Daily Mail aviation prizes

Between 1906 and 1930, the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe,[1] awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in aviation or to the winner of an aviation race or event. The most famous prizes were the £1,000 for the first cross-channel flight awarded to Louis Blériot in 1909 and the £10,000 given in 1919 to Alcock and Brown for the first non-stop transatlantic flight between North America and Ireland.

Daily Mail Front Cover – 16 June 1919

The prizes are credited with advancing the course of aviation during the early years, with the considerable sums offered becoming a much-coveted goal for the field's pioneers.[2]

Prizes

Year announced	Year awarded	Prize	Amount (£)	Adjusted 2021 amount	Winner(s)
1906	1910	London to Manchester flight	10,000	£1,028,300	Louis Paulhan
1907	1907	Model aeroplane competition	100	£10,700	Alliott Verdon Roe, W. Howard
	1908	Quarter mile out and return flight	100	£10,500	Henri Farman
1908	1909	Cross-channel flight	1,000	£105,000	Louis Blériot
	1909	Circular mile by a British aircraft	1,000	£105,000	John Moore-Brabazon
1909	1909	Fastest lap at Blackpool Aviation Week	1,000	£105,000	Henri Farman[3]
	1910	Second cross-channel flight	100	£10,300	Jacques de Lesseps
1910	1910	Best cross-country aggregate	1,000	£102,800	Louis Paulhan
1910	1911	Circuit of Britain race	10,000	£1,025,900	André Beaumont (Jean Conneau)[4]
1912	1912	Aerial Derby cup	105	£10,500	Thomas Sopwith
1913	1913	Aerial Derby cup	105	£10,400	Gustav Hamel
1913,[A 1] 1918[5]	1919	Transatlantic flight	10,000	£462,900	Alcock and Brown[6]
1913[7]	--	Circuit of Great Britain for "waterplanes"	5,000	£495,600	[6]
1914	1914	Aerial Derby cup	105	£10,200	W. L. Brock
1914	Cancelled	Circuit of Great Britain	5,000	£483,400
1919	1919	Aerial Derby cup	210	£9,700	Gerald Gathergood
1923	1923	Economy flight for motor gliders	1,000	£57,500
1925	1926	Economy flight for dual-control light aircraft of British construction	3,000	£175,400	George Bulman (Hawker Cygnet)[8]
1930	1930	Solo flight from England to Australia	10,000	£636,900	Amy Johnson[9][10]

In addition, four "consolation" prizes were awarded:

Year announced	Year awarded	Prize	Amount (£)	Winner(s)
1906	1910	London to Manchester flight	105	Claude Grahame-White
1910	1911	Round-Britain flight	200	Jules Védrines
1913	1913	Round-Britain flight for British "waterplanes"	1,000	Harry Hawker
1913	1919	Transatlantic flight	5,000	Harry Hawker, Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve

See also

• List of aviation awards
• Daily Mail
• Scott Collection, a collection of aerophilately items relating to the 1912 flights.

Annotations

1. Suspended during the war and renewed in 1918 with different conditions

Notes

1. "Direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe Flight" PDF Archive, 6 September 1913
2. Such, Colin. "The Daily Mail's Sponsorship of British Pioneer Aviation". Warwick & Warwick. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
3. "Blackpool Aviation Week October 18th. to 23rd". Flight magazine. 16 October 1909. pp. 645–650.
4. Lewis 1970, pp. 43–44.
5. 1918 conditions for £10,000 prize
6. "The New Daily Mail Prizes.", Flight, Flight Global Archive, 5 April 1913
7. Map showing the course to be followed Flight, 16 August 1913
8. "Lympne Competition 1926", Flight PDF Archive, 23 September 1926
9. Charles Loch Mowat (1955). Britain Between the Wars, 1918–1940. Methuen. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-416-29510-8.
10. Johnson was also awarded the Harmon Trophy for her achievement

References

• Lewis, Peter. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0-370-00067-6.