Editing Gustav Hamel

{{Short description|British aviator (1889–1914)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name =Gustav Hamel
| image =Gustav Hamel 1913.jpg  
| image_size =
| caption = [[Postcard]] of Hamel, winner of the 1913 [[Aerial Derby]] at [[Hendon Aerodrome]]
| birth_name = Gustav Wilhelm Hamel | birth_date = 25 June 1889 | birth_place = Hamburg, Germany | death_date = c. 1914 (disappeared; aged 24 or 25)
| death_place=[[English Channel]]
| death_cause =
| disappeared_date = {{disappeared date and age|1914|5|23|1889|6|25|df=y}}
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality =[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]]
| other_names =
|known_for = [[Air race|Air racing]] <br> [[Airmail]] <br> [[Aerobatics]] <br> [[Aerobatic maneuver|Looping-the-loop]] <br> [[Transatlantic flight]]  
| education = | employer =
| occupation = [[Aviator]] <br> Author| parents = | relatives = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Gustav Wilhelm Hamel''' (25 June 1889 &ndash; missing 23 May 1914) was a pioneer [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] aviator.  He was prominent in the early history of aviation in Britain, and in particular that of [[Hendon Aerodrome|Hendon airfield]], where [[Claude Graham-White]] was energetically developing and promoting flying.

==Early life==
Gustav Hamel was the only son of Dr Gustav Hugo Hamel (Royal Physician to [[Edward VII|King Edward VII]]) and his wife, Caroline Magdalena Elise. He was actually born in [[Hamburg]], Germany as the oldest child to his parents followed by his sisters Magdalena Augusta Hilda Hamel (21 January 1891) and Dorothea Minna Hamel (February 1893). His youngest sister Anna Elise Bertha Hamel was born in London (6 October 1899). His family moved to England around 1899 to [[Kingston-upon-Thames]] and were naturalised as citizens around 1910. He was educated at [[Westminster School]] between 1901 and 1907.

==Aviation career==
===1910-11===
He learned to fly at the [[Blériot Aéronautique|Blériot]] school at [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau, France]] in 1910 : after observing his first flight Louis Blériot commented that he had never seen a pilot with such natural ability.<ref name=dnb>{{Cite ODNB|id=39597|title=Hamel, Gustav}}</ref>  He obtained [[Aéro-Club de France]]'s certificate no. 358 on 3 February 1911<ref name=earlyaviator1000>[http://earlyaviators.com/edavelam.pdf List of deaths from Early Aviators website]</ref> and the [[Royal Aero Club]]'s [[List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Royal Aero Club in 1911|Aviator's certificate no. 64]] on 14 February.<ref name=earlyaviator1000/> In March he won first prize in a race from Hendon to Brooklands and back,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Aeronautics |date=20 March 1911 |page=10 |issue=39537 }}</ref> and on 14 April 1911  he flew from [[Brooklands]] to [[Hendon]] in a record 17 minutes.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1911/1911%20-%200352.html?search=Hamel Fast Trip From Brooklands to Hendon] [[Flight International|''Flight'']] 22 April 1911, p. 254</ref>

On May 6th, he won a race from Brooklands to Brighton against three other competitors, [[Howard Pixton]] [[Graham Gilmour]] and Lt. Richard Talbot Snowden-Smith, covering the distance in 57 minutes in a Bleriot monoplane.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Aeroplane Race To Brighton.|date=1911-05-04 |page=06 |issue=39579 |column= }}</ref> Also in May, he was one of the pilots who took part in a demonstration of flying to various members of the government, where he demonstrated the usefulness of aircraft for carrying dispatches by flying a message to [[Aldershot]] and returning with a reply. The {{convert|64|mi|km|abbr=on}} round trip took two hours, much of this time due to difficulty in starting his engine for the return journey.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Military Airmen At Hendon |date=13 May 1911 |page=10 |issue=39584 }}</ref>

In July 1911 he was one of the British representatives in the competition for the [[Gordon Bennett Trophy (aeroplanes)|Gordon Bennett Trophy]] but crashed shortly after takeoff, fortunately without injury.  Later that month he competed in the [[Daily Mail Circuit of Britain air race|''Daily Mail'' Circuit of Britain race]], reaching [[Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway|Thornhill]], north of [[Dumfries]], before  retiring after a forced landing due to engine problems in which he was slightly injured.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title= Air Race Won By "Beaumont" |date=27 July 1911 |page=9 |issue=39648 }}</ref>
[[File:Photo Gustav Hamel 1910 - Touring Club Italiano 11.3167.jpg|thumb|Before the attempted flight from Hendon to Southend]]
An item in the magazine [[Flight International|''Flight'']], of 26 August 1911, covered Hamel's unsuccessful attempt to convey newspapers from Hendon to [[Southend]] the previous Saturday.
It appears that the publisher sponsored this event as a publicity stunt.
However, heavy weather forced his aircraft down at [[Hammersmith]] in West London.

[[File:The Aerial Post by Hiram Hollands.jpg|thumb|Sheet music cover, c.1911]]
On Saturday 9 September 1911 Hamel flew a [[Blériot XI]] the 19 miles between Hendon and [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] in 18 minutes to deliver the first official [[airmail]] carried in Great Britain. He carried one bag of mail with 300-400 letters, about 800 postcards and a few newspapers weighing {{convert|23|lb|kg}} and arrived safely at Windsor around 5.13pm. Included was a postcard he had written en route.

On 12 October 1911 Hamel made his first cross-channel flight when he ferried a new Bleriot monoplane from Boulogne to Wembley. This was the first of 21 cross channel flight that he was to make.<ref name=dnb/>

===1912===
<!--27 July 1912 The ''Hinkley Times'' reported:

''"Mr Gustav Hamel, the famous aviator, brought his aeroplane to the Outwoods and gave a demonstration of powered flight. This would have been the first time that most [[Hinckley]] people had witnessed a motorized aeroplane. The aeroplane flew over [[Burbage, Leicestershire|Burbage]] and Sketchley. Many people in Mount Road saw the plane as it flew low over their heads. A mishap at the conclusion of the flight made any further flying that day impossible."''<ref>[http://www.hinckleytimes.net/news/local-news/past-times-125-years-hinckley-6652473 Past Times: 125 years of The Hinckley Times: 1910s ]</ref>-->
Hamel made the first cross-channel flight with a woman as passenger on 2 April 1912, when he flew [[Eleanor Trehawke Davies]] from Hendon to Paris, with intermediate stops at [[Ambleteuse]] and [[Hardelot]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Channel Flight With A Lady Passenger |date=3 April 1912 |page=8 |issue=39863 |column=C }}</ref>  Later in the month he assisted [[Harriet Quimby]] to become the first woman pilot to cross the channel by testing her newly delivered Blériot monoplane before her flight.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=First Channel Flight By An Airwoman |date=17 April 1912 |issue=39875 |column=B }}</ref>

Hamel made the  first flight from [[Hedon Aerodrome|Hedon airfield]] near [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]] on Friday 2 August 1912.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20010307133302/http://yorkshirepride.portland.co.uk/hedon/page1.shtml Glory days of Hedon Airfield] access date 4 September</ref>
    
Hamel took part in the first [[Aerial Derby]] race, carrying Eleanor Trehawke Davies as a passenger. At first he was credited with the fastest time, since [[Thomas Sopwith]] was disqualified for missing one of the control points, but after Sopwith successfully appealed Hamel was relegated to second place.

===1913===
In April 1913 Hamel made the first cross-channel return flight carrying a passenger, the ''[[Evening Standard]]'' journalist Frank Dupree.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times|title=Double Channel Flight With a Passenger|date=12 April 1913|page=8|issue=40184}}</ref> and later that month flew with Dupree as passenger from [[Dover]] to [[Cologne]], the first time that a flight had been made from England to Germany.  The flight, sponsored by the ''Evening Standard'', was intended to draw attention to Britain's need for military aircraft.<ref name=dnb/>

In August 1913 a seventy five mile air race around the Midlands was arranged between [[Bentfield Hucks]] and Hamel. The take-off point for the contest was the Tally-Ho grounds, adjacent to [[Cannon Hill Park]]. Both aviators  then flew anti-clockwise around the circuit, landing at [[Redditch]] recreation ground, [[Coventry]], [[Nuneaton]], [[Tamworth, Staffordshire|Tamworth]] and [[Walsall]]  and  finishing at [[Edgbaston]]. Hamel won the race by a margin of just twenty seconds.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1913/1913%20-%200960.html The Hucks-Hamel Race] [[Flight International|''Flight'']]  6 September 1913, p. 986 ]</ref>

Following his disappointment the previous year Hamel entered the 1913 Aerial Derby, flying a Morane-Saulnier monoplane.  This time he won the competition, completing the course in 1h 15m 49s at a speed of {{convert|76|mph|kph|abbr=on}} despite a fuel leak which resulted in him having to fly part of the course plugging the leak with his finger.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1913/1913%20-%201038.html The Aerial Derby ] [[Flight International|''Flight'']] 27 September 1913</ref>

Hamel was quite active in [[Worcestershire]], visiting [[Pershore]] racecourse in October 1913 where he gave exhibitions of flying. He also visited [[Upton-on-Severn]], [[Worcester Racecourse]] and [[Kidderminster Victoria Cricket Club|Kidderminster cricket ground]] in October 1913.

===1914===
Late in 1913, looping the loop was perfected and became a popular event during public flying displays. On 2 January 1914, Hamel took Eleanor Trehawke Davies aloft to experience a loop, and she thus became the first woman in the world to do so.  On 2 February he gave an exhibition of looping to the royal family at Windsor, making 14 loops before landing on the East Lawn of [[Windsor Castle]]. After lunch with the Royal family he gave a second exhibition before returning to Hendon.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Hamel At Windsor |date=3 February 1914 |page=6 |issue=40437 }}</ref>
    
In March 1914 Hamel flew to [[Cardiff]] to give a public flying display. While there he met [[Charles Horace Watkins]], who was an engineer perfecting his own aircraft called the Robin Gôch, or Red Robin. Contemporary newspaper reports indicate that a few minutes after they met, Hamel flew them both to Watkins' hangar, where they inspected the Robin Gôch.<ref>Information supplied by Richard Davies, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Industry at the National Museums & Galleries of Wales. The museum has a Robin Gôch In storage.</ref>

In May Hamel announced that he intended to attempt to win the [[Daily Mail aviation prizes|£10,000 prize awarded by the ''Daily Mail'']] for a flight across the Atlantic ocean, flying a specially built [[Martin-Handasyde]] monoplane.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1914/1914%20-%200546.html The Atlantic Flight] [[Flight International|''Flight'']] 22 May 1914 p. 546</ref>

==Personal life==
Hamel's flying exploits made him a well-known public figure. He was a member of [[The Coterie]], a prominent social set of aristocrats and intellectuals. He was considered popular and good-looking, and was a particular favourite of [[Lady Diana Manners]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lambert |first=Angela |title=Unquiet souls : a social history of the illustrious, irreverent, intimate group of British aristocrats known as "the Souls" |publisher=Harper and Row |year=1984 |isbn=0060153296 |location=New York |pages=158-159 |oclc=11402353}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cooper |first=Diana |title=Autobiography  |publisher=Faber and Faber |year=2008 |isbn=9780571247578 |location=London |pages=108-109 |oclc=1313861069}}</ref>

On the 30 September 1911, Hamel was driving his car on the Surbiton Road in [[Kingston on Thames]] with one of his sisters as a passenger. The car struck and killed a five-year-old girl called Gladys Storey, who had been playing in the road.<ref name="Times-1911-10-02">{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Motor-Car Accident |date=1911-10-02 |page=4 |issue=39705 |column=5}}</ref>

Hamel was a friend of the actress [[Gladys Cooper]]; in 1915 she won £1,200 in damages from a newspaper, the ''London Mail'', in a libel action over rumours she'd had adulterous affairs with both Hamel and an actor called Dennis Eadie. Another friend of Hamel's was [[Eleanor Trehawke Davies]]. Flying as a passenger with him, she became the first woman to fly the English Chanel in 1912 and the first woman to loop-the loop.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Famous Airwoman Dead |date=1916-01-21 |page=35 |issue=41069 |column=3}}</ref>

==Disappearance==
[[File:Martin-Handasyde trans-Atlantic monoplane.jpg|thumb|260px|right|A cutting from ''[[Scientific American]]'' 11 July 1914, ''"The eighty-mile-an-hour monoplane the late Gustav Hamel was to have used this summer in an attempt to fly across the [[Atlantic Ocean]] from North America to Europe."'']]
On 22 May 1914, Hamel travelled to France to collect a new aircraft, a [[Morane-Saulnier]] racing monoplane fitted with a 160&nbsp;hp [[Gnome Monosoupape]] engine.<ref name="Times-1914-05-26" /><ref>{{Cite journal |orig-date=1914-05-29 |title=Flying at Hendon |journal=Flight |volume=6 |issue=22 |page=566}}</ref> It was his intention on 23 May, to fly from [[Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base|Villacoublay]] near Paris to Hendon, and then take part in an [[Aerial Derby]] that was to be held there later the same day.<ref name="Times-1914-05-26" /> He had considerable experience of flying across the English Channel,, having flown across it around 20 times.<ref name="Times-1914-05-26" />

Hamel took off in good weather at 4:40am and reached [[Le Crotoy]] at 5:22am, where he landed and had breakfast. He flew on, landing at [[Neufchâtel-Hardelot]] near [[Boulogne]], at 9:00am. He then slept for two hours, refuelled his aircraft and had lunch, and took off for the last time at 12:15pm. A presumed last sighting of him was an aircraft seen flying high over the town of Boulogne at 12:30pm.<ref name="Times-1914-05-26">{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Lost Airman |date=1914-05-26 |page=10 |issue=40533 |column=5}}</ref>

After Hamal failed to arrive, a large-scale search was begun that evening by the [[Royal Navy]] using the cruiser [[HMS Pathfinder (1904)|HMS ''Pathfinder'']] and the destroyers [[HMS Mallard (1896)|''Mallard'']], [[HMS Bat|''Bat'']], [[HMS Star (1896)|Star]] and [[HMS Osprey (1897)|Osprey]]. Two seaplanes were also deployed in the search but both were destroyed by adverse weather conditions; both pilots were rescued.<ref name="Times-1914-05-25">{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Mr Hamel Missing|date=1914-05-25 |page=32 |issue=40532 |column=5}}</ref> The search found nothing and was called-off on the 26th May.<ref name="Times-1914-05-27">{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Loss of Mr Hamel |date=1914-05-27 |page=8 |issue=4053431 |column=5}}</ref>

On 1 July, the crew of a French fishing vessel, the ''St. Hélène'',  found a body in the English Channel around 10 miles off Cap d'Alprech near Boulogne.<ref name="Times-1915-11-17" /> They did not retrieve the body, but their description of items of clothing and of finding a road map of southern England on the corpse provided strong circumstantial evidence that the body was Hamel's.<ref name=NYT9Jul1914>{{cite news |title=Body Surely Hamel's; Corpse found and abandoned by fishermen that of airman |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/07/09/100324340.pdf |newspaper= New York Times|date= 9 July 1914|accessdate=26 June 2011}}</ref>

Hamel was declared dead in September 1914,<ref name="Times-1914-09-10">{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Mr Hamel's Death Presumed |date=1914-09-10 |page=11 |issue=40631 |column=4}}</ref> after a court heard evidence from Joseph Le Pretre, the skipper of the fishing vessel, and Alexis Longueet, a mechanic who met Hamel at Neufchâtel-Hardelot.<ref name="Times-1915-11-17" />

==Legacy==
At this time of high international tension, there was speculation that Hamel might have been the victim of [[sabotage]], but no trace of the aircraft was ever found and the story faded with his memory.
     
A sculpture bust of him by Lady [[Kathleen Scott]] was exhibited in 1914.<ref name="Times-1914-06-05">{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Portrait Habit |date=1914-06-05 |page=4 |issue=40542 |column=4}}</ref> At least one song featuring Hamel was published as sheet-music in 1913.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ashley |first=Charles |title=Britannia must rule the air |last2=Dupree |first2=Frank |date=1913 |publisher= Laurence Wright Music Co. |location=London |oclc=795795280}}</ref> Alongside aviator [[Claude Grahame-White]], Hamal appeared in the 1914 film ''Across the Atlantic'' (also titled ''Secret of the Air'') that was directed by [[Herbert Brenon]] and starred [[King Baggot]].<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Moving Picture World |publisher=Chalmers Publishing Company |publication-place=New York |title=Across the Atlantic|publication-date=1914-06-20 |volume=20 |issue=12 |pages=1668}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Across the Atlantic |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004858/ |access-date=2024-08-16}}</ref>

After the start of [[World War 1]], the circumstances of Hamel's disappearance, his German place of birth and popular [[Anti-German_sentiment#Great_Britain_2|anti-German sentiment]] led to rumours that he was still alive and flying in the service of the ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'', the German air force.<ref name="Times-1915-11-17" /> Or that he had been spying on behalf of the Germans.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=All this, and a world war too|date=2014-01-04 |page=91 |issue=71085 |column= }}</ref> The rumours required a public denial to be issued on behalf of his family.<ref name="Times-1915-11-17">{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Gustav Hamel |date=1915-11-17 |page=9 |issue=41014 |column=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |orig-date=1915-11-19 |title=The Late Mr Gustav Hamel |journal=Flight |volume=7 |issue=47 |page=896}}</ref>

Hamel co-authored ''Flying; some practical experiences'' with Charles Cyril Turner, author, journalist and aviator.<ref>Flying; some practical experiences Gustav Hamel and Charles C. Turner, London, New York [etc.] Longmans, Green and Co., 1914. xii, 341 p</ref> This was published in March 1914.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Practical Flying |date=1914-03-16 |page=6 |issue=40472 |column=3}}</ref>

In 2011, Hamel was portrayed on a set of [[Royal Mail]] postage stamps, that marked the centenary of his first airmail flight.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-09 |title=Royal Mail stamps mark first airmail deliveries |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-14851515 |access-date=2024-08-12 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Additional links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sDWug_XXes  ''Daily Mail'' Circuit of Britain Air Race] Film of Hamel and other contestants at [[Brooklands]], 22 July 1911  [https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/92488/  BritishPathe version, link]
* [http://www.britishpathe.com/video/gustav-hamel-pilot ''Britania'' Military Bleriot] Film of Hamel and Frank Dupree of the ''[[London Evening Standard|London Standard]]'' before the first flight from England to Germany, [[Dover]] to [[Cologne]], 17 April 1913
* [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/05/21/100090106.pdf ''New York Times'', 21 May 1914] Article on Hamel's Atlantic flight with H. L. Forster
* ''The Fateful Year. England 1914'' by Mark Bostridge (2014)
* [http://www.oradeamea.com/primul-si-poate-singurul-avion-oradean/ (in Romanian)]

{{worldcat|id=np-hamel,%20gustav}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents before 1920}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamel, Gustav Wilhelm}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1914 deaths]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British aviation record holders]]
[[Category:Missing aviators]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:People lost at sea]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1914]]