Transcriber’s Notes.
Hyphenation has been standardised.
Other changes made are noted at the end of the book.
H. G. HAWKER
AIRMAN:
HIS LIFE AND WORK
[Illustration:
HARRY GEORGE HAWKER, A.F.C.
_Photo by_] [_Swaine._
]
H. G. HAWKER, AIRMAN:
HIS LIFE AND WORK
By
MURIEL HAWKER
WITH A FOREWORD BY
Lt.-Col. J. T. C. MOORE-BRABAZON, M.C., M.P.
_WITH FRONTISPIECE AND 24 ILLUSTRATIONS_
_LONDON:_
_HUTCHINSON & CO._
_PATERNOSTER ROW_
FOREWORD
By LT.-COL. J. T. C. MOORE-BRABAZON, M.C., M.P.
I have been shown the great honour by Mrs. Hawker of being asked to
write a Foreword to this book about her late husband. I can do nothing
better than give the advice to all to read it, because, if they have
followed aviation for some time back, they will live over again that
heroic epoch when flight was really being made possible and will
appreciate some of the difficulties and many of the successes that make
the early days of aviation such a fascinating story; and if, on the
other hand, they have only taken an interest in aviation lately, they
will get conveyed to them from this book the atmosphere that pervaded
the little community of enthusiasts who existed in the early days.
The figure of Hawker looms up large in the early days of aviation,
and such was the man, that even after the war, with the hundreds of
thousands of people that came into the movement, he still stood out a
noteworthy figure.
His name will go down for all time coupled with others who gave their
lives for the cause, such as Rolls, Grace, Cody.
It does indeed show a singular change in the mentality of the nation
that the most popular sporting figures of recent times have been
men whose prowess has been associated with their domination over
machinery rather than animals. The bicycle was the instrument that
first compelled the attention of all to a knowledge of mechanics, the
motor-car demanded further knowledge on the subject, but it was not
until the advent of the aeroplane that the imagination of the youth of
this country was fired to appreciate the necessity for knowledge of
mechanics.
Hawker, thirty years ago, was an impossibility, but when he died
he was the idealised sportsman of the youth of the country, and
it was rightly so. Modest in triumph, hard-working, a tremendous
“sticker,” yet possessed of that vision without which
no man can succeed, he stands out a figure whose loss we mourn even
to-day, but whose life and career will serve as an example for others
to attempt to follow.
J. T. C. MOORE-BRABAZON
_July 4, 1922._
PREFACE
With his words still fresh in my memory, that, should anything ever
happen to him, the one thing to do was to get work which would occupy
my mind, I took upon myself the task of writing my husband’s
life. I have been encouraged by many letters from people suggesting my
undertaking this work, and, thus encouraged, I present this book.
I make no apologies for the errors of style, the technicalities of
which I know nothing, but I have tried in simple language to convey
some idea of the great work and spirit of one who attempted much, and,
although crowned by few successes, was never for one moment discouraged
as a loser.
I leave others to judge the merits of his works, but I leave to no one
but myself the disclosure of the real goodness of his nature. This
book being, more or less, a record of his achievements, it has been
difficult to convey any idea of his true worth, which did not stand
in anything he did, but in the firmness with which he held to what he
considered was right. This sense of honour, not cultivated but innate,
kept the fame, which he earned, from detracting in any way from the
integrity of his character, and he always remained to the end his
cheery, unaffected self.
His buoyant nature did not admit of defeat. I have never seen him
disheartened and never has he given in. He always did his very best,
and was ever ready to try again when that best was not good enough.
At the height of his popularity he declined good financial offers for
lecturing tours in England and the States, which would have kept him
for the rest of his life. Money could not divert him from his calling.
His goodness of heart would never let him turn away anyone in distress,
and, in this, lack of discrimination played a big part.
Many people came to the house after his attempt to fly the Atlantic,
with pitiful tales of woe. One, a musician, who said he had fallen on
bad times, wanted a loan of £10, stating that he was a member of the
Queen’s Hall Orchestra, in which he played a mandoline. He got
his £10, but I do not believe the mandoline has ever figured amongst
the instruments in the Queen’s Hall Orchestra.
A few days later another musician, very probably a friend of the first,
arrived, but Harry said he would not see him. However, he was so
persistent that Harry saw him at last, and heard his tale, which was
to the effect that unless he could get a certain sum of money he would
be sold up the next day, and, rather than that, he intended taking
his life that night, although he had a wife and child. With tears, he
asked if his life was not worth the few pounds, which he would surely
return within a month. He received his cheque, left some of his own
compositions for me to try, which he said he would call for when he
repaid his debt, and was never seen again.
It would seem that Harry’s perfections have been exploited
and his imperfections ignored, but I find the first so easy, my pen
willingly covering many pages, and the second, not irksome, since his
very imperfections were interesting, but hard to define.
Before our marriage he warned me of his terrible temper, which,
he said, appeared at intervals, making him for a short time an
unapproachable individual, and advised me that on such occasions I
should leave him completely alone. I never witnessed one of these
outbreaks and doubt if they ever occurred. Fits of irritability would
seize him, sometimes for little or no apparent cause, and at others
under great provocation, and while they lasted he was a very trying
companion. But he would not be irritated for long; and these, I think,
must have been his fits of terrible temper.
If neglect of his financial responsibilities, through
disinterestedness, was a fault, then he had a big one. He was as
unmercenary as it is possible for a normal man to be. He liked to have
money in order to procure the necessaries of his hobby, but the matter
of procuring proper payment for the work he did he left entirely in the
hands of those for whom he was working, to pay him what they thought
fit. And having received the money, the proper investment of it he
ignored, until he was reminded, leaving his money idle in the bank. In
his last year of life he began to look at these things more seriously,
as his outgoings had increased and his income diminished, and, with the
responsibilities of a company under his own name, probably another year
would have made him a different man—a business man perhaps, but never
so great a man.
I should like to mention here a trouble we often encountered and which
was a great worry to us both, however we tried to ignore it.
I refer to the people who persist in suggesting that a man with
dependants should not continually risk his life unless they were
securely provided for. How many a man has been asked upon marriage to
give up his work, if it happens to be of a precarious nature, and the
firm, instead of having made progress with the new partner, has decayed
because that partner did not face the risks the old one was willing to
sustain? Never will I understand why a man of a hazardous career should
have to choose between that career and the comforts of his own home,
and possible parenthood, because of a fearful dread of a premature
parting which is allowed to exist.
Harry was a true optimist, and the way he came out of his many
troubles warranted his optimism. It was so natural if he had a smash
to know he was not hurt, or if he had any trouble it would be righted
very quickly. This feeling is so real that, even now, apart from all
religion, I know he has come up smiling somewhere and all is well with
him.
MURIEL HAWKER.
PREFATORY NOTE
(POST SCRIPTUM)
The production of this book has necessitated the collecting and sifting
of a considerable amount of detail, particularly as regards the earlier
chapters and those dealing with the Atlantic flight. In this and in the
general plan of the book I have received considerable assistance from
Mr. W. R. Douglas Shaw, F.R.S.A., who has rendered invaluable help in
many ways through his wide knowledge of aeronautical matters.
This introduction would not be complete without my also acknowledging
the help received from Lt.-Commander Mackenzie-Grieve, R.N., who has
kindly read through the chapters dealing with the Atlantic flight; from
Mr. Alan R. Fenn, formerly of the Sopwith Aviation Company, for details
of Harry’s experiences at Villacoublay; from the authorities at
Australia House in allowing me to consult their records, and from many
others who have contributed in various ways to this work.
My acknowledgments are also due to the Press, on whose reports I
have relied in many cases, and I would mention _The Times_, _Morning
Post_, _The Daily Mail_, Temple Press, Iliffe & Sons, _Flight_, _The
Aeroplane_, and particularly the kindness of the proprietors of the
_Melbourne Argus_ and _Sydney Bulletin_ in giving me free access to
their files of 1913-14.
MURIEL HAWKER.
_May, 1922._
CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREWORD vii
PREFACE ix
PREFATORY NOTE xiii
CHAPTER I
EARLY STRUGGLES
Harry’s Parents—His Sisters and Brothers—Schooldays—Four
Schools in Six Years—The Attraction of a Cadet Corps—Motor
Work at Twelve Years of Age—The Expert of Fifteen—Managing
a Fleet of Cars—First Desire to Fly—The Kindness
of Mr. and Mrs. McPhee—Harry Meets Busteed—And Comes
to England with Him—Kauper—Seeing London—Quest for
Employment—A Job at Sevenpence per Hour—Another at
Ninepence-Halfpenny—Thoughts of Returning to Australia—Forty
Pounds in the Bank—Kauper Strikes Oil—And Helps
Harry—Sigrist—How Harry was Happy on Two Pounds per
Week—His First Flight—Reminiscences of Brooklands Days 25