“Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines!“…
On 6th May 1911, perhaps inspired by the Morison flight, Harry and his brother Dick sponsored the first cross-country aeroplane flying competition in Britain. The Grand Brighton Aerial Race saw flyers take to the air from Brooklands to Brighton with the planes flying around the pier and landing at Shoreham Aerodrome.
The winner was Gustav Hamel who completed the forty or so miles in 57 minutes and 10 seconds in a Blériot monoplane. He was presented with an £80 prize by the Preston brothers.
The Sussex Daily News excitedly proclaimed the race “would go down to posterity as the first aerial point-to-point“.
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