Sir Malcolm Campbell
| Sir Malcolm Campbell | |
|---|---|
Sir Malcolm Campbell circa 1935
|
|
| Born |
11 March 1885 Chislehurst, Kent, England |
| Died | 31 December 1948 (aged 63) Reigate, Surrey, England |
| Resting place | St Nicholas Church, Chislehurst, Kent, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Uppingham School |
| Occupation | Racing motorist, journalist |
| Spouse(s) | Marjorie Dagmar Knott (1913-1915) Dorothy Evelyn Whittall (1920-1940) Betty Nicory (1945-his death) |
| Children |
Donald Campbell (1921–1967) Jean Campbell (1923–2007) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1914-1945 |
| Rank | Major |
| Service number | 86891 |
| Unit | Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment |
Major Sir Malcolm Campbell MBE (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird, including a 1921 Grand Prix Sunbeam. His son, Donald Campbell, carried on the family tradition by holding both land speed and water speed records.
Malcolm Campbell was born in Chislehurst, Kent on 11 March 1885, the only son of William Campbell, a Hatton Garden diamond seller. He attended the independent Uppingham School. In Germany, learning the diamond trade, he gained an interest in motorbikes and races. Returning to Britain, he worked for two years at Lloyd's of London for no pay, then for another year at £1 a week.
Between 1906 and 1908, he won all three London to Lakes End Trials motorcycle races. In 1910 he began racing cars at Brooklands. He christened his car Blue Bird, painting it blue, after seeing the play The Blue Bird by Maurice Maeterlinck at the Haymarket Theatre. Campbell married Marjorie Dagmar Knott in 1913 but divorced two years later.
Campbell then married Dorothy Evelyn Whittall in 1920 and their son Donald was born in 1921, and their daughter, Jean, in 1923. They divorced in 1940. Campbell married Betty Nicory in 1945 in Chelsea.
At the outbreak of World War I Campbell initially enlisted as a motorcycle dispatch rider and fought at the Battle of Mons in August 1914. Shortly afterwards he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), a Territorial Force unit, on 2 September 1914. He was soon drafted into the Royal Flying Corps where he served as a ferry pilot as his instructors believed he was too clumsy to make the grade as a fighter pilot.
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