Harry Hawker
| Harry George Hawker | |
|---|---|
Hawker in May 1919
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| Born |
22 January 1889 Moorabbin, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 12 July 1921 (aged 32) Hendon Aerodrome, North London |
| Cause of death | Aircraft crash |
| Resting place | St Pauls' Church, Chessington, Surrey |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Aviator |
| Known for | co-founder of Hawker Aircraft |
| Spouse(s) | Muriel Peaty, 1917 |
| Awards | MBE, AFC |
Harry George Hawker MBE, AFC (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921) was an Australian aviation pioneer. He was the chief test pilot for Sopwith and was also involved in the design of many of their aircraft. After World War One he co-founded Hawker Aircraft, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft. He died on 12 July 1921 when the aircraft he was to fly in the Aerial Derby crashed at Hendon Aerodrome.
Hawker was born on 22 January 1889 at Moorabbin, Victoria in Australia, the second son of George Hawker, a blacksmith, and Mary Ann Gilliard Anderson. As an 11-year-old, he worked at the Melbourne garage of Hall & Warden, helping to build engines for five shillings a week, moving on to the Tarrant Motor & Engineering Co, helping make Tarrant cars, where he qualified as a mechanic. In 1907, he moved again to become the chauffeur and mechanic for Ernest De Little in Caramut, Western Victoria. In 1910 he travelled to Diggers Rest, north-west of Melbourne, to see the first public demonstrations of powered flight made in Australia, and decided to go to England to become involved in aviation, arriving in May 1911.
On 14 November 1917 Hawker married Muriel Alice Peaty at St Peter's Church, Ealing.
In England Hawker obtained a job with the Commer Car Company, moving to the Mercedes company in January 1912 and then to Austro Daimler. During this time he spent much of his spare time at Brooklands, then the hub of British aviation, and in June 1912 he got a job as a mechanic for the Sopwith Aviation Company.
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