Boer War. Following capture, Sykes was forcibly marched across South Africa but was later abandoned and returned to the British forces. He was discharged when the Imperial Yeomanry Scouts were disbanded on 28 August 1900.

Sykes was next commissioned into Lord Roberts' Bodyguard on 9 November 1900 but suffered a serious wound to the chest which resulted in his being invalided back to Great Britain on 6 March 1901.

On 2 October 1901 Sykes was granted a regular commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 15th Hussars. His first assignment was with the depot in Ireland, where he perfected his riding skills and practiced drill. Then he was posted to the Special Garrison Class, Chakrata, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, India.

When hostilities broke out in Northern Nigeria, Sykes was eager to return to action. He was sent to Sierra Leone, seconded to the West African Regiment on 7 March 1903. Promoted to Lieutenant on 29 July, he served in West Africa as a supply officer at headquarters until 21 September 1904.

During 1904, while in England on leave from Sierra Leone, Sykes's interest in aviation was first demonstrated. Colonel John Capper, in charge of the Field Balloon Factory at Farnborough, attached Sykes to the Balloon section of the Royal Engineers. The balloon course at Aldershot lasted from 22 July until 1 September 1904, during which he obtained a ballooning certificate.

He was restored to the establishment of the 15th Hussars on 22 September 1904 in Meerut, Bengal, and then joined the Frontier Section of the Intelligence Department, stationed with Military Headquarters at Simla in 1905.

In April 1907 Sykes obtained leave to return to England for the Staff college examination. He failed it.

The War Office ordered Sykes to Germany to observe the military manoeuvres in 1907, and he was attached to the German XVIII Army Corps while manoeuvres took place in Ober-Hessen and Hessen-Nassau between 6 and 18 September 1907. Sykes passed the Staff College entrance exam on his second attempt and in February 1908 returned to India and joined the staff at Quetta under Major-General Sir Thomas Capper. He was promoted to Captain on 1 October 1908.

Following Staff College, Sykes next posting was to South Africa as commander of a machine-gun training camp at Bloemfontein. On leave in England in 1910, however, he persuaded Captain H. Wood to get him a ride in a Farman Boxkite at Brooklands. Sykes was attracted to flying at the outset, and he spent the next four weeks learning how to fly in various types of machines. By this time, Brigadier-General Henry Wilson, Director of Military Operations at the War Office, had heard of Sykes's staff talents and recruited Sykes to work under him at the War Office.

On 25 February 1911 Sykes was posted as a Staff Officer, 3rd Class, to the Directorate of Military Operations at the War Office. Having commenced his flying lessons at Brooklands in 1910, he had at that time attempted to gain his certificate, the final test of which was to land within 50 yards of the evaluator after having cut the engine at altitude. Gliding without engine power, Sykes had no chance to recover after turning to avoid a mid-air collision. The decision of the Committee of the Royal Aero Club was final and without appeal, so when Sykes crashed in 1910, he had no choice but to wait until 1911 to reattempt the exam. He finally gained his RAeC Aviators Certificate on 20 June 1911 flying a Bristol Biplane at Brooklands.

During October and November of 1911, Sykes, along with Captain J D B Fulton and Lieutenant B H Barrington-Kennett, were sent to Rheims as observers at the French military aeroplane trials. Sykes' report in 1911, "Notes on Aviation in France," contributed to waking up the British military and political elite to the fact that British aviation and air power lagged behind much of Europe. He served on the Sub-Committee of the Committee for Imperial Defence, together with Brigadier-General David Henderson and Major McInness, which was tasked with looking into the use of aircraft. Despite opposition in the Admiralty and Army, their plans (devised by Sykes) were accepted by the CID and the War Office decided in 1911 to form an Air Battalion at Farnborough consisting of kites, balloons, and airplanes. In 1912 the War Office formed the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), with Brigadier-General David Henderson in charge.

On 13 May 1912 Sykes was appointed Officer Commanding the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps with the temporary rank of Major. Promoted to Brevet Major on 3 June 1913, on 9 July his role was restyled as Commandant of the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps and he was granted the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.

In June 1914 Sykes organized and directed what became known as the "Netheravon Concentration Camp." This field exercise brought together available air resources and introduced flyers, suppliers, and maintenance personnel to the realities of flying in support of the army in the field. When war did erupt a month later, the RFC Military Wing was practically already mobilized.

When General Henderson became the General Officer Commanding the Royal Flying Corps in the Field, Sykes acted as his Chief of Staff from 5 August 1914, appointed General Staff Officer, 1st Grade, on 25 August, with the temporary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. On 22 November 1914 Henderson transferred as Commander of 1 Infantry Division and Sykes was placed in command of the RFC the same day, promoted to temporary Colonel. Henderson returned in command of the RFC on 21 December, Sykes returning to Second in Command, but retained his temporary Colonel rank and was appointed Wing Commander.

On 26 May 1915 Sykes was struck off the strength of the RFC, appointed Wing Commander (Supernumerary) and placed at the disposal of the Admiralty. The War Office and Admiralty selected him to travel to the Dardanelles to coordinate naval air resource. He embarked for Mediterranean on 14 June. He was appointed as the Officer Commanding the Royal Naval Air Service Eastern Mediterranean Station on 24 July 1915 with the rank of Colonel Commandant in the Royal Marines, as well as the rank of Wing Captain in the Royal Naval Air Service. Sykes first assessed the air situation for an attack on the Gallipoli Peninsula and then took over command of the RNAS from Commander C R Samson, the Naval officer in charge of flying. This made Sykes the Air Commander for the Dardanelles Campaign.

Sykes commission and appointment to Royal Marines and Royal Naval Air Service terminated 14 March 1916. He was appointed Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG) that same day and awarded the Russian Order of St Vladimir, 4th Class on 12 April 1916.

Appointed Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General of the 4th Mounted Division, Colchester on 27 March 1916, he was next appointed Assistant Adjutant-General at the War Office with responsibility for organising the Machine Gun Corps and manpower planning on 9 June 1916. He was made Deputy Director of Organisation at the War Office and granted the temporary rank of Brigadier General on 8 February 1917. On 27 November 1917 he became Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster-General at the War Office, and Deputy to General Wilson, Allied War Council.

On its formation on 1 April 1918, Sykes received a temporary commission in the RAF with the rank of Major General, appointed Chief of the Air Staff on 13 April 1918, and was awarded a permanent commission in the RAF on 1 August 1919 as a Major General (Air Vice-Marshal when the RAF introduced its own ranking system the same day).

Mentioned in Dispatches four times, Sykes received multiple decorations for his contributions to the war effort:

From 26 May 1919 to 1922, Sykes was the Controller General of Civil Aviation. To accept his appointment, he had to resign from the RAF, effective 1 April 1919, with the rank of Major-General. He was offered a three-year term at £2,500 a year, £500 of which was retirement pay from the RAF.

As the new CGCA, Sykes played a key role in promoting technological opportunities for Britain. He advocated world-wide wireless links, commercial air routes, and weather services, and organized long-distance demonstration flights. His hope was of a prosperous benevolent Empire connected by air. Sykes's initial months in Civil Aviation were promising and rewarding. Although he had left service aviation, Sykes remained an air-power pioneer. However, after three frustrating years, Sykes was unwilling to direct a poorly funded organization any longer. When his term of office ended, refusing to remain for an extra year due to the lack of funds made available by the government, he resigned as CGCA in April 1922.

Sykes next aspired to enter politics, a decision no doubt resulted from the influence of his father-in-law, Andrew Bonar Law, Conservative Leader of the House of Commons. He won the election for the Hallam Division of Sheffield on 25 November 1922. The Conservative Party won overall as well, so that Sykes was able to enter the House as the son-in-law of the new Prime Minister. Over the next five years Sykes continued to sit on various sub-committees in the House of Commons and to work hard for conservative and defence causes. Sykes worked with the Salisbury Commission on Imperial and National Defence; the Capital Ships Committee; the Imperial Communications Committee, where he was vice-chairman; the Wireless Sub-Committee as chairman; the Colwyn Committee on National Economy; a public-house committee that experimented with schemes to reduce drunkenness in society; and the Broadcasting Committee as chairman.

In February 1923 the Prime Minister's friends were trying to find Sykes employment, in this case with Phoenix Assurance Company, Limited. Through friends like Lord Beaverbrook, Sykes joined newspaper boards and also obtained directorships of several transportation companies, including Underground Electric Railways. As chairman of the Broadcasting Board he promoted radio broadcasting internationally and helped lay the groundwork for the British Broadcasting Company. He also worked to help institute the first transatlantic wireless service, which the British Post Office and American Telephone and Telegraph completed in 1927.

When the Secretary of State for India, Lord Birkenhead, offered Sykes the post of Governor of the Presidency of Bombay, he accepted and was appointed on 17 October 1928. However, Sykes's ambitions for India were too idealistic for the time. He spent the majority of his governorship quelling civil strife, not implementing progressive social changes. When he arrived in Bombay on 7 December 1928, he was greeted with a labour strike, a riot, and murders. Sykes left the Bombay Governorship on 8 November 1933 with a mixed sense of failure and success.

Sykes was awarded the Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) on 3 November 1928 and Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) on 2 February 1934. He was appointed Knight of Grace in the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (KStJ) on 21 June 1935, promoted as Knight of Justice in the Order on 19 June 1936.

Once back in England from India, Sykes filled his time with work in a variety of directorships. Most of these were in benevolent organizations such as the Miner's Welfare Commission and the British Sailors Society. Sykes was a natural selection as Chairman of the Royal Empire Society (RES) in 1938.

Sykes saw his opportunity back in politics and ran unopposed for the Central Division of Nottingham in 1940.

After the war he served on various boards, including Atlas Electrical, Associated Commercial Vehicles, and the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. He had always abhorred the idea of debt and had saved for years to be able to purchase a farm. He bought one with an impressive manor house, Conock Manor, near Devizes. The previous owner had been another famous flyer, R R Smith-Barry, whose name has been linked to the first progressive flying training program.

Air Vice-Marshal Sir Frederick Hugh Sykes, GCSI, GCIE, GBE, KCB, CMG died on September 30, 1954, in London.

Gerald Higginbotham was born in 1877 in Macclesfield, Cheshire, the son of John Charles Higginbotham and Sarah Alice Higginbotham (née Clarke). He was interested in motor cars and became the first man to own one in Macclesfield; by 1906, he was Director of Belsize Motors of Macclesfield. Excited by aviation, his chance arrived when he saw a new Blériot for sale in a Manchester car saleroom. He bought it, towed it home, but could find no field big enough for take-off. The established aerodrome at Freshfield had the open spaces that Macclesfield lacked, so Higginbotham built another hangar on the shore, and, having hitched the dismantled monoplane to his car, set off before daybreak on a fine summer morning in 1910. By 6.30 am, He had arrived on the sands, reassembled the plane and flown a straight mile. His only instructions were on two sheets of foolscap paper sent to him by Blériot!

At first, Higginbotham was able to make only straight flights and had to land in order to turn the plane round; but by practising each weekend, he became a competent pilot and was soon flying over the Mersey.

Higginbotham gained his RAeC Aviator's Certificate on 27 June 1911 flying Paterson Biplane No.2, which had been built for him by Cecil Compton Paterson in January 1911. On 12 August Higginbotham was flying around Ainsdale and Formby, with his mechanic, when he hit an air pocket and his biplane touched the sea. The propeller broke, and a loose flying wire sliced off part of the pilot's ear. Higginbotham and his mechanic were forced to swim to shore and the biplane was recovered for repairs.

In September, Higginbotham was appointed as a Royal Aero Club observer for Certificate tests at Freshfield and Waterloo. These duties were to be carried out along with Captain Eifford Bignell and Mr L Williamson, both appointed at the same time. Higginbotham's next achievement was on 20 October when he decided to copy the Coronation Air Mail and carry letters and cards from Freshfield to Southport. A load of letters and parcels were collected from friends and endorsed with a special stamp, ready for a take-off at about 4:00 pm. Higginbotham and his mechanic landed on the Southport foreshore, and took the mail to the post office for sending on. Higginbotham then flew the 8 miles back to Freshfield in about seven minutes.

Gerald Higginbotham, A.I.E.E died on 30 October 1955 in Timperley, Cheshire.

Herbert St Leger Hugo Stanley-Adams (also known as Herbert Stanley Adams) was born in 1884 in Hong Kong, son of William Stanley Stanley-Adams and Susan Blanche Mary Stanley-Adams (née Hugo). He became a trainee engineer at Rolls-Royce and learned to fly at the A V Roe Flying School, Brooklands, taking his first lesson on 12 May 1911, and gaining his RAeC Aviators Certificate on 27 June 1911, flying an Avro Biplane.

Also present at Brooklands was Captain Edward W Wakefield, whose Lakes Waterbird was being flight-tested there in its initial form as a landplane. Adams was recruited by Wakefield to be his pilot at Windermere. On 25 November 1911, Adams made an historic achievement by successfully taking off and alighting on Lake Windermere. This was the first successful flight by a hydro-aeroplane outside France and America. When the Lakes Flying Company was formed on 20 December 1911, Adams was given a share of profits, free accommodation and appointed as Manager.

The Waterbird was written off in a hangar collapse on 29 March 1912, but before this Adams had flown as high as 800 feet and as far as 20 miles. By the end of November 1912, Adams had accomplished about 250 flights in the Waterhen, the Waterbird's successor, and carried over 100 passengers. He flew as far away as Hornsea in Yorkshire, the Waterhen having been transported by traction engine.

Adams also supervised the rebuilding of the Avro Duigan into a hydro-biplane, the Lakes Seabird, which flew in August 1912. In December 1912, he test flew the Avro 501 in its original amphibian form at Eastchurch on behalf of Avro, the float having been designed by Oscar Gnosspelius, the whole being built to the orders of the Admiralty. Whilst Adams was not an employee of Avro, his pioneering work on Avro floatplanes at Windermere and elsewhere was such as to warrant inclusion as a chief test pilot.

Adams immediately volunteered for service in the Royal Naval Air Service at the outbreak of World War I, and was commissioned as a temporary Sub Lieutenant on 19 August 1914. He trained at RNAS Calshot and RNAS Killingholme, and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 31 October 1914, being transferred to the permanent list of Officers in the Royal Naval Air Service.

Adams was posted to the Dardanelles on 28 July 1915 and was promoted to Flight Commander on 1 January 1916. On 15 October 1916 he was posted to the Romanian Flight and on 25 October 1916, he led a flight of 9 Nieuport Type 11 Scouts (flying s/n 3978 himself) from Imbros to Bucharest, but had to land 16 miles short due to bad weather and failure of oil supply. Instructed on 7 December 1916 to return from Romania, this he accomplished by way of Petrograd and Archangel, embarking from the latter on 27 January 1917.

Promoted to Squadron Commander on 31 December 1916, he was put in command of No. 4 Wing at Dover on 15 March 1917. He was Officer Commanding No 11 Squadron RNAS from June 1917 until its disbandment on 27 August, Officer Commanding the RNAS War School at Manston from 1 October 1917, and Officer Commanding the DH.4 School, also at Manston, from 15 January 1918. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) on 1 October 1917.

Adams was next posted to Dunkirk as Officer Commanding No 7 Squadron RNAS from 20 February to 24 May 1918. On its formation on 1 April 1918, he received a temporary commission in the RAF with the rank of Major (Acting Lt. Colonel from 28 May 1918, with seniority from 17 April), in command of the North West Area for 30th Wing from 18 May. On 1 August 1919 was awarded a permanent commission in the RAF as a Major (Squadron Leader when the RAF introduced its own ranking system the same day). Appointed Staff Officer, 2nd Class, on 4 December 1919, he transferred to the RAF School, India, on 14 May 1920.

Stanley-Adams resigned his commission on 21 September 1921 and was granted the rank of Lt. Colonel. He joined Scotland Yard in 1925 as a civilian transport officer, from which he retired in 1952.

Lt. Colonel Herbert Hugo St. Ledger Stanley-Adams DSC, MBE died 10 March 1965 in Croydon, Surrey.

John Willington Pepper was born on 19 January 1882 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, the son of George Nicholson Pepper and Ellen Pepper (née Churchill). He enlisted in the South-East of Scotland Royal Garrison Artillery (Militia) as a 2nd Lieutenant on 4 July 1900, promoted to Lieutenant on 21 November.

Pepper transferred to the Regular Army and was commissioned in the Royal Artillery on 24 May 1902 as a 2nd. Lieutenant, promoted to Lieutenant on 24 May 1905.

Pepper gained his RAeC Aviator's Certificate on 27 June 1911 flying a Bristol Biplane on Salisbury Plain. He attended the first course held at the Central Flying School (CFS), in Upavon, Wiltshire from 17 August to 19 December 1912, and was seconded to the RFC on 28 January 1913 as a Flying Officer, but was restored to the Establishment of the Royal Garrison Artillery on 23 December 1913.

On 29 December 1913, while serving at the Pembroke Royal Garrison Artillery, he was seconded for service as an Adjutant with the Territorial Force, granted the temporary rank of Captain, a post he retained until 23 September 1915. Pepper was promoted to Captain in the RGA on 30 October 1914 and to Major on 1 May 1917.

Pepper retired from the Regular Army on 9 February 1923 and joined the Regular Army Reserve of Officers, where he was promoted to Lt. Colonel on 31 December 1926.

Lt. Colonel John Willington Pepper died on 3 February 1963 in Lymington, Hampshire.

Henri Salmet was born on 22 July 1878 in Paris. A commercial traveller, he later trained as a mechanic, and came to England to take a course of instruction with Pierre Prier, Chief Instructor at the Blériot School at Hendon. He gained his RAeC Aviator's Certificate on 27 June 1911 flying a Blériot Monoplane at Hendon. He then immediately succeeded Prier as Chief Instructor at Blériot School, the latter having left for British and Colonial. On 29 November 1911, he broke the British altitude record in a flight to 8,070 feet.

On 7 March 1912, in a Blériot XI, he attempted to break the record for the shortest time for a non-stop flight from London (Hendon Aerodrome) to Paris (Issy-les-Moulineaux). Salmet's time was three hours sixteen minutes, and that was duly reported in the press. However, Salmet later confessed that he had landed in France en-route to Paris to locate his bearings, so the existing record was not broken. He had intended returning the same day, but lack of fuel forced him to stay overnight near Boulogne.

In July and August 1912, Salmet took part in the "Wake Up England" aviation tour organised by Claude Graham-White, and sponsored by the Daily Mail newspaper. The purpose was to promote public interest in aviation, and it visited 121 towns, many of which were holiday resorts. Salmet flew a Blériot XI-2, a two-seater that enabled him to carry a paying passenger.

After the outbreak of WWI, he joined the Aéronautique Militaire (French Army Air Service), and served with the title Marechal des Logis, with Escadrille C9, flying Caudron G.4 reconnaissance bombers from Villers-lès-Nancy. On 7 April 1915, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre. On August 23rd, flying alone, he dropped thirty shells on an important railway station at Karlsruhe, for which he was awarded the Military Medal.

Salmet appears to have flown into obscurity following the war. However, one unconfirmed report says that he died in 1929 aged 51.

Charles Gordon Bell (sometimes erroneously given as Gordon-Bell) was born on 31 May 1889 in Paddington, London, the son of George Symes and Ada Mary (née Iggulden). Educated at Tonbridge School, he started in motor business, serving an apprenticeship at Napier motor works.

He learned to fly at the Fisher School at Brooklands and was awarded his RAeC Aviator's Certificate on 4 July (possibly gained on June 27 1911) flying a Hanriot Monoplane, and immediately joined Deperdussin. He quickly moved on to France, where he worked for Robert Esnault-Pelterie's aircraft firm R.E.P., at the time was the only English representative to be employed by a French firm. He flew an R.E.P. monoplane at the Coronation of Sultan Mehmed Reshad V on 27 April 27 1910 and reputedly landed it within the walls of the Topkapi palace. Later in 1912 during the Italo-Turkish war in Libya, he was involved in training pilots for the fledgling Turkish Airforce as a representative of R.E.P.

Bell returned to England some time in 1912, when he flew and instructed for Hanriot. He flew several of the entrants for the Military Aircraft Competition, held at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain in August 1912, Bell having joined the Military Wing of the Royal Flying Corps, Special Reserve of Officers, as 2nd Lieutenant (on probation) on 3 August. In 1913 he became the first staff test pilot for Short Brothers, albeit on a freelance basis, until the outbreak of the First World War. He was one of two pilots to fly souvenir copies of the Paris newspaper, Le Matin, Wednesday 28 May, 1913, the first to be flown across the channel, from Paris to England, to deliver to His Majesty the King, George V, at Windsor Castle. Unfortunately Bell's monoplane developed engine trouble and he never reached Windsor. He suffered serious injuries in a crash of a Martinsyde Monoplane at Brooklands on 13 June, in which his passenger, Captain J R B Kennedy, was killed.

Following the outbreak of WWI, he was called up as a Special Reserve officer by the RFC on 2 August, initially becoming an official AID pilot. At the beginning of 1915 he was posted to 10 Squadron at Farnborough, initially flying B.E.2s. In July the squadron moved to France, transferring to Bristol Scouts and Bell became the highest scoring Bristol Scout pilot of the war, claiming 5 victories in 1915 before ill health forced his return to England at the end of the year, briefly taking command of 41 Squadron during 1916. He was appointed to command a squadron at the Central Flying School, Upavon, rising to the temporary rank of Major. In late 1917 he was invalided out of the Army, and joined Vickers as a test pilot.

French Motor manufacturer Darracq had a licence to build the F.B.16E, a version of the British Vickers F.B.16 fitted with a French Lorraine-Deitrich powerplant. Charles Gordon Bell was killed on 29 July 1918 while flying an F.B.16E at Villacoublay Airfield, and was buried at Cimetière des Gonards in Versailles.