The Hon Mrs Victor Bruce

The Hon Mrs Victor Bruce
Croydon Airport 20 February 1931. Amy Johnson on left, Winifred Spooner on right
Born	10 November 1895(1895-11-10)[1] Chelmsford, Essex, England [2]
Died	21 May 1990(1990-05-21) (aged 94) Camden, London, England[1]
Nationality	United Kingdom
Other names	Mildred Mary Petre
Known for	car racer, speedboat racer and aviatrix

The Hon Mrs Victor Bruce (10 November 1895 – 21 May 1990) was a British record-breaking racing motorist, speedboat racer, aviatrix in the 1920s and 1930s, and later, successful businesswoman. She is less-commonly referred to as Mildred Bruce, Mildred Mary Bruce, or Mary Victor Bruce, in contemporary references.

Early life

Mildred Mary Petre was born at Coptfold Hall, Chelmsford, Essex, England on 10 November 1895,^[1] the daughter of Lawrence Petre, a descendant of Sir William Petre. In 1911, aged 15, she began her passion for motor vehicles by riding her brother’s Matchless motorcycle, travelling around Osterley, west London, with her collie dog in the sidecar. At Hounslow court, she became the first woman to be convicted of a motoring offence in the UK.^[3][4]:28-31 In 1920, she purchased her first car, an Enfield-Allday, and was prosecuted many times for speeding, including three days running at Bow Street Magistrates' Court.^[4]:34-35

In 1926, she married the Honourable Victor Austin Bruce, son of Henry Bruce, 2nd Baron Aberdare. He was a works driver for AC Cars Ltd, and he won the 1926 Monte Carlo Rally in an AC car. They bore one son, Anthony (c.1927), and divorced in 1941.^[4]:36

Motor racing record breaking

She borrowed an AC Six car (PF6465) from Selwyn Edge, and started the 1927 Monte Carlo Rally from John O'Groats. After travelling 1,700 miles (2736 km) and 72 hours without sleeping, she finished sixth overall, and won the Coupe des Dames, for the women's class.^[5] On 28 January 1927, she departed Monte Carlo on an 8,000 miles (12,875 km) endurance trial through Italy, Sicily, Tunisia, Morocco, Spain, and France. There, she and her companions drove the car 1,000 miles (1609 km) around the Montlhéry oval circuit near Paris, then finally returned to England.^[4]:41-51 On 9 July 1927, she departed from London in the same car (PF6465), once again accompanied by her husband plus a journalist and an engineer. They drove through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland , and finally planted a Union Jack flag about 250 miles (400 km) north of the Arctic Circle. It was farther north than anyone had previously driven, a record that remained unbroken until the 21st century.^[4]:52-57 On 9 December 1927, she and her husband, assisted by J.A. Joyce, started a 10-day endurance record in fog at Montlhéry, driving an AC Six fitted with a racing screen but minus roof, mudguards and lights. The average speed was 68 mph (109 km/h) over about 15,000 miles (24,140 km).^[6][4]:58-73 On 6 June 1929, she drove a Bentley 4½ Litre at Montlhéry for 24 hours, to capture the world record for single-handed driving, averaging over 89 mph (142 km/h).^{[4]:81-94[7][8]}

Powerboats

In 1929, she purchased an outboard speedboat, named it Mosquito, and raced it at events at the Welsh Harp reservoir. On 15 September 1929, she drove the boat from Dover across the English Channel to Calais, then decided to make it a non-stop double crossing back to Dover. The record-breaking round trip took 1 hr 47 min, and the manufacturer gave her a new boat to replace Mosquito that had almost destroyed itself. In October 1929, she borrowed a 23-foot boat named British Power Boats, and broke the 24-hours distance record by travelling 694 nautical miles in a course around a lightship and a yacht moored in the Solent.^[4]:95-101

Around the world flight 1930

In June 1930, on a whim, she purchased a Blackburn Bluebird IV via a London showroom. After delivery of the aircraft (G-ABDS) in late July 1930, she took her first flying lessons with Norman Blackburn at Brough aerodrome, went solo within a week, and soon built up 40 flying hours. On 25 September 1930, she named the aircraft "Bluebird" and took off on a round the world solo flight from Heston Aerodrome. She flew to Rangoon and then on to Shanghai and across the Yellow Sea to Seoul, Korea. On 24 November 1930, having covered 10,330 miles (16,625 km) in 25 flying days, she reached Tokyo. She travelled by ship to Vancouver, where the Bluebird was re-assembled. She flew via Medford (Oregon), Tucson, San Diego and Baltimore to New York, where she embarked on a ship bound for Le Havre. On 19 February 1931, she flew to Lympne Airport, having flown about 19,000 miles (30,577 km). She was the first person to fly from England to Japan, the first to fly across the Yellow Sea, and the first woman to fly around the world alone (crossing the oceans by ship). The five-month journey had been marked by forced landings beside the Persian Gulf, also at San Diego and Baltimore, a near-abduction by brigands, and a forced landing in a southeast Asian jungle during the monsoon. On 20 February 1931, she was given an aerial escort by Amy Johnson, Winifred Spooner and others to Croydon Airport, where a reception of press and celebrities awaited her.^{[4]:102-149[9][10][11]}

Air-to-air refuelling

In July 1932, she purchased a Saro Windhover amphibious aircraft (G-ABJP), named it City of Portsmouth, and had the undercarriage temporarily removed. She also purchased a Bristol F.2 (G-ACXA), and had it converted as a refuelling tanker. During August 1932, over the Solent, she used the two aircraft in three failed attempts to break the world flight-refuelled endurance record. Her co-pilot was Flt Lt John B.W. Pugh AFC, later employed by Luxury Air Tours and Air Dispatch.^{[4]:150-156[9]}

Flying circus

In early 1933, she was invited to join the British Hospital Air Pageants flying circus, and purchased the sole Miles Satyr (G-ABVG) in the name of her company Luxury Air Tours Ltd, for use in aerobatic displays. She also purchased a Fairey Fox (G-ACAS) from a scrapyard for £2 10s, plus £10 for an engine, then had it modified at Hanworth Aerodrome for passenger-carrying duties. She then trained and qualified for her commercial pilot's 'B' licence. The Fox crashed in July 1933, and she left the flying circus.^[4]:157-164

Cape Town autogiro attempt

On 25 November 1934, she took off from Lympne Airport in a Cierva C.30A autogiro (G-ACVX), headed for Cape Town, in an attempt on the record for the longest autogiro flight, but the aircraft was damaged in France, and no further attempt followed.^[9]

Commercial aviation 1934 - 1939

De Havilland DH.84 Dragon (G-ACBW) of Air Dispatch, 1935. Published caption: "BEING ILL IN COMFORT: The Croydon demonstration of the D.H. Dragon which .... has been specially fitted up for permanent civil ambulance work by Air Dispatch Ltd."

On 7 August 1934, she founded Commercial Air Hire Ltd, that immediately started newspaper delivery flights between Croydon and Paris, using two DH.84 Dragons. In 1935, Air Dispatch Ltd, that she had founded on 9 July 1934, started operating weekend freight (later also passenger) services from its base at Croydon Airport to Le Touquet and Paris - Le Bourget Airport. In April 1935, Commercial Air Hire started passenger shuttle services between Croydon and Heston airports, under the name Inner Circle Air Lines, using GAL Monospar ST-4s. In 1935, Commercial Air Hire purchased an Avro 642 Eighteen 16-seat airliner (G-ACFV) for newspaper delivery contracts, and Air Dispatch shared its use for bullion-carrying, excursions, joy-riding flights and scheduled passenger services, until mid-1936.^{[4]:165-167[12]} She was co-managing director, with Eric E. Noddings, of both closely linked companies, that were merged in 1936 as Air Dispatch Ltd. During this period, the combined fleets of Air Dispatch and Commercial Air Hire, plus those of associated companies International Air Freight Ltd and Anglo European Airways, included GAL Monospar ST-4s, DH.84 Dragons, DH.89 Dragon Rapides, DH.90 Dragonflies, Airspeed AS.6 Envoys, plus other aircraft on lease, such as an Avro 618 Ten.^[11][13][14]

In late 1936, she sold two of the DH.84 Dragons for a large amount of cash to a mystery man, and they were covertly exported for use in the Spanish Civil War. From 1936, Commercial Air Hire operated many of its DH.84 Dragons on Territorial Army co-operation exercises under contract to the British Army, involving night flying and searchlights.^[4]:168-174

Show jumping

In about 1938, she renewed her childhood interest in horses, and purchased a show jumper named Grand Manner. She rode him in shows at Olympia and Windsor.^[4]:175-179

World War II

On the outbreak of war on 2 September 1939, her companies Commercial Air Hire Ltd and Air Dispatch Ltd moved with their fleets to Cardiff Municipal Airport, where, between September 1939 and April 1940, they operated under the control of National Air Communications.^[14] Subsequently, as part of the Civilian Repair Organisation, Air Dispatch rebuilt damaged RAF aircraft wings and whole aircraft at Cardiff, eventually employing about 700 people.^[4]:180-184

In 1945, the company attempted to return to commercial air services, but was thwarted by the dominance of the nationalised airlines: "So far only the more powerful of the independent operators have been approached, hoping that they will give away and so weaken our case," said the Hon. Mrs. Victor Bruce, of Air Dispatch. And somewhat dramatically she commented: "It is tantamount to going around with a cheque book and a hammer. I shall fight for our rights and independence to the end."^[15] Air Dispatch Ltd briefly manufactured bus bodies, but was finally wound up in 1946. Mrs Bruce's fortunes subsequently increased further via property investments.^[4]:184-187

Later life

In April 1974, at age 79, she test-drove a Ford Capri Ghia at 110 mph (176 km/h) at Thruxton circuit. At age 81, after a brief refresher course in flying, she "looped the loop" in a De Havilland Chipmunk. Mildred Bruce died in 1990, at age 94.^[1][4]:13-19

Books

• The Hon Mrs Victor A Bruce. 1927. Nine Thousand Miles in Eight Weeks - Being an Account of an Epic Journey by Motor-Car through Eleven Countries and Two Continents. Heath Cranston Limited.
• The Hon Mrs Victor A Bruce. 1928. The Woman Owner-Driver. Collection of 14 essays on motoring for women. Iliffe and Sons.
• The Hon Mrs Victor A Bruce. 1930. The Peregrinations of Penelope, with 40 drawings by Joyce Dennys. Heath Cranston Limited.
• The Hon Mrs Victor A Bruce. 1931. The Bluebird's Flight. Chapman & Hall Ltd. 1931.
• The Hon Mrs Victor A Bruce. 1977. Nine Lives Plus - Record Breaking on Land, Sea and in the Air: an autobiographical account. Pelham Books ISBN 0720709741

Other publications:

• The Hon Mrs Victor A Bruce. 1928. Where Evening Joins the Dawn. (An account of her drive north of the Arctic Circle). The Oxford Annual for Girls, Tenth Year. Humphrey Milford; Oxford University Press. p. 9ff.
• Mrs Victor Bruce. Motoring in the Arctic: An adventurous trip through Sweden and Finland into Lappland and the Arctic circle.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} General Register Office index of deaths registered in May 1990 - Name: Bruce, Mildred Mary Date of Birth:10 November 1895 District: Camden Volume: 14 Page: 1570.
2. ^ General Register Office index of births registered in January, February and March, 1896 - Name: Pete, Mildred Mary District: Chelmsford Volume: 4A Page: 509.
3. ^ Robinson (2001)
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q} Bruce (1977)
5. ^ Bouzanquet (2009), pp. 33-35
6. ^ Boddy (2007)
7. ^ The Manchester Guardian, June 7, 1929, p. 1
8. ^ The Observer, June 9, 1929, p. 15
9. ^ ^{a b c} Lewis (1970)
10. ^ Flight, 27 February 1931, pp. 182-184 flightglobal.com
11. ^ ^{a b} Cluett (1980)
12. ^ Monk, D.E. (April 1963). "The Avro Eighteen". Air-Britain's Aviation Review (Air-Britain) 0 (1): 4-5
13. ^ Sherwood, Tim (1999)
14. ^ ^{a b} Havers (1996)
15. ^ Flight, 29 March 1945, p. 346

References

• Boddy, William. 2007. Montlhéry: The Story of the Paris Autodrome ISBN 1845840526
• Bouzanquet, Jean Francois. 2009. Fast Ladies: Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970 ISBN 1845842251
• Cluett, Douglas; Nash, Joanna; Learmonth, Bob. 1980. Croydon Airport 1928 - 1939, The Great Days. London Borough of Sutton ISBN 0-9503224-8-2
• Havers, John. 1996. National Air Communications September 1939 - April 1940. Air-Britain Digest (journal) Winter 1996.
• Lewis, Peter. 1970. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. Putnam ISBN 0370000676
• Robinson, Jane. 2001. Wayward Women: A Guide to Women Travellers. OUP ISBN 019280233X
• Sherwood, Tim. 1999. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911-1946. Heritage Publications (Hounslow Library) ISBN 1899144307

External links

• The Hon Mrs Victor Bruce at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Bruce, Mildred
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	10 November 1895
Place of birth	Chelmsford, Essex, England
Date of death	21 May 1990
Place of death	Camden, London, England