Daily Mail aviation prizes

Between 1907 and 1925, the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor, Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe,^[1] awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in aviation, or to the winner of an aviation race or event. The most famous prizes were the £1,000 for the first cross-channel flight awarded to Louis Blériot in 1909 and the £10,000 given in 1919 to Alcock and Brown for the first non-stop transatlantic flight between North America and Ireland.

The prizes are credited with advancing the course of aviation during the early years, with the considerable sums offered becoming a much-coveted goal for the field's pioneers.

Prizes

Year announced	Year awarded	Prize	Amount (£)	Winner(s)
1906	1910	London to Manchester flight	10,000	Louis Paulhan
1907	1907	Model aeroplane competition	100	Alliott Verdon Roe, W. Howard
	1908	Quarter mile out and return flight	100	Henri Farman
1908	1909	Cross-channel flight	1,000	Louis Blériot
	1909	Circular mile by a British aircraft	1,000	John Moore-Brabazon
	1910	Second cross-channel flight	100	Jacques de Lesseps
1910	1910	Best cross-country aggregate	1,000	Louis Paulhan
1910	1911	Circuit of Britain race	10,000	André Beaumont (Jean Conneau)[2]
1912	1912	Aerial Derby cup	105	Thomas Sopwith
1913	1913	Aerial Derby cup	105	Gustav Hamel
1913,[3] 1918[4]	1919	Transatlantic flight	10,000	Alcock and Brown[5]
1913[6]	--	Circuit of Great Britain for "waterplanes"	5,000	[5]
1914	1914	Aerial Derby cup	105	W. L. Brock
1914	Cancelled	Circuit of Great Britain	5,000
1919	1919	Aerial Derby cup	210	Gerald Gathergood
1923	1923	Economy flight for motor gliders	1,000
1925	1926	Economy flight for dual-control light aircraft of British construction	3,000	George Bulman (Hawker Cygnet)[7]
1930	1930	Solo flight from England to Australia	10,000	Amy Johnson[8][9]

In addition, four "consolation" prizes were awarded:

Year announced	Year awarded	Prize	Amount (£)	Winner(s)
1906	1910	London to Manchester flight	105	Claude Grahame-White
1910	1911	Round-Britain flight	200	Jules Védrines
1913	1913	Round-Britain flight for British "waterplanes"	1,000	Harry Hawker
1913	1919	Transatlantic flight	5,000	Harry Hawker, Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve

See also

• Scott Collection, a collection of aerophilately items relating to the 1912 flights.

Notes

1. "Direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe Flight PDF Archive, 6 September 1913
2. Lewis 1970, pp. 43–44.
3. Suspended during the war and renewed in 1918 with different conditions
4. 1918 conditions for £10,000 prize
5. "The New Daily Mail Prizes." (pdf), Flight, Flight Global Archive, 5 April 1913
6. Map showing the course to be followed Flight, 16 August 1913
7. "Lympne Competition 1926", Flight PDF Archive, 23 September 1926
8. Britain between the wars, 1918-1940
9. Johnson was also awarded the Harmon Trophy for her achievement

References

• Lewis, Peter. British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. London:Putnam, 1970. ISBN 0-370-00067-6.