Hereward de Havilland

Hereward de Havilland
Havilland in 1929
Born2 December 1894
Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England
Died12 September 1976(1976-09-12) (aged 81)
Australia
OccupationAviator
RelativesGeoffrey de Havilland (Brother)
Joan Fontaine (Cousin)
Olivia de Havilland (Cousin)

Hereward de Havilland (2 December 1894 – 12 September 1976)[1] was a pioneer British aviator, test pilot and member of the de Havilland company. One of the three sons of Rev. Charles de Havilland, he was the younger brother of Geoffrey de Havilland.[2][3] Actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were his cousins.[4] He had a son Peter Adam de Havilland (m. Barabara Bolt) and grandchildren John and Joanna de Havilland.[5]

Hereward and his brothers Geoffrey and Ivon had a mechanical workshop at their home at the rectory in Crux Easton near Newbury.[6] Geoffrey's first flight took place with Frank Hearle and Hereward in 1909 at Seven Barrows in Dorset.[7] They practised at their grandfather's farm Medley Manor near Port Meadow just outside Oxford.

De Havilland flew in various air campaigns in Europe and the Middle East in World War I and reached the rank of Major.[8] On 10 March 1917, he was awarded a DSO for distinguished service in the field in Mesopotamia,[9] the youngest airman at that time to receive the DSO.[10] He was awarded a bar to his DSO later that same year.[11]

In March 1927, he established de Havilland Australia, the first overseas subsidiary of the de Havilland company.[12][13][14]

He flew solo in the 1929 Western Australian Centenary Air Race in a modified de Havilland DH.60 Moth, named "Black Hawk", coming second on handicap and winning the £300 fastest overall time prize in 22 hours 50 minutes 23 seconds and averaging 107.8 miles per hour (173.5 km/h).[15][16][17][18] The same year he joined the board of Airspeed Ltd. at Christchurch Airfield in Hampshire and was appointed Joint Managing Director.[19]

He went on to manage and develop de Havilland's in various other parts of the world including South America.[20][21] He retired as Managing Director of de Havilland's Airspeed Division in 1959, joined the board and became Deputy Chairman.[22][23]

de Havilland family tree
Alice Jeannette (née Saunders)
1854–1911		Rev. Charles de Havilland
1854-1920		Walter de Havilland
1872-1968		Lilian Fontaine (Ruse)
1886-1975
Ivon Molesworth Charles Jordan de Havilland
1879-1905		Louise Thomas
-1949		Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland
1882-1965		Joan Mary Frith
1900-1974		Hereward de Havilland
1894-1976		Marcus Goodrich
1897-1991		Olivia Mary de Havilland
1916-2020		Pierre Galante
1909-1998		Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland
1917-2013		William McElroy Dozier
1908-1991
Peter Jason de Havilland
1913-1977		Geoffrey de Havilland Jr.
1910-1946		John de Havilland
1918-1943		Benjamin Goodrich
1949-1991		Gisèle Galante
1956-		Deborah Leslie
1949-
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Flight International 1976 p. 1026 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kingdom 1923 p. 9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Aeroplane 1949 p. 290 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Réalités: femina-illustration 1950 p. 56 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference The National Archives 1923 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Frater 2011 p. 108 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Verhovek 2010 pp. 41- was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Macmillan 1963 p. 87 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference The London Gazette 1917 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality 1917 p. x was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality 1917 p. 77 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference McKay 2016 p. 37 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aircraft 1987 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Birtles 1984 p. 30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference McKay 2016 p. 95 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aircraft 1988 p. 36 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pratt 1977 p. 108 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference nla.gov.au was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sprigg Marsh Bracken Whittle 1955 p. 447 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dempster 1959 p. 43 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Transport History 1978 p. 64 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Aeroplane and Commercial Aviation News 1963 p. 565 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Whites Aviation 1960 p. 20 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).