Robert William Hanmer Everett (29 May 1901 – 26 January 1942) was a British
jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
and a Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve pilot during the Second World War. In 1929, he won the
Grand National on
Gregalach. In 1941, as a
Fleet Air Arm pilot, he achieved the first "kill" by a rocket-launched fighter, shooting down a long-range
Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor over the Atlantic.
For this hazardous success, he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Knowledge of Everett's life is fragmentary, with just a few notable events.
Early life
Everett was born to on 29 May 1901 in
Tenterfield, New South Wales,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. His parents were Lt. Colonel William Frank Everett and Charlotte Everett of Chelsea.
In 1915 he attended the
Royal Naval College, Osborne
The Royal Naval College, Osborne, was a training college for Royal Navy officer cadets on the Osborne House estate, Isle of Wight, established in 1903 and closed in 1921.
Boys were admitted at about the age of thirteen to follow a course lasting ...
, then served for two years as a
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
in the Royal Navy during World War 1. After the war, he working as a farmer in South Africa, before moving to the United Kingdom in 1927 to become a
National Hunt jockey.
In 1929, he rode "Gregalach" in the
Grand National at
Aintree after the jockey engaged to ride him was injured in a fall. The horse was marked down by bookmakers as a 100-1 outsider, yet he won, beating the favourite, "
Easter Hero", by six lengths. This race had the largest Grand National field ever and Everett was praised for his horsemanship over heavy ground. Later, in 1934, he won the
Irish Grand National at
Fairyhouse, this time on "Poolgowran".
At the same time, Everett had become an amateur pilot and jointly owned, with his father, a
De Havilland Puss Moth, a relatively high-performance aircraft of its day. In 1934, with another Australian,
Jimmy Melrose, he entered the
MacRobertson Air Race
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) took place in October 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, and th ...
(or the Melbourne Centenary Air Race) to
Melbourne from
Mildenhall, in England.
This was successfully completed in 120 flying hours, despite landing at
Darwin
Darwin may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection
* Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...
with empty fuel tanks.
Service career
Everett joined the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
and
Fleet Air Arm in October 1940 and served with
760 Naval Air Squadron
760 Naval Air Squadron (760 NAS) is a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
The squadron first formed on 1 April 1940 as No.1 Fleet Fighter Pool with a variety of aircraft types before standardising in 1941 on the Sea Hurricane ...
at
HMS ''Heron'',
Yeovilton
Yeovilton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, east of Ilchester and north of Yeovil, in South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, est ...
.
Later he volunteered for
804 Naval Air Squadron, which for a time supplied pilots for
fighter catapult ship
Fighter catapult ships also known as Catapult Armed Ships were an attempt by the Royal Navy to provide air cover at sea. Five ships were acquired and commissioned as Naval vessels early in the Second World War, and these were used to accompany conv ...
s and
CAM ships. While he was on
HMS ''Maplin'', a ''Condor'' was sighted on 1 August 1941 and Everett's
Hawker Hurricane was launched. After a hard fight, the ''Condor'' was shot down with Everett's last shots ("''By this time I had reached the starboard bow and three machine guns opened up as well as the forward cannon. I did a quick turn to port and opened up just abaft the beam I fired five second burst at this range and my guns were empty''").
He managed to
ditch near to
HMS ''Wanderer'' which was escorting the nearby convoy, SL.81.
Everett was awarded the DSO for this action.
Death
Everett died on active service on 26 January 1942. He was flying a Hurricane from Belfast to Abingdon when it came down in shallow water close to the beach at
Llanddona
Llanddona (; ); ) is a village and community noted for its sandy beach in the Welsh county of Anglesey. Located between Benllech and Beaumaris, it is popular as a holiday destination, particularly for families. Llanddona has no shops; however, ...
,
Anglesey, Wales. Witnesses reported the aircraft seemed to be suffering from engine problems. The aircraft wreck was soon recovered but the cockpit was empty. Everett's body was washed ashore several months later; a post-mortem revealed he had drowned.
[Barker (2019},''pp. 54-55'']
He is buried close to the scene of the crash, in
St Dona's Church, Llanddona
St Dona's Church, Llanddona (; )) is a small 19th-century parish church in the village of Llanddona, in Anglesey, north
Wales. The first church on this site was built in 610. The present building on the site dates from 1873, and was designed by ...
.
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Robert
1901 births
1942 deaths
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Fleet Air Arm aviators
Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II
Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United Kingdom
People from New England (New South Wales)
Australian jockeys
Military personnel from New South Wales
Sportsmen from New South Wales