Herbert Carmichael Irwin
| Herbert Irwin | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Herbert Carmichael Irwin |
| Born | 26 June 1894 |
| Died | 5 October 1930 (aged 36) Beauvais, France |
| Cause of death | R101 crash |
| Resting place | St Mary's Church, Cardington, Bedfordshire |
| Spouse | Olivia Teacher |
| Aviation career | |
| Known for | Airship commander; also Olympic athlete |
| Air force | RNAS, RAF |
| Battles | First World War |
| Rank | Flight Lieutenant |
| Awards | AFC |
Flight Lieutenant Herbert Carmichael "Bird" Irwin, AFC (26 June 1894 – 5 October 1930) was an Irish aviator and Olympic athlete.
During World War I, Irwin served in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), where he commanded non-rigid airships. After the Great War, the "tall sensitive Irishman" commanded larger rigid airships, initially for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and later on secondment to the (civilian) Royal Airship Works as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme.
Both before and after WWI, Irwin also had a successful career as a middle- and long-distance and cross-country runner, and he represented Great Britain at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.
Irwin's aviation career culminated in his command of the airship R101, the largest airship in the world at the time; he was killed along with another 47 people when it crashed in northern France on a flight from Britain to India.
Herbert Carmichael Irwin was born in Dundrum, County Dublin, on 26 June 1894, the second of four sons born to Thomas Frederick Irwin, a solicitor, and his wife Elinor Emily Lindsay Carroll, a daughter of the rector of Dundrum. He was baptised in Taney Parish on 1 August. Irwin's father and two uncles, Herbert Irwin and Major General Sir James Murray Irwin, were noted members of the Dublin University Rowing Club, and one of his grandmothers was a sister of Major-General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes. His godfather was Sir Thomas Myles, a well-known Dublin surgeon, Home Rule campaigner and, later, gunrunner for the Irish Volunteers.
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