Frank Barnwell
Captain Frank Sowter Barnwell OBE AFC FRAeS BSc (1880 – 2 August 1938) was an aeronautical engineer, who performed the first powered flight in Scotland and later went on to a career as an aircraft designer.
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[edit] History
Barnwell was born in Lewisham, Kent and educated at Fettes College in Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow.[1] From 1898 to 1904 he worked for Fairfield Shipbuilding before going abroad for two years. In 1906 he joined his brother Harold in business and established the Grampian Motors & Engineering Company in Stirling where between 1908 and 1909 they set about building a prototype aeroplane.[1] In 1909 Harold piloted the first powered flight in Scotland, in a field in Causewayhead under the Wallace Monument. Frank Barnwell went on to become chief engineer for what became the Bristol Aeroplane Company in Bristol, UK, designing aircraft including the Bristol F.2 Fighter, Bristol Bulldog and the later Bristol Blenheim.[1]
Barnwell was killed in a plane crash in 1938.[2] He was piloting a small aircraft he had designed and built himself, the Barnwell B.S.W., it struck a bump when taking off from Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport and stalled crashing onto a nearby road [3]
[edit] Family
Frank and Marjorie (née Sandes) Barnwell had three sons who all lost their lives in the second world war:
- Pilot Officer David Usher Barnwell DFC, RAFVR, of No. 607 Squadron RAF died aged 19 on 14 October 1941.[4]
- Flight Lieutenant Richard Antony Barnwell, RAF of No. 102 Squadron RAF died aged 24 on 29 October 1940.[5]
- Pilot Officer John Sandes Barnwell, RAF of No. 29 Squadron RAF died aged 20 on 19 June 1940.[6]
[edit] Honours and awards
- 7 June 1918 - Captain Frank Sowter Barnwell. Aeroplane Designer, The British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Limited to be an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services in connection with the War.[7]
- 1 September 1918 - Capt. Frank Sowter Barnwell, OBE awarded the Air Force Cross in recognition of distinguished service.[8]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Aviation archive
- ^ RAF History
- ^ Flight 11 August 1938 (Obituary Frank Barnwell)
- ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission (D U Barnwell)
- ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission (R A Barnwell)
- ^ Commonwealth War Graves Commission (J S Barnwell)
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 30730. p. 6695. 7 June 1918. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
- ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 31098. p. 97. 1 January 1919. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
[edit] References
Gutman, J. "Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War 1". Osprey Publishing 2007. ISBN 978-1-84603-201-1
[edit] External links
- RAF history article on Barnwell's role in the Bristol Blenheim
- Story from The Scotsman on the memorial
- The High Endeavour of a Splendid Man - Flight article on Barnwell
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- 1880 births
- 1938 deaths
- Old Fettesians
- Alumni of the University of Glasgow
- English aerospace engineers
- English aviators
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United Kingdom
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
- Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society
- Royal Flying Corps officers
- Royal Air Force officers
- People from Lewisham
