John Alcock | |
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| Born | (1892-11-05)5 November 1892 Seymour Grove,Stretford, England, |
| Died | 19 December 1919(1919-12-19) (aged 27) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Navy (Royal Naval Air Service),Royal Air Force |
| Service years | 1914–1919 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Awards | Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Cross Britannia Trophy (posthumous) |
CaptainSir John William AlcockKBE DSC (5 November 1892 – 19 December 1919)[1] was a BritishRoyal Navy and laterRoyal Air Force officer who, with navigator LieutenantArthur Whitten Brown, piloted thefirst non-stop transatlantic flight fromSt. John's,Newfoundland toClifden, Ireland in June 1919. He died in a flying accident in France in December later that same year.
John Alcock was born on 5 November 1892, perhaps in the coach-house adjoiningBasford House on Seymour Grove,Firswood,Manchester,England.[citation needed]
His family lived for eight years in Lytham. He attended Heyhouses School inLytham St. Annes,[2] from 24 April 1900 to 5 April 1905.[3]
His father worked for Sir Edward Hulton's Press. His family moved to 6 Kingswood Road in Ladybarn, Fallowfield.[4]His father died on 14 January 1943.[5]
His brother ESJ Alcock, who attendedManchester Grammar School, became the chief flying instructor of BOAC, in the late 1940s, and had learned to fly with his brother, and later lived at Lytham St Annes. Albert, another brother, later lived in Prestwich.
He first became interested in flying at the age of 17. His first job was at the Empress Motor Works in Manchester. In 1910 he became an assistant to Works Manager Charles Fletcher, an early Manchester aviator[6] and Norman Crossland, a motor engineer and founder of Manchester Aero Club. It was during this period that Alcock met the Frenchman Maurice Ducrocq who was both a demonstration pilot and UK sales representative for aero engines made by the ItalianSpirito Mario Viale.
Ducrocq took Alcock on as a mechanic at theBrooklands aerodrome, Surrey, where he learned to fly at Ducrocq's flying school, gaining his pilot's licence there in November 1912. Alcock then joined theSunbeam Motor Car Company as a racing pilot. By summer 1914 he was proficient enough to compete in a Hendon-Birmingham-Manchester and return air race, flying aFarman biplane. He landed atTrafford Park Aerodrome and flew back to Hendon the same day.
At the beginning of World War I, Alcock joined theRoyal Naval Air Service as a warrant-officer instructor at theRoyal Naval Flying School atEastchurch inKent. It was whilst at Eastchurch that Alcock received his commission as a flight sub-lieutenant in December 1915. In 1916 he was transferred to a squadron operating atMoudros, on the Greek island ofLemnos. While stationed at Moudros he conceived and built theAlcock Scout, a fighter aircraft built out of the remnants of unused and abandoned aircraft.
On 30 September 1917, whilst piloting aSopwith Camel, Alcock attacked three enemy aircraft, forcing two to crash into the sea. For this action he was awarded theDistinguished Service Cross. After returning to base he then piloted aHandley Page bomber on astrategic bombing raid targetingConstantinople. He was forced to turn back to base after an engine failed nearGallipoli. After flying on a single engine for more than 60 miles, that engine also failed and the aircraft ditched in the sea, nearSuvla Bay. Alcock and his crew of two were unable to attract nearby Britishdestroyers, and when the plane finally began to sink they swam for an hour to reach theOttoman Army-held shore. All three were taken prisoner next day by the Turkish forces. Alcock remained aprisoner of war until theArmistice and retired from theRoyal Air Force in March 1919.
After the war Alcock became a test pilot forVickers and took up the challenge of attempting to be the first to fly directly across theAtlantic. Alcock andArthur Whitten Brown took off fromSt John's, Newfoundland, at 1:45 pm local time on 14 June 1919, and landed in Derrygimla bog nearClifden, Ireland, 16 hours and 12 minutes later on 15 June 1919 after flying 1,980 miles (3,190 km). The flight had been much affected by bad weather, making accurate navigation difficult; the intrepid duo also had to cope with turbulence, instrument failure, and ice on the wings. The flight was made in a modifiedVickers Vimy bomber and won a£10,000 prize (£580,500 in 2023) offered by London'sDaily Mail newspaper for the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic.
A few days after the flight both Alcock and Brown were honoured with a reception atWindsor Castle during whichKing George V invested them with their insignia asKnights Commanders of the Order of the British Empire.[7]
Alcock was present at theScience Museum inLondon on 15 December 1919 when the recovered Vimy aircraft was presented to the nation.
On 18 December 1919, Alcock was piloting a new Vickers amphibious aircraft, theVickers Viking, to the first post-war aeronautical exhibition inParis when he crashed in fog atCottévrard, nearRouen inNormandy. Alcock suffered a fractured skull and never regained consciousness after being transferred to a hospital in Rouen. He succumbed to his injuries the following day.
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His grave inSouthern Cemetery, Manchester is marked by a large stone memorial.[8]
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For the great skill, judgment and dash displayed by him off Moudros on the 30th September, 1917, in a successful attack on three enemy seaplanes, two of which were brought down in the sea.
"In recognition of distinguished services to Aviation, in connection with the successful flight from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Co. Galway, on the 14th–15th June, 1919.
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