Samuel Instone

Infobox Person
name = Samuel Instone


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birth_date = 1878
birth_place = Gravesend,England
death_date = 1937 ["Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy" By Dan Rottenberg pp249 ISBN 978-0806311517]
death_place =
occupation = Business
spouse = Lady Alice Maud Liebman Instone
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Sir Samuel Instone (1878 – 1937) was a shipping and aviation entrepreneur and the founder of the Instone Air Line. Born in Gravesend, Kent, he came to Cardiff in Wales in 1908 to work for a shipping company as a manager. With his brother, Theodore Instone, he went into business as a coal factor in 1908, and in 1914 bought the ship, Collivaud from Morels. After World War I, the brothers owned ten vessels shipping coal from the South Wales valleys. It was during this period that Samuel diversified into coal mining with the acquisition of the Bedwas colliery. [ [http://www.bedwascolliery.co.uk/History.html Bedwas Navigation Colliery - A Brief History ] ]

In 1919 Instone Air Line was set up by Samuel along with another brother Alfred, and started an air route from Cardiff to Paris [ [http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/inst.htm Instone Air Line ] ] . Due to the depression of the 1920's Samuel saw his shipping interests wane, and by 1925 the last of his ships were sold.

In 1921 Samuel was knighted [ [http://www.brijnet.org/centralsyn/shul_history.shtml Central Synagogue - London, UK ] ] , and as Sir Samuel Instone he represented the Chamber of Shipping at Air Conferences in England and the International Chamber of Commerce at the League of Nations, Geneva. ["1933 Colliery Year Book and Coal Trades Directory"]

Points of interest

On August 19, 1920, Sir Samuel Instone had a telephone conversation from his home in London to a passenger on a flight destined for Paris. This call to a Vickers aeroplane is thought to be the first telephone call to an inflight aircraft.

Samuel Instone and his brother Theodore once offered to hire Harry Grindell Matthews in order to keep his reported Death Ray in the UK. [ [http://www.forteantimes.com/features/profiles/193/grindell_death_ray_matthews.html Grindell 'Death Ray' Matthews | Profiles | Features | Fortean Times UK ] ]

In 1922 Frank Barnard, chief pilot of Instone Air Line won the first King's Cup Race. Sir Instone on a visit to Bedwas Colliery brought with him the trophey and it was allowed to be displayed in one of the local shop's window. [ [http://www.airrace.com/ConciseHist.htm Concise History ] ] [ [http://www.rugbyinwales.co.uk/Bedwas/index.htm Rugby In Wales -Bedwas RFC ] ]

References

*http://www.angelfire.com/de/BobSanders/SHIPCO.html