- Lieutenant Commander Peter Twiss smashed air speed record in 1956
- Collection includes wartime logbooks, Queen's commendation signed by Churchill, helmet he wore during record and flight goggles
- He was married five times and drove powerboat in From Russia With Love
- Memorabilia expected to fetch 12,000
By Nick Enoch
|
He was a World War Two hero, an air speed king who later flew Concorde... and even appeared in a Bond film. And he was married five times.
Now, the astonishing archive of memorabilia that once belonged to Peter Twiss has emerged for sale.
Lieutenant Commander Twiss had already been awarded two gallantry medals for his part in the war when he smashed the air speed record at 1,132mph in 1956.
The legendary flyer, who went on to appear in From Russia With Love and was likened to great British action men Donald Campbell and Sir Edmund Hillary, died last year aged 90.
Scroll down for video
A signed photo of Peter Twiss after landing at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, when he broke the air speed record in 1956. This is just one of the mementoes of his colourful life which is going up for auction
Lieutenant Commander Twiss's logbook, goggles and his OBE along with a model of the Fairey Delta 2 in which he smashed the record at 1,132mph
Twiss (centre) shows Prime Minister Anthony Eden his FD2 jet in Chichester, West Sussex in 1956
Now his family are selling all his flying memorabilia, from his wartime logbooks to the helmet he wore when he set the air speed record over Chichester, West Sussex.
There is his Queen’s Commendation signed by Winston Churchill for when he saved himself and his unique supersonic jet by crash landing at 170mph after it stalled at 26,000ft.
His medal group, which includes the Distinguished Service Order with bar for his wartime achievements as well as his OBE for his record setting flight, is also for sale.
There are also hundreds of photos including one of Lt Cmdr Twiss stepping out of his Fairey Delta 2 jet minutes after breaking the record.
Other images include him receiving his OBE from Prince Philip, him showing the Queen around the aircraft and one of the jet remarkably intact following the 1955 crash landing.
The air ace even kept this hard-boiled egg signed by the record-breaking team from the County Hotel in Salisbury, Wiltshire where they stayed
Twiss crash landed this FD1 in 1955 at 170mph after the engine cut out at 26,000ft, leaving it remarkably intact
The medals in the Twiss collection are his WWII DSC and Bar, OBE, 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star with Air Crew Europe Bar, Africa Star and War Medal with miniature group
Another highlight is eight volumes of hand-scribed logbooks detailing every flight he made in his astonishing career.
The entries describing several wartime dog-fights are written in a stoic and matter-of-fact fashion as is the note he jotted down after the historic speed flight.
He wrote: 'Exercise Metrical. Flight from Boscombe Down over course Chichester-Ford-Chichester-Boscombe Down. Success! World air speed record, 1,132mph average.'
Stunned auctioneer John Cameron was asked by Sq Cmdr Twiss’ widow and two daughters to examine the collection for probate purposes.
It had all been meticulously archived by the late flyer in a summer house of his home in Titchfield, Hampshire.
Twiss with the FD2 and the development team after breaking the air speed record
The late flyer (above) had meticulously archived the material in a summer house of his home in Titchfield, Hampshire
Part of the collection includes his Queen's Commendation signed by Winston Churchill (above) for when he saved himself and his unique supersonic jet by crash landing after it stalled
Mr Cameron, of Jacobs and Hunt auctioneers of Petersfield, which is now selling the archive, said: 'To be involved in the sale of the personal effects of a true legend like Peter Twiss is a huge honour.
'He was one of the last truly great British pioneers who risked their lives in passionate pursuit of adventure and immortality.
'He is right up there with Donald Campbell, Edmund Hillary and Captain Scott - all names instantly associated with British history in various fields of endeavour.
'While many thousands of pilots have since flown over 1,000mph, Peter Twiss will go down in the annals of aviation history as the first.
A secret report from WWII of Twiss shooting down a Junkers during a night fight over France in June 1944
A photo of Twiss receiving the Queen's Commendation from Prince Philip in 1955
The helmet Twiss wore when he set the air speed record over Chichester, West Sussex
'He was an amazing character. He did it all in his life-time; he was a war hero, air speed record holder, flew Concorde, appeared in a Bond film and was married five times.
'His life was real Boy’s Own stuff.
'The collection now for sale spans Peter Twiss’s entire flying career.
'It is probably the most important aviation collection to come onto the market for many years, the likes of which we may never see again.'
Sq Cmdr Twiss was a tea taster with Brooke Bond before he joined the Fleet Air Arm in 1939 and then trained as a pilot.
He was awarded the DSC for shooting down an Italian plane while providing air support to the Malta convoys in 1942.
In the days after D-Day, he flew Mosquito fighter bombers and shot down two German Junkers 88 bombers over France.
By 1954, he became a chief test pilot with Fairey Aviation and a year later he made the incredible crash landing on a training flight.
Twiss kept this tiny component that was discovered, after his record-breaking flight, to be faulty. It meant he would not have survived had he had to eject from the aircraft
The legendary airman shows the Queen and Prince Philip the FD2 in 1956
The airman was awarded the Segrave Trophy in 1956 in honour of his achievements. Given by the RAC, it commends those who stretch the limits of transport by land, sea and air
On March 10, 1956 he achieved speeds of 1,117mph and 1,147mph - an average of 1,132mph - beating the previous fastest time by more than 300mph.
The record flight went down in history, although it upset several gardeners along the south coast as the sonic boom caused greenhouses to smash.
The medals in the Twiss collection are his WWII DSC and Bar, OBE, 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star with Air Crew Europe Bar, Africa Star and War Medal with miniature group.
The collection is being sold in 21 lots on June 22 with a very conservative estimate of 12,000.
FROM TWISS, WITH LOVE: AT HOME IN PLANES... AND BOATS
The thrill-seeker even appeared in a Bond film
To add to his list of achievements, Twiss also made cameo appearances in two movies.
In 1960, he flew a Fairey Swordfish torpedo aircraft in Sink The Bismarck.
And in the 1963 James Bond film From Russia With Love, he fired a machine gun at Sean Connery from a Fairey Marine speed boat.
The change from sky to sea would have proved no problem for him - during the sixties, the thrill seeker loved to race powerboats.
Peter Twiss (right) drives villain Morzeny's boat in From Russia With Love
In the 1960s, Twiss was just as happy on the sea as he was in the sky
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Reader poll - should we make more effort for Sussex Day? - Lewes Today
SATURDAY June 16 is Sussex Day - but how many people realise this and how many are celebrating it?
Despite publicity by West Sussex County Council, has the message got round about this special day?
Since its launch in 2007, Sussex Day, June 16, has been a chance for residents of Sussex to celebrate their county’s rich heritage.
Everyone in the county has had the opportunity to use the day to display in word and deed everything that is good about Sussex.
The date - June 16 - was chosen because it is St Richard’s Day – which marks the life of St Richard, who was Bishop of Chichester from 1245 until his death in 1253.
In Medieval times West Sussex was an important place of pilgrimage. Thousands made their way to the shrine of St Richard at Chichester cathedral every year.
The county council has been encouraging everyone to hang out bunting and make their own Sussex flag.
They have also launched a competition for schoolchildren to create a new school meal using the best of the county’s local produce.
Should we make more effort to celebrate all the good things in Sussex or is it not worth the effort?
Join in our poll (right) and add your comments below.
Email to a friend
Print this pageSource: www.sussexexpress.co.uk
DB1, Nottingham ... don't forget Joey 'Bomber' Barton. A hero to every demented thug in the land !
- me, theren, anywhere, 13/6/2012 22:07
Report abuse