Vivian Hewitt

Vivian Hewitt
Born1888
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Died1965 (aged 76–77)[2]
NationalityBritish
Known forSecond flight from Great Britain to Ireland, 26 April 1912[3]
Aviation career
Flight license1 October 1912[1]
London

Vivian Vaughan Davies Hewitt (1888–1965) was a pioneering Welsh aviator. Born in Grimsby,[4] he moved to Bodfari, Denbighshire, Wales, his mother's family home, on the death of his father during his childhood.[2]

On 26 April 1912, Hewitt successfully completed a flight between Holyhead and Dublin, landing in the Phoenix Park. Interviewed by the press, he expressed the view that Damer Leslie Allen, who had disappeared a few days earlier whilst attempting the same flight, had been insufficiently experienced as an aviator for a task of such difficulty.[3]

Although widely reported to be the first person to cross the sea from Great Britain to Ireland in an aeroplane, several days earlier,[2] on 22 April Denys Corbett Wilson had flown from Goodwick in Pembrokeshire to Enniscorthy.[5][6] Nevertheless, the view was expressed at the time that Hewitt's flight was "a more difficult and dangerous feat" than Corbett Wilson's.[7]

Hewitt was also a keen ornithologist and set up a bird sanctuary at his home of Bryn Aber at Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey, which is now managed by The North Wales Wildlife Trust.[8] He was known as the "world’s greatest private Great Auk collector", as he built up a collection of the skins and eggs of these extinct birds.[9][4] His specimens are now in museums in Cardiff, Birmingham, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati.[10]

  1. ^ Flight Magazine 5 October 1912
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Alys (10 March 2010). "BBC: Captain Vivian Hewitt – the aviation pioneer". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Aviation: Flight from Holyhead to Dublin – Mr Hewitt descends in the Phoenix Park". Irish Times. Dublin. 27 April 1912. p. 7.
  4. ^ a b Birkhead, Tim R.; Clugston, David L.; Fuller, Errol (April 2023). "The dispersal of Vivian Vaughan Davies Hewitt ' s collection of great auk ( Pinguinus impennis ) eggs". Archives of Natural History. 50 (1): 191–206. doi:10.3366/anh.2023.0837. ISSN 0260-9541.
  5. ^ "Flying the Irish Channel" (PDF). Flight Magazine. IV (17). London: Reed Business Information: 379. 27 April 1912. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Irish Aviator's Feat: St. George's Channel Crossed". Irish Times. Dublin. 27 April 1912. p. 23.
  7. ^ "Editorial". (Weekly) Irish Times. Dublin. 4 May 1912. p. 10.
  8. ^ Wyn-Williams, Gareth (22 May 2017). "Anglesey home of famous airman put up for auction". northwales. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Captain Vivian Hewitt ~ Lincolnshire Born Aviation Pioneer » Rod Collins". www.rodcollins.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  10. ^ Thomas, Jessica E.; Carvalho, Gary R.; Haile, James; Martin, Michael D.; Castruita, Jose A. Samaniego; Niemann, Jonas; Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S.; Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela; Rawlence, Nicolas J. (15 June 2017). "An 'Aukward' Tale: A Genetic Approach to Discover the Whereabouts of the Last Great Auks". Genes. 8 (6): 164. doi:10.3390/genes8060164. PMC 5485528. PMID 28617333.