Captain George Edward Thomas Eyston MC OBE (28 June 1897 – 11 June 1979) was a British engineer, inventor, and racing driver best known for breaking the

land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...

three times between 1937 and 1939.

Early life

George Eyston was educated at Stonyhurst College and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. His study of engineering at Cambridge was interrupted by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when he was commissioned in the

Dorset Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 1 ...

and later served in the Royal Field Artillery. After the war he returned to Trinity College and was captain of the

First Trinity Boat Club The First and Third Trinity Boat Club is the rowing club of Trinity College in Cambridge, England. The club formally came into existence in 1946 when the First Trinity Boat Club and the Third Trinity Boat Club merged, although the two clubs had ...

Career

Motor racing

Eyston's racing career began before World War One, when he was still a schoolboy, and raced motorcycles under an assumed name. After the war (in which he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

) he reverted to his own name, moved on to car racing and entered European road races, particularly in Bugattis, with success in races such as the 1921 and 1926 French Grand Prix Later he became well known for racing supercharged MGs such as the

Magic Midget The Magic Midgets were a number of record-breaking 750cc "midget" MG cars of the 1930s. They were most notably, but not always, driven by George Eyston. Although of small engine capacity, they were frequently supercharged to increase performanc ...

and the K3 Magnette. His entries with the K3 included the 1933

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

and 1934 Northern Ireland Tourist Trophy events, and the 1934

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

Speed records

He fitted a

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

from an AEC bus into a car built on a Chrysler chassis and used it to set high-speed endurance records at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

, attaining 100.75 mph in 1933 and 106 mph in 1936. In 1935, he was one of the first British racers to travel to the

Bonneville salt flats The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, with his 24- and 48-hour record-setting car '' Speed of the Wind''. He is best known today for

s set in his car ''

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

''. Between 1937 and 1939 he set three new land speed records, wresting them from

Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (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, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...

's '' Blue Bird'', but was twice bettered by John Cobb. The rivalry was friendly, and in later years Eyston, as competitions manager for

Castrol Castrol is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The name ''Castrol'' was originally just the brand name for co ...

, assisted with Cobb's ill-fated attempt on the water speed record in '' Crusader''. He was also involved in the design of his Thunderbolt car at the

Bean Cars Bean Cars was a brand of motor vehicles made in England by A Harper Sons & Bean, Ltd at factories in Dudley, Worcestershire, and Coseley, Staffordshire. The company began making cars in 1919 and diversified into light commercial vehicles in 192 ...

factory in

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

, Staffordshire (now

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Patents and engineering

As an engineer and inventor, he held a number of patents related to motor engineering and particularly supercharging. His work on developing high-power gearboxes was important for

, along with his invention of the

Powerplus supercharger The Powerplus is a design of supercharger that was used to boost the performance of car engines in the 1930s. It is a mechanically driven positive displacement pump, operating on the sliding-vane principle. MG cars Powerplus is best known th ...

used on MGs.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Eyston served on various bodies connected with industry and was a Regional Controller for the

Ministry of Production The Ministry of Production was a British government department created in February 1942, initially under the title Ministry of War Production, but the following month "War" was dropped from the title. Its purpose was to fill a gap in the machinery ...

Honours and awards

*Eyston was awarded the

on 18 July 1917 - ''2nd Lt. (temp Lt.) George Edward Thomas Eyston, RFA., Spec. Res. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He rendered most valuable service when carrying out reconnaissance under heavy fire. On several occasions he went forward under heavy shell and machine gun fire. He carried out his duties with great courage and determination, and was able to obtain most valuable information''. *He was awarded the

Segrave Trophy The Segrave Trophy is awarded to the British national who demonstrates "Outstanding Skill, Courage and Initiative on Land, Water and in the Air". The trophy is named in honour of Sir Henry Segrave, the first person to hold both the land and wat ...

in 1935. *He was made a chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in 1938. *He was made an OBE in 1948.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete European Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ;Notes * – Eyston was co-driver with Birkin at the French GP and Birkin drove with Lewis at the Belgian GP, therefore rules excluded Eyston from the Championship.

Publications

* foreword by

Sir Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (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, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a ...

* * *

References

*
EYSTON, Capt. George Edward Thomas
Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007, accessed 8 Aug 2012 *Captain George Eyston (obituary), ''The Times'', London, 23 November 1979, page VIII (Obituaries Supplement) {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyston, George 1979 deaths 1897 births Military personnel from Oxfordshire People educated at Stonyhurst College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Land speed record people Brooklands people English racing drivers British automotive engineers Recipients of the Military Cross Officers of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I Dorset Regiment officers Royal Artillery officers Bonneville 300 MPH Club members Segrave Trophy recipients Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur European Championship drivers