Donald & Malcolm Campbell

DONALD and MALCOLM CAMPBELL. Legendary father and son land and water speed record pioneers using cars and boats named Bluebird from the 1920s through to Donalds death in 1967. 

1) SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL d1948. Internationally famous English speed record pioneer (father of Donald) who began the legendary Bluebird speed-dynasty racing cars at Brooklands in 1910. He broke nine land-speed records between 1924 (146mph) and 1935, becoming the first man ever to break the 300mph barrier. He also broke the water-speed record four times (the last one in Bluebird K4 at Coniston in 1939). He died at his home in Surrey aged 63 in 1948 after a long illness. One of a very few speed pioneers of his era to die of natural causes.

2) DONALD CAMPBELL d1967. British speed pioneer and son of Sir Malcolm who carried on with The Bluebird Dynasty after the death of his father in 1948 with chief engineer Leo Villa. He broke eight world speed records during the 1950-1960s and became the only person ever to simultaneously hold both the water and land-speed records in 1964. He set seven water speed records in Bluebird K4 and K7 between 1955-1964 and then achieved a new land-speed record at Lake Eyre on July 17th 1964 at 403mph. A superstitious man who battled for much of his life supposedly in the shadow of his father. He was tragically killed aged 45 on January 4th 1967 on Coniston Water when Bluebird famously flipped and disintegrated at a speed in excess of 300mph. This was most likely caused by him too soon hurriedly undertaking his return pass (in order to break the record) and hitting his own water-wake. His lucky teddy-bear mascot Mr Whoppit (which he took with him on all record attempts) was found floating on the surface soon after the accident. Mr Whoppit returned to Coniston with daughter Gina to attend the funeral of Donald Campbell in 2001 after his body was recovered from the lake and finally laid to rest in the local cemetery. The wreckage of Bluebird was also recovered from the lake in 2001 and is currently undergoing a full restoration .........