Sir Samuel Instone (16 August 1878 – 9 November 1937) was a British shipping and aviation

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and the founder of the

Instone Air Line Instone Air Line was an early British airline from 1919 to 1924. Along with other private airlines of the time, it was absorbed into Imperial Airways. This airline is not to be confused with Instone Air Line (1981) of Stansted, which operated ...

Personal history

Instone was born in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, the eldest of three brothers born to Adolphe Instone and Maria Jacob. His father was born Adolphe Einstein in

Fellheim Fellheim is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany. The town has a municipal association with Boos, Bavaria Boos is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officia ...

, Bavaria, Germany. He was educated at

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

and in the French port city of

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, where he began his business career at age 15. He came to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1908 to work for a shipping company as a manager. With his brother, Theodore Instone, he went into business as a coal factor in 1908, and in 1914 bought the ship, Collivaud from Morels. After World War I, the brothers owned ten vessels shipping coal from the South Wales valleys. It was during this period that Samuel diversified into coal mining with the acquisition of the

Bedwas Bedwas is a town situated two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Bedwas neighbours Trethomas, Graig-y-Rhacca and Machen, and forms a council ...

colliery. In 1919 Instone Air Line was set up by Samuel along with another brother Alfred, and started an air route from Cardiff to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Due to the depression of the 1920s Samuel saw his shipping interests wane, and by 1925 the last of his ships were sold. Instone was constantly at the front of commercial and technological trends within the aviation business. On 19 August 1920, Sir Samuel Instone had a telephone conversation from his home in London to a passenger on a flight destined for Paris. This call to a

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

aeroplane is thought to be the first telephone call to an inflight aircraft. He also introduced uniforms for his flight crews, the first non-military air service to do so. In 1921 Samuel was knighted, and represented the Chamber of Shipping at Air Conferences in England and the International Chamber of Commerce at the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. He was also a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

and Commander of the Belgian Order of Leopold.

Social enterprises

In 1922,

Frank L. Barnard Franklyn Leslie Barnard (2 November 1896 – 28 July 1927) was a British pilot, who took part in 1920s air races and airline flights. He was also known as Captain F. L. Barnard. Early life Frank Barnard was born on 2 November 1896, the son of Ow ...

, chief pilot of Instone Air Line won the first

King's Cup Race The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association. The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...

. Sir Instone took the trophy with him on a visit to Bedwas Colliery, and it was allowed to be displayed in a local shop's window. As an act of public service, Samuel Instone and his brother Theodore once offered to hire

Harry Grindell Matthews Harry Grindell Matthews (17 March 1880 – 11 September 1941) was an English inventor who claimed to have invented a death ray in the 1920s. Earlier life and inventions Harry Grindell Matthews was born on 17 March 1880 in Winterbourne, Glouc ...

in order to keep his reported

death ray The death ray or death beam was a theoretical particle beam or electromagnetic weapon first theorized around the 1920s and 1930s. Around that time, notable inventors such as Guglielmo Marconi, Nikola Tesla, Harry Grindell Matthews, Edwin R. Scot ...

in the United Kingdom.

Personal life

In 1910, Instone married Alice Maud Liebman and they had five daughters. He died unexpectedly in a London nursing home in 1937 following surgery, after being expected to make a good recovery. His memorial service was held at the

West London Synagogue The West London Synagogue of British Jews, abbreviated WLS ( he, ק"ק שער ציון, ''Kahal Kadosh Sha'ar Tziyon'', "Holy Congregation Gate of Zion"), is a synagogue and congregation, affiliated to Reform Judaism, near Marble Arch in centr ...

and he was buried at the

Willesden Jewish Cemetery The Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery, usually known as Willesden Jewish Cemetery, is a Jewish cemetery at Beaconsfield Road, Willesden, in the London Borough of Brent, England. It opened in 1873 on a site. It has been described as the "R ...

. His daughter Anna married

Julian Herbage Julian Livingstone Herbage (10 September 1904– 15 January 1976) was a British musicologist, broadcaster and member of the BBC music department. He is known for his scholarly edition of the score of Handel's ''Messiah'' (1935), for his role in pl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Instone, Samuel 1878 births 1937 deaths English Jews People from Gravesend, Kent British people of German-Jewish descent English businesspeople Knights Bachelor