Daily Mail aviation prizes

Between 1906 and 1930, the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe,[1] awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in aviation or to the winner of an aviation race or event. The most famous prizes were the £1,000 for the first cross-channel flight awarded to Louis Blériot in 1909 and the £10,000 given in 1919 to Alcock and Brown for the first non-stop transatlantic flight between North America and Ireland.

Black&White Newspaper
Daily Mail Front Cover – 16 June 1919

The prizes are credited with advancing the course of aviation during the early years, with the considerable sums offered becoming a much-coveted goal for the field's pioneers.[2]

Prizes

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Year announced Year awarded Contest Amount (£) Adjusted 2024 amount Winner(s)
1906 1910 London to Manchester flight 10,000 £1,289,400 Louis Paulhan
1907 1907 Model aeroplane competition 100 £13,400 Alliott Verdon Roe, W. Howard
1908 Quarter mile out and return flight 100 £13,200 Henri Farman
1908 1909 Cross-channel flight 1,000 £131,700 Louis Blériot
1909 Circular mile by a British aircraft 1,000 £131,700 John Moore-Brabazon
1909 1909 Fastest lap at Blackpool Aviation Week 1,000 £131,700 Henri Farman[3]
1910 Second cross-channel flight 100 £12,900 Jacques de Lesseps
1910 1910 Best cross-country aggregate 1,000 £128,900 Louis Paulhan
1910 1911 Circuit of Britain race 10,000 £1,286,300 André Beaumont (Jean Conneau)[4]
1912 1912 Aerial Derby cup 105 £13,100 Thomas Sopwith
1913 1913 Aerial Derby cup 105 £13,100 Gustav Hamel
1913,[A 1] 1918[5] 1919 Transatlantic flight 10,000 £580,500 Alcock and Brown[6]
1913[7] -- Circuit of Great Britain for "waterplanes" 5,000 £621,500 [6]
1914 1914 Aerial Derby cup 105 £12,700 W. L. Brock
1914 Cancelled Circuit of Great Britain 5,000 £606,100
1919 1919 Aerial Derby cup 210 £12,200 Gerald Gathergood
1923 1923 Economy flight for motor gliders 1,000 £72,000
1925 1926 Economy flight for dual-control light aircraft of British construction 3,000 £219,900 George Bulman (Hawker Cygnet)[8]
1930 1930 Solo flight from England to Australia 10,000 £798,600 Amy Johnson[9][10]

In addition, four "consolation" prizes were awarded:

Year announced Year awarded Contest Amount (£) Winner(s)
1906 1910 London to Manchester flight 105 Claude Grahame-White
1910 1911 Round-Britain flight 200 Jules Védrines
1913 1913 Round-Britain flight for British "waterplanes" 1,000 Harry Hawker
1913 1919 Transatlantic flight 5,000 Harry Hawker, Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve

See also

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Annotations

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  1. ^ Suspended during the war and renewed in 1918 with different conditions

Notes

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  1. ^ "Direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe Flight" PDF Archive, 6 September 1913
  2. ^ Such, Colin. "The Daily Mail's Sponsorship of British Pioneer Aviation". Warwick & Warwick. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Blackpool Aviation Week October 18th. to 23rd". Flight magazine. 16 October 1909. pp. 645–650.
  4. ^ Lewis 1970, pp. 43–44.
  5. ^ 1918 conditions for £10,000 prize
  6. ^ a b "The New Daily Mail Prizes.", Flight, Flight Global Archive, 5 April 1913
  7. ^ Map showing the course to be followed Flight, 16 August 1913
  8. ^ "Lympne Competition 1926", Flight PDF Archive, 23 September 1926
  9. ^ Charles Loch Mowat (1955). Britain Between the Wars, 1918–1940. Methuen. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-416-29510-8.
  10. ^ Johnson was also awarded the Harmon Trophy for her achievement

References

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  • Lewis, Peter. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0-370-00067-6.