C. D. Barnard

Charles Douglas Barnard (8 December 1895 – 7 August 1971) was a British pilot, who took part in 1920s air races and record-breaking flights.

Charles Douglas Barnard
Barnard with a dog in 1926
Born(1895-12-08)8 December 1895
London, England
Died7 August 1971(1971-08-07) (aged 75)
Brighton, Sussex, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationPilot

Early life

Charles Barnard was born on 8 December 1895, the son of Charles Gilbert Barnard. He was once reported to be a cousin of Captain Franklyn Leslie Barnard, an airline pilot who was also notable in air racing events, but that was disproved in the results of the 1901 UK census.[1][2]

World War I

He served as a Private with the Honourable Artillery Company, then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. His service included postings to 2 Squadron and 3 Squadron. In October 1918, he was appointed acting Captain, and ended his commission in June 1919. Thereafter, he served on the Royal Air Force reserve list until July 1936.[3]

Sopwith Aviation

In 1919, he was employed by Sopwith Aviation Company, and was briefly assigned to operating Sopwith Gnu (K-101) on pleasure flights from the beach at Southport, where on 10 June 1919, his engine caught fire. He managed to crash land on the beach, thus saving the life of his passenger. He however, received considerable burns to his own face and arms, that required extensive hospitalisation.[3][4]

De Havilland Aircraft

From 1922 to 1928, he was employed as a flying instructor by De Havilland Aircraft, at Stag Lane Aerodrome.[5] In 1923, he made the first flight between London and Malta.[6]

1920s air racing

On 14 July 1923, he flew De Havilland DH.9C (G-EBDD) in the King's Cup Race at Hendon Aerodrome, but was placed outside the top three?.[7]:131[8] On 6 August 1923, he flew Airco DH.9 (G-EBEZ) in the Aerial Derby at Croydon Airport, and finished third.[7]:132 On 4 July 1925, he flew de Havilland DH.51A (G-EBIM) in the King's Cup Race at Croydon Aerodrome, but failed to finish.[7]:139[9] On 6 July 1930, he flew DH.80A Puss Moth (G-AAXW) in the King's Cup Race at Hanworth Aerodrome, and finished in 13th place.[7]:210

1928/1929 England to India flights
Barnard and Russel returning from their India flight on 9 August 1929
Fokker F.VII similar to G-EBTS

On 10 June 1928, he took off from Lympne Airport in Fokker F.VIIa (G-EBTS, named 'Princess Xenia') on a flight to Karachi (then in India). He was accompanied by Flying Officer Eric Herbert Alliott, and Mary Russell, Duchess of Bedford. At this time, the duchess employed Barnard as personal pilot and flying instructor. The flight was interrupted for about eight weeks at Bushire, Persia, during which the duchess returned to England by sea. A replacement Bristol Jupiter engine was fitted, and the aircraft completed the flight to Karachi. On 2 September 1928, Barnard and Alliott took off from Karachi, towards staging posts at Bushire, Aleppo and Sofia. On 6 September, they reached Croydon for a night landing, after a record breaking flight of 5,000 miles in 4.5 days.[5][7]:184, 190

On 2 August 1929, he took off from Lympne Airport Fokker F.VIIa (G-EBTS now renamed 'The Spider') on a flight to Karachi. Co-pilot and mechanic was Robert (Bob) Little, with the Duchess of Bedford also as extra pilot. They returned to Croydon Airport after a record-breaking return flight of 10,000 miles in eight days.[7]:198[10] Barnard was later awarded a Royal Aero Club Gold Medal.[11][12]

1930 Brian Lewis and C.D. Barnard Ltd

In 1930 he co-founded Brian Lewis and C.D. Barnard Ltd for sales of De Havilland aircraft, and based at Heston Aerodrome.[13] In August 1931, Brian Lewis and C.D. Barnard Ltd merged with the aviation department of Selfridges to become Brian Lewis & Co., Ltd.[14]

1930 England to Cape Town flight

On 10 April 1930, he took off from Lympne in Fokker F.VIIa (G-EBTS,[15] renamed 'The Spider'),[16] on a flight to Cape Town. He was accompanied by Robert (Bob) Little, and the passenger was the Duchess of Bedford, who had purchased the aircraft in September 1929. On 19 April, they reached Maitland aerodrome, Cape Town, after a record-breaking time of 91 hours and twenty minutes flying over 10 days.[17] On 29 April, during the return flight, a forced landing was made at Dragoman, Bulgaria. The next day, they returned to Croydon after repairs to the engine oil system.[7]:206[18][19] Later, Fokker awarded a silver commemorative medal to Barnard.[20]

1930 solo flights England to Malta and Tangier

On 31 July 1930, he took off from Lympne in a DH.80A Puss Moth (G-AAXW) on a flight to Malta. The next day he returned to Croydon after two non-stop flights totalling 2,800 miles in 27.5 flying hours.[7]:213[21] On 25 August 1930, he took off from Lympne in a Puss Moth (G-AAXW) on a flight to Tangier. The next day he returned to Croydon after two non-stop flights, totalling 2,480 miles in 21.5 flying hours.[7]:213 In doing so, he was trying open up future passenger routes and improve the speed of news sent from distant locations. Several films (some with sound) were made of his 1930 flights.[22]

1931 Barnard's Air Tours

In 1931, he formed C.D. Barnard Air Tours Ltd.[23] On 1 April 1931, he started an extensive tour of England with displays and joy-riding flights for the paying public. Aircraft used were the Fokker F.VIIa (G-EBTS),[24] Spartan Three Seater Mk 1 (G-ABJS), an Avro Avian Sports, a Desoutter II, Potez 36 (F-ALJC 'Ladybird'), and a Cierva C.19 autogiro (G-AALA). Pilots included Ayre, Barnard, Crossley and Reginald Brie.[25] During their tour of six months, Capt. Barnard and his fellow pilots visited 118 towns in 50 different counties, and gave 370 performances. Approximately 40,000 people were carried on flights.[26][27][28]

1931 Barnard's Eastern Cruise

Egypt Palestine Dec 1931?[29]

1932 Bristol-Cardiff air service

In June 1932, Barnard purchased the Fokker F.VIIa (G-EBTS) from the Duchess of Bedford. He based it at Heston Aerodrome, and used it mainly for personal charters to overseas destinations. In July 1932, he flew a demonstration passenger service from Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport to Cardiff Municipal Airport, for which the Fokker F.VIIa was leased to British Air Navigation Co Ltd (BANCO). The service was terminated after about two weeks.[30][31]

1934 India Air Pageants

In December 1933, Barnard flew Fokker F.VIIa (G-EBTS) to Mumbai (Bombay) for use in his 'flying circus' tour of India, promoted as "India's First Aerial Pageant". Other aircraft used included a DH.82A Tiger Moth, DH.83 Fox Moth, Spartan Three-Seater, a Blackburn Segrave and a BAC Drone. Pilots included R. L. Palmer, J. B. Pugh, J. Mackay, E. R. Andrews, W. A. Burnside, and J. R. Hatchett. By April 1934, Barnard, his partner A. H. Dalton, and his pilots had arranged 92 air displays, carried 9,241 passengers, and flown about 20,000 miles. In May 1935, Barnard sold the Fokker in India.[31][32][33]

On 17 July 1936, Barnard relinquished his commission on completion of service.[34]

Personal life

In 1928, Barnard, together with other eminent aviators of the day, formed the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, to create rules and regulations of the profession, and to set up and maintain standards surrounding the control of flight. He received the 6th Private Flying Licence to be awarded.[35]

On 9 December 1929, he married Mrs. Melita Erna May.[36][37]

In 1930, he authored and published a book on flying – 'Barnard on Learning to Fly.'[38]

In October 1930, Barnard planned to join Charles Kingsford Smith on a record breaking flight to Australia, but Kingsford Smith made it a solo flight.[39]

In May 1932, in Popular Flying magazine, a story was written about CD Barnard titled 'My Most Thrilling Flight'.[40]

In 1935, C.D. Barnard was recorded on Lambert and Butler's 'Famous British Airmen and Airwomen' cigarette cards for his record flights.[41]

On 7 August 1971, Barnard died at Brighton.[42]

References
  1. 1901 Census
  2. A Fleeting Peace – C.D. Barnard
  3. The National Archives file AIR 76/23/12
  4. Their Flying Machines – Sopwith Gnu
  5. "The India-England Flight", Flight, via Flightglobal.com, 13 September 1928, retrieved 18 November 2012
  6. "Captain C.D. Barnard – Record flying exploits". The Times (58246). 10 August 1971. p. 14.
  7. Lewis 1970
  8. "The King's Cup Race (1923)", Flight, via Flightglobal.com, 19 July 1923, retrieved 18 November 2012
  9. "The King's Cup Race", Flight, via Flightglobal.com: 434, 9 July 1925, retrieved 18 November 2012
  10. "Duchess of Bedford's Record Flight", Flight, Flightglobal.com, 15 August 1929, retrieved 18 November 2012
  11. "RAeC Awards Gold". Royalaeroclub.org. 26 November 2005. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  12. Mary Duchess of Bedford,1865 – 1937 Vol. Two, Edited from her diaries by John Gore, Printed by John Murray London 1938
  13. "New Companies Registered", Flight, via Flightglobal.com, retrieved 18 November 2012
  14. "Book Reviews – Barnard on Flying", Flight, Flightglobal.com, 4 September 1931, retrieved 18 November 2012
  15. "Famous Fokker Flights". Leob.nl. 16 September 1927. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  16. "The Spider (page 14)". Avroheritage.com. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  17. Jones, D. The Time Shrinkers: the Development of Civil Aviation between Britain and Africa Rendel 1971 pp142-152
  18. "The Duchess of Bedford's Record Flight to Africa", Flight, via Flightglobal.com, 25 April 1930, retrieved 18 November 2012
  19. "The Duchess of Bedford's Bad Luck", Flight, via Flightglobal.com, 2 May 1930, retrieved 18 November 2012
  20. John Delaney. "Newman2". Library.princeton.edu. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  21. "London Malta London". Flightglobal.com. 8 August 1930. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  22. British Pathe film archives
  23. "New Companies Registered", Flight, via Flightglobal.com: 262, 20 March 1931, retrieved 18 November 2012
  24. "The Spider (page 15)". Avroheritage.com. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  25. "Airisms From the Four Winds". Flight. via Flightglobal.com: 209. 6 March 1931. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  26. "Barnard's Air Circus – Final Performance!" (PDF), Flight, via Flightglobal.com, p. 1018, 9 October 1931, retrieved 18 November 2012
  27. Lanark Museum – Aviation Shows
  28. CBFSIM – Captain Barnard's Air Circus
  29. "Airisms From The Four Winds". Flightglobal.com. 20 November 1931. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  30. "Bristol-Cardiff Air Service". Flightglobal.com. 29 July 1932. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  31. "The Spider (page 16)". Avroheritage.com. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  32. "Capt. C.D. Barnard for India". Flightglobal.com. 9 November 1933. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  33. "The "Jupiter" in India". Flightglobal.com. 19 July 1934. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  34. "Royal Air Force Reserve". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  35. "GAPAN 75th Anniversary booklet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  36. The National Archives file J 77/3053/4094
  37. "Personals Married". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  38. Worldcat – Barnard on Learning To Fly
  39. "Capt. Barnard to Fly with Kingsford Smith". The Register News-Pictorial. 27 September 1930. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  40. Popular Flying – My Most Thrilling Flight
  41. Cigarette card images
  42. "Charles Douglas Barnard (obituary)". Flightglobal.com. 12 August 1971. p. 238. Retrieved 18 November 2012.

Bibliography
  • Barnard, Capt C.D. 1931. Barnard on Learning to Fly. Sampson Low, Marston and Co ASIN B005KDYC8I
  • Jackson, A.J. 1974. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 2. Putnam ISBN 0370100107
  • King, H.F. 1981. Sopwith Aircraft 1912–1920. Putnam ISBN 0-370-30050-5
  • Lewis, Peter. 1970. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. Putnam ISBN 0370000676
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