British Landspeed Record Holders

1) SIR MALCOLM CAMPBELL (1885-1948). 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 landspeed records between 1924 (146mph) and 1935 , becoming the first man ever to break the 300mph barrier. He also broke the world waterspeed 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 the very few speed pioneers of his era to die of natural causes. A clearly signed 1930s vintage autograph book page in ink.

2) SIR HENRY SEGRAVE autograph d1930. British motor-racing speed record hero, famous for being the first man ever to exceed 200mph and the first Briton to win a Grand Prix in a British car in France (1923). He went on to set three official Land Speed Records along with the water speed record combined in 1930 ; 1926 Sunbeam (174 mph) / 1927 Sunbeam (203 mph) and finally in March 1929 (231 mph) in the notably beautiful "Golden Arrow" car, which was to never again turn a wheel. Henry Segrave was knighted in 1929 for his motorsport achievements. On Friday 13th June 1930, driving his famous speed-boat  Miss England 2 on Lake Windermere, he made an attempt on the World Water Speed Record ; on the return pass his boat hit wood debris and captised. Following this accident Henry Segrave only regained conciousness for a short time in the hospital and was told that he had indeed still broken the water-speed record ; sadly to die very soon after of his injuries. Fellow speed pioneer Kaye Don later went on to twice break the water speed record in the restored Miss England during the 1930s. A clearly signed vintage autograph book page dated April 12th 1929 in ink.

3) KAYE DON (1891-1981) Following the death of Henry Segrave his record breaking speed boat Miss England 2 was salvaged and repaired . In this and the subsequent Miss England 3 , Kaye Don raised the water speed record to 119mph in 1931 and 32. He also broke many landspeed records at Brooklands in his famous Sunbeam Silver Bullet and Tigress. His racing career ended unfortunately in 1934 in The Isle of Man with an accident in which his mechanic was killed. Following this incident he spent 6 months in prison on a charge of manslaughter. A clearly signed vintage autograph book page dated Sept 1931 in ink.

4) GEORGE EYSTON (1897-1979). Captain George E T Eyston MC OBE , speed pioneer who broke more records than any other driver between 1926 and 1954. He broke the landspeed record three times between 1937 and 1939 , enjoying a friendly rivalry with John Cobb. He set his fastest mark of 357mph in the famous "Thunderbolt" car on 16th September 1938 at Utah. He later became an engineer / inventor and competitions manager for Castrol Oil. A very desirable clearly signed vintage autograph book page dated 1938 in ink whilst he was actually the holder of the landspeed record.

5) JOHN COBB (1899-1952). The first man to exceed 400mph on land and 200mph on water. Born in Surrey his success in business as a fur broker allowed him to fund his high profile motorsport aspirations. He broke the land speed record at Bonneville in The Railton Special in 1939 at 367mph  then raised this to 394 mph in 1947 ; a record that stood until the era of the jet car in 1963. He died whilst attempting the water speed record at Lochness on September 29th 1952 in his jet boat Crusader. Awarded The Queens Commendation for Gallantry in 1953 for services to speed records. A clear ink signature (5x2.5cm) cut from a page of newsprint laid down onto an autograph book page.

6) DONALD CAMPBELL (1921-1967). Son of Sir Malcolm who carried on The Bluebird Dynasty after the death of his father in 1948. He broke eight world speed records during the 1950s and 1960s and became the only person ever to simultaneously hold the water and landspeed records in 1964. He set seven water speed records in Bluebird K4 and K7 between 1955 and 1964. He set the landspeed 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 killed on 4th January 1967 on Coniston Water when Bluebird famously flipped and disintegrated at a speed in excess of 300mph due probably to Campbell hurriedly undertaking his return journey too soon and hitting his own wake. The wreckage of Bluebird was recovered from the lake in 2001 to undergo restoration ; Campbells body was recovered a few months later and finally laid to rest in Coniston Cemetery. A clearly signed original 1950s Cunard QE2 publicity postcard in ink by Donald Campbell.

7) RICHARD NOBLE OBE b1946. Holder of the landspeed record at 633mph between 1983-1997 in his Thrust 2 car. He then became the project manager for Andy Greens ThrustSSC which took the record from him in 1997. A clearly signed card in ballpoint.

8) ANDY GREEN OBE b1962 . RAF wing commander and current holder of the World Landspeed record for both fuel and diesel. The first man to break the sound barrier at Mach 1.02 at 763 MPH on October 15th 1997 in ThrustSSC at Black Rock Desert Utah. A clearly signed card in black ink pen adding the speed 763mph.

An outstanding piece and an absolute treasure for a serious speed record collector