Sydney Camm

Sydney Camm
Sydney Camm at Windsor Model Aeroplane Club, c. 1915 with "twin-pusher" style free flight model
Born	5 August 1893 Windsor
Died	12 March 1966 (aged 72) Richmond, London
Nationality	British
Education	Royal Free School, Windsor
Spouse(s)	Hilda Rose Starnes
Children	1 daughter
Parent(s)	Frederick Camm, Mary Smith
Engineering career
Discipline	Aeronautics
Institutions	RAeS
Employer(s)	Hawker Siddeley
Significant design	Hawker Hurricane, Hawker Hunter
Significant advance	Hawker Siddeley P.1127
Awards	British Gold Medal for Aeronautics (1949), RAeS Gold Medal (1958), Daniel Guggenheim Medal (1965), International Hall of Aerospace Fame (1984)

Sir Sydney Camm, CBE, FRAeS (5 August 1893 – 12 March 1966) was an English aeronautical engineer who contributed to many Hawker aircraft designs, from the biplanes of the 1920s to jet fighters. One particularly notable aircraft he designed is the Hawker Hurricane fighter.

Sydney Camm was born at 10 Alma Road in Windsor, Berkshire, the eldest child of the twelve children of Frederick Camm, a carpenter/joiner and Mary Smith. The Camm family lived near Windsor & Eton Central railway station. His brother Frederick James Camm became a technical author, and created the Practical Wireless magazine.

In 1901 he began attending the Royal Free School on Bachelors Acre in Windsor (The Royal Free school became the Royal Free Middle School with the secondary school becoming the Princess Margaret Royal Free School on Bourne Avenue). In 1906 he was granted a Foundation Scholarship. In 1908 Camm left school to become an apprentice carpenter.

Camm developed an interest in aeronautics. Camm and his brothers began building model aircraft which they supplied to Herberts' Eton High Street shop. After finding that they could obtain a higher price they began making direct sales to boys at Eton College, which were delivered in secret to avoid attracting the attention of Herbert's and the school authorities.

These activities led him to being one of the founders of the Windsor Model Aeroplane Club in early 1912. His accomplishments as a model aeroplane builder culminated in a man-carrying glider which he and others at the club built in 1912.

Shortly before the start of the World War I Camm obtained a position as a shop-floor carpenter at the Martinsyde aircraft company which was located at the Brooklands racing circuit in Weybridge, Surrey. His ability soon led to his being promoted to the drawing office, where he spent the war period. After the company went into liquidation in 1921, Camm was employed by George Handasyde, who had created his own aircraft manufacturing company, which was responsible for the creation of the Handasyde Monoplane.