Roland Louis Ernest Burton AFC and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

(known as Monty Burton) (18 May 1918 – 28 April 1999) was a British pilot who won the

1953 London to Christchurch air race The 1953 London to Christchurch air race, the "Last Great Air Race", was long, from Heathrow Airport, London Airport (now London Heathrow) to Christchurch Airport, Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand, and took place in October 195 ...

London to Christchurch air race

Flight Lieutenant Burton became the first man to fly from London to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in under 24 hours, when with his navigator Flight Lieutenant Don Gannon he won the

in a Canberra PR3 in 1953, winning the

Britannia Trophy The Britannia Trophy is a British award presented by the Royal Aero Club for aviators accomplishing the most meritorious performance in aviation during the previous year. In 1911 Horatio Barber, who was a founder member of the Royal Aero Club, wa ...

, now in the RAF Museum, Hendon.

Family life

Burton married Joan Evans (1942) and they had two daughters and a son. One of his daughters

Jocelyn Burton Sara Jocelyn Margarita Elissa Burton (10 January 1946 - 5 April 2020) was an award-winning British silver and goldsmith. Burton was the first woman to receive the City and Guilds of London Institute top award, the Prince Philip Medal. Life an ...

became a successful silver and goldsmith. His son Michael Burton (1949–2011) was also a talented silversmith. Burton retired to France where he died on 29 April 1999.

References

External links

British Pathe, 12.000 Mile Air Race 1953

British Pathe, London Christchurch Air Race 1953, prizes awarded

Press notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Roland 1918 births 1999 deaths Royal Air Force squadron leaders Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Britannia Trophy winners