Born on Saturday 15 July, 1893 Frederick Phillip Raynham's in Manor House Farm, Honington, Suffolk, a town close to the border with Norfolk and 7 miles north-east of Bury St Edmunds; a copy of his birth certificate is shown below. [1]  He was the second child of James Kistruck Raynham [2] , a farmer at Hessett, Bury St Edmunds who married Minnie Phillips in 1889. Also born at the farm was his sister Bertha, the farm was rented by their father James Kistruck Raynham from the Duke of Grafton, at Euston Hall [3] after he married Minnie in 1889.

The rent was ?200 per annum, about ?13,000 in today's money.

Freddie or Fred, as he was known was born in the final years of Queen Victoria's reign, the Labour Party was founded and the very first movie film was shown; [4] man's desire to fly would be another 10 years away. Why his father was farming at Honington is not known at present, whether the on-going problems associated with tuberculosis was a catalyst; certainly his father had experienced the deaths of his younger sisters from the disease during the 1870s and 1880s.

Whatever the reasons they moved to Shrubbery Farm, Hessett after the death of his mother in 1892 who was renting the farm. The move was on Thursday 5 October 1893 using the services of Pendred's of Bury St Edmunds, at a cost of ?20 18s 0d, around ?1400 today. Shrubbery Farm was rented from the Trustees of Thomas Harcourt Powell and the rent was ?175 per annum, about ?12,000 today. The form of tenure was possibly the one used under an old system known as copyhold tenure. [5]

Minnie and the children moved to 270 Woodbridge Road, Ipswich on Monday 12 October 1896 and lived there for two years. In September 1898 they moved to The Woodlands, Edith Road, Ramsgate Kent. About 1899 they moved to Banbury, to be near Minnie's aunt, a maiden lady called Susan Phillips, who had helped to bring up Minnie and her sisters when their mother had died when Minnie was only 12 years of age.

The children went to school in Banbury, Fred was briefly at L.C.S in Leamington Spa in 1905. [6]  However Fred did not like it, and he moved to Ark House School in Banbury in 1906, where he received Ballantyne's "Coral Island" as a scripture prize.

The family has not been located in the 1901 census [7] and by this time some of Frederick's uncles had left England for South Africa.

Life at the turn of the 19^th century in Suffolk would have not change significantly from that known by Freddie's grandfather, still a deeply rural county with more than 500 villages and many small market towns. 20^th century life was toil with farming barley profitable and its workforce shrinking, shops closing and craftsmen giving up their trades.

At some time during his informative years Fred may have developed an interest in aviation with man's first flight [8] in 1903 Fred may have dreamed of becoming an aviator. From May to July 1909, Fred was employed in the office of Harper Adams Agricultural College, Newport, Shropshire, where he learned to type. However in October of that year he received a letter from Mr J.E.Neale at Brooklands, arranging to employ Fred, and a reference to him learning to fly. A premium was paid and he travelled abroad with him to Paris and Nice. He appears to have been assisting Mr Neale in developing a monoplane.

However, on Saturday 18 Febuary 1911 his new employer did a moon light flit, but by the Monday week on the 27 February, Fred was taken on by A.V.Roe & Co, with Fred getting 20 minutes practice flying for a weeks work. This was equivalent to ?2 per week, about ?124 in today's money. On Tuesday 9 May 1911 he got his pilots licence, No 85, a few months before his 18^th birthday. It would seem his instructor was Alliott Vernon Roe [9] , a marine engineer he was also a pioneer aviator, aircraft designer and builder. Also learning to fly at the Avro school was Ronald Kemp, with whom Fred was later to form a long association.

The way of learning to fly in those days were to go up as a passenger and lean over the pilots shoulder to get the feel of the "stick", and then go on your own! Dual control planes were introduced soon after this time. To take a certificate a candidate had to do two long distance flights of at least 5 kilometres, each in a closed circuit marked out by two posts not more than 500 metres apart, going round in a figure of eight. One altitude flight of at least 50 metres, landing each time within 50 metres with the engine stopped.

We have the benefit of some of the extracts from his letters that he had sent home [10] describing his early Brooklands experiences.

He wrote on the Tuesday 11 April 1911: 
" the first time this evening, and Pixton did a circuit and a new pupil, a naval man, who is only down for a week, did some rollong and a few good hops. I have given up all idea of going out before Monday now, as I do not wish to increase the chance of a smash....Today the machine has landed in the sewage farm with a new pupil. The machine turned over but suffered very little so it will make no difference to my arrangements. The sewage was in a liquid state and we got in a frightful mess. I have just got back and had a bath and changed and Mrs Winmill (his landlady) is tackling the clothes."

Wednesday 3 May 1911:
"Early on Monday morning I had a ripping passenger flight with Pixton up to 300ft, right outside the tracks and golf links. The sensation is really grand, quite out of comparison with anything else. The vol planes are something like a prolonged scenic railway dip and are by far the nicest part. Immediately after this I had 20 mins on my own. It was not long before I was off the ground and at the end I was doing some fairly steady straight flights. The only thing I had any difficulty about was not being able to tell how far away the ground is. If you move the wheel a wee bit too far forward the ground fairly jumps at you, and if you do the opposite you begin to wonder how you are ever going to get back again. I never really bumped hard once though. I don't think I ought to have any difficulty in getting my ticket after 3 or 4 more practices. The entrance fee is ?1 to cover the cost of observers coming down".

Friday 5 May 1911:
"You will be glad to hear I have got on famously. I went out this morning for,the third time and did circuits and figures eight at 400 feet. It is simply ripping. The engine stopped once when I was at 150 but I did a vol plane and got down just inside the circuit, but only just....1 feel quite ready to go for my ticket any time now if it is decently calm but want a bit more practice if I go for it in a wind. I am sending up to the Aero Club by the same post as this".

With the confidence of youth, Fred was immediately planning to take up passengers and to earn some money in competitions, as up to now he had still been supported by his mother.

Freddie was described as a skilful pilot [11] and learnt to fly at Brooklands, he was to A V Roe [12]

A Mr Latham took off in his Antoinette monoplane at 4.53 pm and whilst attempting a very sharp turn the wing tip touched one corner of a shed roof and ended up securely wedged on the wooden roof. It would appear that Mr Latham life was saved by the use of a seat belt.

Fred piloting a Henry or Henri as he called himself Farman biplane [13] , see below for a typical example and won the contest in a time of 61 minutes 47 seconds. The prize money available on the day was ?70, of which Fred won ?50, in today's money this first prize is worth in excess of ?3000. [14]

Sometime during 1911, whilst flying in cloud from Brooklands to Hendon to compete in the British Empire Michelin Cup No. 2 in an Avro biplane, see scaled model below when it stalled while climbing through fog. The stall occurred after he stooped to adjust his compass as he thought that it was malfunctioning; the next he knew was that he was standing upright on the rudder pedals with his aeroplane whirling round.

Quite how he recovered the situation is not known, for Fred his only recollection was that he pulled back on the stick and was able to perform a controlled landing. This aviation incident was probably the first time in the world that a pilot survived a spin; it was the subject of an entry in one of the Guinness Book of Records. [15]

Such were those pioneering times Fred became instructor and manager of the Avro school by 1912, at the grand age 19 years. He continued to race with an attempt to win the British record for longest time in the air, he was narrowly beaten on Thursday 24 October 1912 by Harry Hawker who captured the record with a flight lasting 8 hours 23 minutes. Fred's engine had suffered oil failure after 7 hours 30 minutes.

This was but one of the many occasions when he was robbed of certain victory and it was cleat that he was one of Britain's leading pilots.

It was one year later that we next here of Fred's exploit in a plane; he was one of eleven who were participating in an aeroplane race known as the Daily Mail sponsored "Aerial Derby". The race consisted of a 94.5-mile course around London, from Hendon and back with prizes consisting of a gold cup with a value of 100 guineas and a cash prize of ?50.

As the race was reported in The Times on the 22 September 1913, it is assumed that that the event had taken place the day before on Sunday the 21^st. The flying conditions were excellent with a huge crowd at the Hendon aerodrome, with an estimated attendance of 25,000, with a further 20,000 on the Epson Downs.

The race commenced at 4.0 pm with Fred listed as F P Raynham piloting a 80 hp Gnome, Avro biplane, also in the race was Harry Hawker in a Gnome, Sopwith; he would be racing against Fred in the attempt to fly the Atlantic in 1919.

The course had turning points at Kempton Park, Epsom Racecourse, West Thurrock in Essex, Epping and Hertford. Nine competitors completed the race, at Epsom Fred was leading by 30 seconds and at West Thurrock he was still in the lead.

The winner was Gustav Hamel flying his Gnome, Morant-Saulnier having landed at 5.26 pm to a loud applause, second was H Barnwell one minute behind and two minutes later Fred landed, having come in third.

The combined first prize would be worth over ?9250 in today's money.

By coincidence the airman and aircraft constructor Henri Farman, one of whose planes Fred was piloting was himself involved in a crash on the evening of the 21 September 1913. His passenger, his wife suffered severe injuries while the plane was doing a spiral descent from a height of 150 feet at the Etampes Aerodrome in France.

Around this time in September 1913, whilst on his way to a race in Yorkshire, Fred landed his plane in a field at Long Buckby, Northamptonshire in order to visit his aunt and uncle, Alice and George Tebbitt. This event proved very memorable in the village, no doubt was possibly the highlight of the year for the villagers.

Following a short delay, because of rain the Hendon to Brighton Air Race started at 12.30 pm on Saturday 8 November 1913 in bright sunshine. A handful of spectators were present with nine of the eleven machines starting, these included Fred Raynham in an 80hp Gnome, Avro tractor biplane and Gustav Hamel.

As this was a handicap race, Fred was seventh to start with a 15 minute and 10 second handicap. At Horley Fred came down, only five who started arrived at the Palace Pier, Brighton with the race winner being Pierre Verrier in a 70hp Renault, Maurice Farman biplane. He arrived at 4.36 pm with Hamel some four minutes later.

Fred Raynham set a new British altitude record at Brooklands by climbing to a height of 15,000 feet, having previously set out from Hendon Aerodrome he flew back in the direction of Hendon and covered 21 miles with his engine stopped.

The record was achieved on Wednesday 4 February 1914; the previous record was 12,000 feet set by Harry Hawker, with a passenger the previous June.

It would appear that Fred Raynham was test pilot and certainly he was one of a number of freelance pilots that were available to companies and the RAF. [16]  One of the planes that he flew was the Handley Page 31 and was a prominent test pilot during the inter-wars years. [17]

Throughout World War One Fred devoted himself to test flying, with contemporary reports in flight Magazine observing in 1915 of his delivery of an Avro and then testing of a Martinsyde and then on to putting a Hewlett and Blondeau through its paces. In 1916 was a year of recorded test incidents, with a crash landing of a Avro Pike which suffered weight problems and a more serious structural failure of a Martinsyde. The tail broke off whist looping over Brooklands, the plane crashed and was completely wrecked but Fred came out alive and was flying soo after.

For Suffolk, Freddie's home county the men were flocking to the flag with patriotic enthusiasm thousands left only to be killed and wounded at the carnage on the battlefields of France. In one Suffolk village of Carlton Colville one family lost all three sons and another man who had been wounded three times survived. [18]  Towns and villages around Suffolk were subjected to a bombardment by the German Navy on Lowestoft and by Zeppelins in 1916 with German seaplanes in 1917.

When the war was over in 1918 preparations were made for the attempt to fly the Atlantic, these would have been extensive and the first reference to Fred was in a report published on Tuesday 25 March 1919. [19]

The Martinsyde Aeroplane Company of Woking and Brooklands had allowed a representative from The Times to inspect the machine that the company were hoping to complete the crossing. The reporter also spoke to pilot, Mr F Raynham and its navigator Captain C W F Morgan RAF, late of the Royal Navy.

The plane was named the Raymor, which apparently is a combination of Ray (nham) and Mor (gan) having been built by the company especially for the attempt. The plane's petrol tank could hold 370 gallons of fuel sufficient for a flight of 25 hours at an average speed of 100 miles per hour.

Powered by a single 285 hp Falcon - Rolls engine this would propel the 25-foot long by 41-foot wing span two-seater plane. The plane was fitted with instruments to record speed, height and direction, others were fitted but were secret and no information was available as to there use. Trial test flights had confirmed the air-worthiness of the machine.

Captain Morgan has been making plans for the flight for many months and was reported as being very enthusiastic for the venture and was impressed with the keenness of the people of Newfoundland for the Atlantic flight. The start was to be from Newfoundland and he felt that the flight can be made and had little to fear from the weather.

The Daily Mail had offered ?10,000 prize for the first to fly the Atlantic, in today's money this is worth ?270,000, the Royal Aero Club announced on the 26 March 1919 that the first attempt would probably be made early in May.

At this point it is worth reflecting that the official and technical view was that any attempt to cross the Atlantic was considered impossible. All the available evidence supported this; the most powerful engines were only 400 hp, aircraft were generally fragile biplanes with speeds of 100 mph, open cockpits and a range of 600 miles. Navigation was at the railway-line-following stage with dependence upon painted roofs and pointers constructed on beaches, hardly the sort thing found in the middle of the Atlantic.

If this was not enough for those Brits attempting the flight had to contend with an apathetic British Government who hardly lifted a finger in the race across the Atlantic. [20]  The effort to cross the Atlantic was left to British individuals and aircraft manufacturers with the likes of Fred, Captain Morgan, Harry Hawker and Commander Grieve.

It was reported in the Saturday 12 April 1919 edition of The Times that other competitors in the race to cross the Atlantic included a Sopwith Rolls-Royce, as yet un-named United States plane and a Short Rolls-Royce machine which was still to set out for America.

The Martinsyde machine arrived in Newfoundland on the morning of Friday 11 April 1919 on board the steamer Sachem, along with "Major" Morgan and Lieutenant Raynham. The use of a rank to describe Fred may have been a mistake as this is the only time in all the reports noted that he was ever given this title.

The Sopwith aeroplane had already arrived, the pilot Harry Hawker made a trial flight on Thursday 10 April and was ready to go, only waiting for a suitable piece of ground and weather to make the attempt. The Martinsyde would be flying from an airfield at Quidi Vidi, a mile from the city of St Johns. The photo below is of St. Johns' Harbour taken from Signal Hill, the location where Marconi received the first Trans Atlantic wireless message.

The two British plane crews were staying at the Cochrane Hotel at St Johns. They appeared to be having an hilarious time watching each other like hawks so that no pulled a fast one, playing pranks on each other and dashing all over Newfoundland trying to find a few hundred yards of level ground that did not have too many rooks and fir trees on it.

This contrasted with the Americans who were proceeding with a massive campaign to conquer the Atlantic sky, including a "bridge" of 68 destroyers between Newfoundland and the Azores to act as pathfinders for the American seaplanes. [21]

However the Marconi Company who came forward ensure that a wireless message would be sent direct to the Martinsyde Company notifying them the exact time their plane provided one small assistance left Newfoundland.

Another contestant in the race was a giant Handley Page biplane with four Rolls -Royce engines that had been packed for shipment to Newfoundland and were planning for a start around the middle of May.

At this stage of the preparations no one pilot or navigator had given any details of their flight plans and preparations in regards emergencies that may be encountered on the flight. However it would appear that the two competing parties, the Martinsyde and Sopwith were discussing the best flight options. Depending upon the engines each machine would fly at the most economical height, which would be between 6,000 and 10,000 feet.

It was clear that the two opposing parties had approached the attempt using different strategies. Unlike the Sopwith, the Martinsyde did not carry a boat, had no detachable under-carriage or special "gadgets" as they are known in flying circles. In addition Fred and his navigator would be carrying no special foods and would wear ordinary flying kits with electrically heated gloves and boot soles, with life saving waistcoats.

The race to be the first to fly away from Newfoundland was between the Fred and his Martinsyde and the Sopwith of Harry Hawker. The waterlogged conditions continued to prevent any attempt by the Hawker party and Fred's party were meeting some un-expected difficulty in assembling the Martinsyde. Fred was reported on Monday 14 April 1919 as saying that his machine, although smaller than the Sopwith was indeed faster. However he was unable to forecast when he would fly.

The following day Fred was proposing to make his first trial flight on the 16^th, however if the weather conditions were favourable it would be tempting to dispense with the trial and start at once. The delays to the Sopwith had now resulted in the increase possibility of a race between the two planes.

Although clearly competitors Harry Hawker and Fred Raynham were approaching the contest in a thoroughly sporting spirit, they were staying in the same hotel and were on friendly terms. Some examples of this was the agreement that the first away would carry the mail bag and when at one time it looked that the Martinsyde was too large for the aerodrome at Quidi Vidi Harry Hawker offered the facilities at the Sopwith field.

The prospect of flight was not possible in the foreseeable future, snow was falling at St Johns on the 16 April 1919, it was however announced that the airship R33 would be ready for an Atlantic flight on the 28 April.

Readers of The Times were now receiving technical data relating to the two rival aircraft, analysis of this data clearly showed that the Martinsyde was faster at 117 mph at an altitude of 10,000 feet, but has three hours less endurance at 27 hours compared with the Sopwith. The Sopwith's total weight was 3,320 lbs compared with the Martinsyde's 3,250 lbs.

Thursday 17 April 1919 brought a fine and sunny day to St Johns but the weather over the Atlantic was apparently very unfavourable. Fred managed to take his machine on a 30-minute morning flight and was well pleased with its behaviour and equipment and he was ready to set off. With every chance that an attempt would be made shortly the banter between the pilots was apparent, with odds offered of 5 to 1 against Harry Hawker and 8 to 1 against Fred. Both pilots have laid bets at these odds, each backing his opponent as well as himself, however the bets were as to which gets across, not who arrives first.

Observers would be able to distinguish between the two machines, should they catch a glimpse of the them at low altitude, the Martinsyde has a red body and tail, while the Sopwith has a fat body and no under carriage. A start on the flight was now looking doubtful for the remainder of April.

With so much time on there hands the navigators spent time in the Meteorological Office studying weather reports, Fred took the opportunity to test the Rolls engine, which had developed some radiator trouble. The Quidi Vidi ground was drying rapidly and would present no difficulties in regards to a successful take-off and landing, great crowds were congregating at the aerodrome in the hope of witnessing a possible flight.

A rare photo of Freddie with his navigator Captain Morgan was taken at the Quidi Vidi airfield, see below.

The Mount Pearl ground, where the Sopwith machine was located, was in a worst condition, but Harry Hawker was not concerned as he was preoccupied by the weather conditions.

The delay for the Sopwith crew allowed the fitting of a small wireless sending equipment; with a range of 25 miles, this would allow the Sopwith position to be broadcast to any shipping within close range. Fred machine would be flying without any such assistance. Interest in the flight had reached Australia where the Federal government had put up a prize of ?10,000 for a Britain - Australia flight.

Tension was now very acute amongst the two competing parties, with no start in sight they each agreed that they came out to Newfoundland much too early. Each pleaded that the other party was trying to steal a march and get away first with all the kudos which success in that case would mean.

The wireless installed by the Sopwith team was proving unsatisfactory and may have to be removed, what was interesting was the reasoning behind the decision of the Martinsyde team not to have similar equipment fitted. They intended to disregard any attempt to adopt any appliance, which may lessen their will power and induce them to summon help from passing ships in an emergency that otherwise they might overcome.

Fred on the Thursday 24 April was described as having a sunny disposition, although he had been pessimistic the day before because of the delays. Matters were not helped by a message from the British Air Ministry asking why the two parties had failed to start the flight. It would appear that the report in England indicated favourable weather, whereas the reports received at Newfoundland from ships at sea announced conflicting winds, making the start inadvisable.

By the end of April 1919 both Fred and Harry Hawker were showing concern over the criticisms that they were receiving from the Air Ministry and felt that they were being treated unfairly. They stated that they had received no mid-Atlantic reports for three days as well as not receiving similar reports from the Washington weather bureau. They further stated that their two navigators have had daily conferences with the Air Ministry agent in Newfoundland and that any decision to postpone the flight was made on a daily basis, using the information submitted.

Any attempt in the present weather conditions would be hopeless, as the machines would encounter sleet conditions that would speedily drive them into the sea by the sheer weight of the sleet collecting on the planes. The most likely date for a flight would be between the 12 and 19 May, however if the conditions were suitable they would not wait.

The proposed flight plan for both planes anticipate a start time between 5.0pm and 7.0pm and a crossing of 19 hours, this would bring them over the Irish coast. The following day they would fly to Brooklands for a landing at 8.0pm.

With the ensuring delays there was much discussion as to the problems that would be faced by those who were attempting to cross the Atlantic. The pessimists felt that a series of unsuccessful attempts would be made before the big flight comes off.

There were three main difficulties to be faced they argued, firstly the Newfoundland weather which because of fog would prevent any returning to base once airborne. The mid-Atlantic wind if it changed to a headwind of more than 25 miles per hour would require the pilot to climb as much as 5000 feet above his normal altitude in the hope of finding better conditions. This would lead to a loss of speed and additional fuel consumption, both undesirable when the overall safety margin was small.

The final difficulty was the actual flying distance, repeated changes in course would mean that a safety margin of 50% would be needed and therefore the distance covered could be at least 2,400 miles and not the 1,900 miles as the crows or in this case the sea gulls would fly.

With these challenges ahead of them the two pilots must be sure of the weather conditions for leaving and flying. Wednesday 30 April 1919 saw the Martinsyde abandon its attempt at 4.30pm that day, due to unfavourable weather conditions. The Sopwith flight ground was sodden and no attempt was made.

The United States Navy who were based at Trepassey Bay in the south-east corner of Newfoundland were bringing forward arrangements for a trans- Atlantic crossing by three naval seaplanes. The planes had yet to arrive although they were looking to fly around the 14 May 1919 and warships stationed 50 miles apart along the ocean route would support them.

It was reported on the 3 May that Fred Raynham was not viewing this development with any alarm. In the first place, Fred stated that they had to get here and they have yet to fly the Azores then via Lisbon to London. This appears to conflict with the report that the Americans were expecting a flying boat at any moment.

In another development the Postmaster- General of Newfoundland handed Fred Raynham some sealed mail for conveyance across the Atlantic. The stamps were specially surcharged with the words "First Transatlantic Aerial Mail" on ordinary three-cent stamps. To prevent forgery the Postmaster- General initialled each stamp.

13 May arrives and the American's who had voiced the opinion that the British airmen were faint- hearted were now revising their opinion in the light of the weather conditions confronting themselves. Bad weather had prevented the American seaplanes from flying and it was unlikely that they would fly tomorrow.

Alcock and Brown, two more British airmen arrived for their attempt to fly the Atlantic, the machine would be arriving in Newfoundland in a few days.

The Times on Saturday 17 May 1919 published further details of the British flight plans, the "Raymor" crew would be making for the Dingle Bay, south east Ireland and then onto Brooklands; a journey of roughly 2,000 miles. The Sopwith crew would make for the Irish coast south of Clifden and then onto Brooklands, a journey of 1,880 miles.

Harry Hawker with his navigator Commander Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve [22] in the Sopwith started its trans-Atlantic flight at 3.15pm local time on Sunday 18 May, his flight path on take-off took them directly over the Quidi Vidi airfield, where the Martinsyde machine was waiting to make its own start. They planned to drop the under-carriage of the Sopwith once they were over the ocean and land using steel skids and hoping to glide along the ground before coming to a stop.

Last seen heading in a southeasterly direction at 8,000 feet and making 80 miles per hour.

In the meantime at Quidi Vidi Captain Morgan and Fred Raynham had entered their respective cockpits and started their flight exactly one hour and two minutes after Hawker. The Martinsyde darted forward swiftly with Fred handling her well in the lane of spectators. As the great engine strained at the machine the Martinsyde lifted and dropped.

After a good run along the field of 600 yards the machine lifted and rose to about 200 feet. It went about 400 yards, when suddenly it dropped in a soft area, where the wheels stuck. A sidelong gust of wind tipped the machine, the engine hit the ground and buckled, and the whole plane was wrecked. The airmen were bruised but nothing worse.

However in the Who's Who in Aviation [23] it reports that the navigator received serious injuries when his skull struck the compass and glass shards were driven into his head. In another contemporary report it was stated that Freddie's navigator Captain Morgan lost an eye, which ended his flying career. [24] ship the "Mary" who was unable to salvage the Sopwith. It appears that the engine may have overheated and having set down in the water they waited an hour and half to be rescued.

It was reported later that the United States ship "Lake Charlotteville" had picked up the Sopwith and was landed at Falmouth Docks in the afternoon of the 29 May.

In preparing for another attempt Fred Raynham had invited Commander Grieve from the Sopwith to navigate, he was awaiting his reply as at the 29 May.

Nearly two month after their first attempt to fly the Atlantic, Fred and the repaired Martinsyde made a trial flight lasting an hour at noon on the 14 July 1919. However a defect was found in the radiator and a start would not occur before the next day.

Three days later, on Thursday 17^th after rising 30 feet the Martinsyde crashed and was wrecked, thankfully neither Fred nor his new navigator Lieutenant Biddlecombe were injured. Having made a good run along the Quidi Vidi ground the plane rose in the air and flew for 50 yards, but suddenly dived downwards again and plunged her nose into the earth.

The crash was ascribed by the airmen and others watching to the inability of the Martinsyde to lift the heavy weight of 375 gallons of petrol. The axle of the undercarriage snapped and both wheels were wrenched off, the propeller was splintered, the radiator torn out, the aluminium tanks split and the lower planes shattered at their junction with the fuselage. The fuselage as a result was also badly damaged.

The airmen said that they felt the machine sag with the weight before she moved downward, and realised she would not get up. It was doubtful that a third attempt would be made, as the cost of these efforts was very great.

The decision not to try another attempt was made and the Martinsyde and its crew departed for England on board the steamer "Grampion", this was reported on Monday 21 July 1919.

As a side issue to the attempt it was reported in a letter to The Times on the 1 June 1920 that stamps produced in connection with the "Raynham - Martinsyde" venture were in fact forgeries. The letter dated 11 May 1920 was from J Robinson ex -Postmaster - General of Newfoundland, he stated that if such stamps were in existence they had not been printed or designed by the Postal Department or any department of the Newfoundland Government. [25]

His other flying exploits have been well recorded, but one event not always noticed was that in 1922, Fred joined with Sydney Camm [26] and G Handasyde made the first real soaring flight in a Handasyde glider at Itford Hill, and remained up for 1hour 53 minutes, which was a record at the time, and for this he was awarded the Britannia Trophy. [27]

In 1923 Freddie married Margery McPherson in 1923 in Woking and there were no children, she was known by the name of Dodie.

After more races and attempts at air records Fred lat public appearance of any note was during the light plane trials of 1924, when he flew a Hawker Cygnet he won second prize of ?100 for best take off and pull up.

By 1924 he joined Hawkers [28] and became their Chief Test Pilot and test flew the Cygnet, after suffering another crash landing, this time in a prototype Horsley, his interests turned towards commercial flying.

At sometime Freddie found time to his family and a family photo was taken on the 2 August 1924, from left to right we have Minnie Raynham nee Phillips (Fred's mother), Adelaide Helen Raynham nee Luccock, Freddie Raynham, Margery Raynham nee McPherson (Fred's wife), Bertha Raynham (Fred's sister), Gladys Louisa Raynham nee Foster with Adelaide Mary Raynham, Eustace Herbert Raynham. [29]

On Friday 17 July 1925, Fred and Dodie set sail in the SS Narkinda for Singapore, via, the Suez Canal, arriving on Tuesday 14 August. From there they went on to Miri, Sarawak [30] , arriving on Saturday 18 August. Fred was working for the Air Survey Company which had been co-founded with Ronald C Kemp, who had obtained his licence at the same time as Fred. They later moved up country to Sibu, where Dodie was the only white woman!

They left Sibu in August 1926, and moved to India where they set up the India Air Survey & Transport Company Ltd, Fred was technical director and was paid ?1000 per annum, about ?39,000 today and a ?200 bonus or 20% of the profits, which ever was the smaller. They were based at Dum Dum, near Calcutta and were surveying route for Imperial Airways and other surveys, such as timber in Burma. They spent several years, until the middle thirties, in India and the Far East travelling back from they're via Australia and America. No doubt on one of his many return visits home he made detours to visit his extended family. Certainly in 1929 he was contemplating a visit to South Africa [31] to stay with Eustace Herbert Raynham and his family, Eustace being his first cousin.

Fred was awarded the OBE in the 1935 birthday honours list and he also got a 1935 King George V Jubilee Medal, see typical examples below.

 

They went on various trips from India, and certainly had some home leave in 1933/34. They family left India in February 1937, and travelled home the long way, via Saigon, Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan, Honolulu to Vancouver arriving on Wednesday 7 April. They proceeded to buy a car and caravan and they explored North America from top to toe before arriving back in Britain in the spring of 1938 complete with the said car and caravan, very sleek and modem and much admired by all.

They set about finding somewhere to build a house and settled on Middleton on Sea, near Bognor Regis, West Sussex and by the end of the year Lob's Cottage, Sea Close, Middleton on Sea was built. The name being that of there much loved Siamese cat.

His mother Minnie died in 1939 at Long Buckby, Northamptonshire, where her daughter Bertha had farmed as does her family today.

Fred was recruited by the Air Ministry and joined the Air Accident Investigation Branch in 1940 and began work in the Marconi House in the Strand, London.

During this period he worked and became friends with Rob Wilson, who later on married Fred's niece Anne. His period of employment with Air Ministry is well documented [32] and he was commissioned as a Flight Lieutenant, using his years of experience to investigate air accidents. The bombing of London resulted in the destruction of Marconi House and the Branch moved to new accommodation on the Western Avenue of Gloucester, with staff being billeted around the town.

Fred and colleague Neil Bennet had changed accommodation to the more acceptable abode belonging to the Vickers family, it was described as a mansion on the north side of the town. Rob Wilson and Fred's wife Dodie were invited to join them.

Fred had many ideas to improve the work air accident investigation and put these to the Chief Inspector, Group Captain Vernon S Brown. The main suggestion was that specialisation should be adopted to identify trends and codify the results of the investigations. His suggestions were accepted and put into effect in late 1941, by this time Fred had been promoted to Squadron Leader and later to Wing Commander. With Rob Wilson as his second in command they had responsibility for the whole of Fighter Command, the Fleet Air Arm and the majority of all the Air Borne forces activities.

He resigned his commission at the end of 1943 and Rob Wilson took over and promoted to Wing Commander, Fred's was finding the travelling to and from work and he had reached the age of 50 years and possibly felt that it was right to retire. Fred and Rob kept in touch and his friend visited Lob's Cottage on many occasions. In Rob Wilson view Fred was deserving of an honour following his resignation, but he was already in receipt of an OBE and it would appear this presented difficulties.

After the war fed up with conditions in this country, Fred and Dodie briefly contemplated moving to Switzerland, but finally decided to return to America, where they bought another caravan, and mostly lived at various camping sites in Florida, mainly one called Briny Breezes, Delray Beach, near Miami, which they had stayed at on their previous visit, with a few side trips to other places, meeting up with friends.

Finances were fairly tight to begin with, because of Government restrictions on moving money abroad, but they eased off, and Fred helped out with running the camp site at times. "Lob" was let out to begin with, but eventually sold in 1952, though they were still talking of coming home again at some time. [33]

Freddie died of a stroke in 1954 in Colorado Springs, where he is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery; his burial was on the 1 May [34] , just a few weeks before his 61^st birthday. Apparently an appropriate place to have died being the home of the USA Air Force Academy. Dodie came back to England after Fred's as her mother was still alive, but she finished up building a house and living in Long Buckby, where she died in 1967. Freddie is also remembered on the gravestone.

Fred was very popular among his colleagues, he was very competitive and a perfectionist about his flying. He was also something of a practical joker. He and Dodie were a gregarious and sociable couple. It was always fun to have them around.

Freddie lived a relatively short life but managed to make an impression in the field of aviation and today his family remember him with tremendous pride and affection for the work he did in pioneering aviation and making aircraft safer for those who followed him.

During his life he would have seen progress in the world of medicine, aviation and entertainment including discovery of insulin and penicillin in 1922 and 1928, the invention of the helicopter and jet engine in 1936 and 1939 and development of television in 1928.

A tribute to his life in aviation was published in Flight Magazine [35] and the extracts, where appropriate has been incorporated into this document.

[1] Curtesy of Jane McCallan nee Raynham.

[2] A chapter has been produced covering his grandfather James Raynham R207 and includes references to his father.

[3] Approximately 112 acres.

[4] Thomas Edison conducted the first public demonstration of the Kinetoscope at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.

[5] Jennifer Thompson has details of the farm sale.

[6] Jennifer Thompson believes this was a boarding school.

[7] Held on Sunday 31 March.

[8] On 17th December 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina the Wrights launched a biplane, which flew a distance of 820 feet under its own power. Orville Wright piloted the plane.

[9] Founded the AVRO aircraft manufacturing company. See endnote for more information on this early English aircraft pioneer.

[10] As detailed by Jennifer Thompson in her letter.

[11] W.J.Claxton, "The Mastery of the Air" (1918).

[12] The Times index for 1905 - 1980 available on CD- ROM for direct extraction at the ECC Library at Chelmsford.

[13] Henry Farman (1874-1958). Farman was born to English parents living in Paris and lived almost all his life in his adopted country. He would often spell his name 'Henri' and he spoke more French than English. See endnote for more information.

[14] UK inflation database at http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerbp/

[15] Extract from "The Guinness Book of Aircraft - Record, Facts and Feats" by Michael Taylor and David Mondet.

[16] "Who's Who in Aviation" by William H Longyard. Page 154.

[17] "Tests of Character - Epic Flights by Legendary Pilots" by Donald Middleton. Page 9 Introduction and page 11 Chapter 1.

[18] "A History of Suffolk" by Dymond and Northeast.

[19] Much of this article has been obtained from information contained in The Times, which reported on the early exploits of aviators and aviation. Additional material has been researched at the local library in Chelmsford and is fully noted in these footnotes.

[20] "The Water Jump" by David Beaty.

[21] "The Water Jump" by David Beaty.

[22] Harold Rabinowitz detailed Commander Grieve's full name in the book "Conquer The Sky Great Moments in Aviation". Page 108 gives further details of their flight attempt.

[23] "Who's Who in Aviation" by William H Longyard. Page 154.

[24] "Conquer The Sky Great Moments in Aviation" by Harold Rabinowitz.

[25] "Who's Who in Aviation" by William H Longyard. Page 154. James Gordon Bennett was the founder of these races which ran from 1909 to 1920, he was a boorish eccentric and hence the use of the term "Gordon Bennett" came into being"

[26] Later tobe knighted as Sir Sydney Camm, director and chief designer of the Hawker Aircraft Company Ltd. He contributed to an article on the aviation life of Fred on his death in 1954.

[27] The Royal Aero Club has a list of the winners at www.royalaeroclub.org/awardhst.htm

[28] Aircraft manufacturing company founded by Harry Hawker, the famous Australian pioneer flyer.

[29] Curtesy of Bill Raynham.

[30] Sarawak, the largest of the 13 States in Malaysia, is located on the NorthWestern shore of Borneo island

[31] The family holds various letters.

[32] Based on information by Rob Wilson and sent to Bob Raynham by Jennifer Thompson.

[33] Much of the information for Freddie was provided by Jennifer Thompson in a letter to Bob Raynham dated 27 December 2002.

[34] Lot 225.

[35] Possible published around June 1954.

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[A] The manor was the building block of feudal society and as such it embodied the 'government' of the local community in medieval times. It not only had administrative control over matters such as the succession to land tenure within the manor, but also often functioned as a local court of law for routine offences. Manorial documents are among the few types of records where genealogical information about ordinary people - rather than the upper classes - is likely to survive from medieval times.

Within the manor, land could be held in several ways. The fullest information in the records is about those who held land by customary tenure, that is, traditionally; in return for labouring on the lord's own land, the demesne. The descent of these holdings was governed by the custom, or accepted rules, of the manor in question - the commonest form of customary tenure, which evolved in late medieval times, was known as copyhold tenure, because each tenant would be given a copy of the entry recording his succession in the manor court roll.

Freehold land was held primarily in return for a fixed rent, and its descent was not governed (or recorded) by the manor. However, freeholders were still subject to manorial jurisdiction in other respects, so that they do also appear in the records. Others held leasehold land, usually for a year at a time in the medieval period, but later for longer terms. In general, there was a tendency over time for the rights of the lord to be eroded, and for freehold tenure to become the norm - although the last vestiges of the copyhold system survived until the 20th century.

[B] A. V. Roe, who came from marine engineering to the motor industry and aviation in 1905.

In 1906 he went out to Colorado, getting out drawings for the Davidson helicopter, and in 1907 having returned to England, he obtained highest award out of 200 entries in a model aeroplane flying competition. From the design of this model he built a full-sized machine, and made a first flight on it, fitted with a 24 horse-power Antoinette engine, in June of 1908 Later, he fitted a 9 horsepower motor-cycle engine to a triplane of his own design, and with this made a number of short flights; he got his flying brevet on a triplane with a motor of 35 horse-power, which, together with a second triplane, was entered for the Blackpool aviation meeting of 1910 but was burnt in transport to the meeting.

He was responsible for the building of the first seaplane to rise from English waters, and may be counted the pioneer of the tractor type of biplane. In 1913 he built a two-seater tractor biplane with 80 horsepower engine, a machine that for some considerable time ranked as a leader of design.

Together with E. V. Roe and H. V. Roe, 'A. V.' controlled the Avro works, which produced some of the most famous training machines of the war period in a modification of the original 80 horsepower tractor. The first of the series of Avro tractors to be adopted by the military authorities was the 1912 biplane, a two-seater fitted with 50 horsepower engine. It was the first tractor biplane with a closed fuselage to be used for military work, and became standard for the type. The Avro seaplane, of I,100 horse-power (a fourteen-cylinder Gnome engine was used) was taken up by the British Admiralty in 1913. It had a length of 34 feet and a wingspan of 50 feet, and was of the twin-float type.

[C] Voorhis David Demarest was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the son of Clayton Demarest and Maria Kipp Voorhis, on November 20, 1890. He is descended from David des Marest, a French Huguenot who immigrated to New York in 1663, but later settled in Bergen County, New Jersey.

Demarest received his early education in local public schools, and attended New York University's School of Commerce, graduating in 1915. He served two years as a non-commissioned officer with the 104th Field Artillery in World War I, which may have precipitated his visit to St. John's in 1916-1917.

After leaving the service, he found employment with the Standard Oil Company of New York, which brought him back to Newfoundland. As the closest North American landmass to Europe, Newfoundland was a natural starting point for those attempting to be first to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air in the years immediately following the end of the war. Demarest was in Newfoundland during the spring of 1919 when Raynham and Morgan, two of the competitors, crashed on take-off from Quidi Vidi on May 18. Raynham was not seriously injured but Morgan lost an eye, which ended his flying career.

From Standard Oil, Demarest went to A. G. Schoonmaker & Sons, Inc, before acquiring his own business, the Imperial Trading Company in Manhattan. He operated that business until his retirement.

Demarest was an avid genealogist. From 1954 to 1970 he was president of the Demarest Family Association, and from 1971 to 1979 he was president emeritus. He spent 10 years compiling the second edition of The Demarest Family, a 1600 page, two-volume history of his ancestry, published in 1964. He was a member of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey, the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, the Bergen County Historical Society, the Holland Society, and the Huguenot Society of New Jersey.

Voorhis Demarest was married to Emma Lillian Schoonmaker, and they had two children: Voorhis D. Demarest, Jr. and Jean D. Messimer. He died on April 29, 1979 at Hackensack, New Jersey.

Voorhis Demarest is believed to have taken the photographs and acquired the postcards during visits to Newfoundland during 1916-1917 and 1919. They include pictures of Frederick Raynham and C.F.W. Morgan preparing for their attempt to make the first non-stop trans-Atlantic Crossing by airplane, photographs and photo-postcards of St. John's, Quidi Vidi and Conception Bay localities.

[D] In an auction of postage stamp material the following was noted:

"1919 (April 19), THE MANUSCRIPT "MARTINSYDE" 3c. brown, tied to envelope (with "Martinsyde Monoplanes and Biplanes." on flap) addressed to Surrey (to the wife of one of the partners in the Company who built the aeroplane in nearby Woking), by "ST.JOHN'S NFLD/APR 19/4-PM.1919" machine cancellation, endorsed "per. Rolls Martinsyde Aeroplane "Raymor"/F.P. Raynham & Capt. Morgan", London arrival c.d.s. of Jan. 7 1920 on reverse, fine. A marvellous example of this great Air Mail rarity. Illustrated on page 492 of the Robson Lowe encyclopaedia. Cat. ?20,000 (off-cover). Signed H. Bloch and with E.Diena certificate (1984) (142a)"