Glen Kidston

George Pearson Glen Kidston (23 January 1899 – 5 May 1931) was a Welsh and English motor racing driver and aviator. He is known for completing a record-breaking flight from Netheravon, Wiltshire, to Cape Town, South Africa, in 1931.

Family and Early Life

Kidston was the son of Archibald Glen Kidston, a descendant of A. G. Kidston, who founded A.G. Kidston & Co, a metallurgical and machinery merchant enterprise based in Glasgow. The family had interests spanning the Clyde Shipping Company, solicitors, accountants, and banking, including connections to the Clydesdale Bank. He was raised in a well-established family environment in Wales.

Military Service

He served as a lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy during World War I. During the action of 22 September 1914, Kidston was torpedoed twice in the same morning, sinking the HMS Aboukir and HMS Hogue in a confrontation with German submarine U-9 commanded by Otto Weddigen. Following his recovery, he served aboard the battleship HMS Orion with the British Grand Fleet during the Battle of Jutland, where he transmitted gunnery orders under enemy fire.

Naval Submarine Service

Kidston served on several leading-edge British submarines, including the X1 submarine, which was involved in North Sea trials. The X1 became embedded in the seabed due to faulty gauges during trials. In December 1926, he assumed command of the H-class submarine H24, built by Beardmore.

Aviation and Racing

He was an early pioneer of naval aviation and participated in various motor racing events, including the Monte Carlo Rally, the Isle of Man TT motorcycle races, and the Shelsley Walsh hill climb. Kidston competed in the 1929 Irish Grand Prix Éireann Cup at Phoenix Park, where he narrowly lost to Boris Ivanowski driving an Alfa Romeo. He owned and raced the first Bugatti in the United Kingdom and participated in the 1929 and 1930 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1930, he and Woolf Barnato drove a Bentley Speed Six to victory, achieving a 1-2-3-4 team finish.

Aviation Mishap and Record Flight

In 1929, Kidston survived a plane crash after sensing an imminent impact while traveling aboard a German airliner from Croydon to Amsterdam. He was the sole survivor of the incident, suffering extensive burns, and the co-pilot Prince Eugen of Schaumburg-Lippe died of injuries.

In April 1931, Kidston completed a record-setting flight from Netheravon, Wiltshire, to Cape Town, South Africa, in approximately 6½ days. His aircraft was a specially adapted Lockheed Vega monoplane, averaging a speed of 131 miles per hour (211 km/h). He did not undertake a return journey.

Death and Memorials

Kidston was killed in a mid-air breakup of a de Havilland Puss Moth while flying through a dust storm over the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa in 1931, less than a year after his Le Mans victory. His death was reported in London newspapers, with some speculation about his relationship with notable women such as Margaret Whigham (later Duchess of Argyll) and Barbara Cartland, as well as associations with actress Pola Negri.

He married Nancy Miriel Denise Soames in 1925 and had a son, Archibald Martin Glen (1927–1978). His granddaughter is Cath Kidston, renowned for her design brand. His nephew is Simon Kidston, a classic car dealer and journalist.

Memorials include his gravestone at St. Peter’s in Glasbury-upon-Wye and an aluminum propeller set in stone at the crash site. His gravestone bears the inscription, "Time and tide wait for no man," and features a sundial.