Violette Cordery (married name Hindmarsh; 10 January 1900 – 30 December 1983) was a British racing driver and long distance record breaker.

Early life

Cordery was born in London to Henry Cordery and had an elder sister (Lucy)/Leslie and a younger sister Evelyn who also participated in her driving exploits.

Motoring

Cordery was employed as a driver to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Noel Macklin Sir (Albert) Noel Campbell Macklin (28 October 1886 – 1946) was an innovative British car maker and boat designer. He founded Eric-Campbell in 1919, Silver Hawk in 1920, Invicta in 1925 and Railton in 1933. In 1939 he founded Fairmile Mari ...

of 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, ...

(RNVR) at

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. He subsequently invalided out of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1915 and transferred to the RNVR. Macklin was married to her elder sister Lucy. In 1920 she competed in the South Harting hill climb driving a Silver Hawk, manufactured by Noel Macklin. Cordery also competed in two British Motor Cycle Racing Club handicap events driving an

Eric-Campbell The Eric-Campbell was a British car made from 1919 to 1924 by Eric-Campbell & Co Limited of Cricklewood, London. The company was formed by H Eric Orr-Ewing and Noel Macklin, Noel Campbell Macklin. Manufacturing Eric-Campbell was formed by H Eric ...

, also manufactured by Noel Macklin. In May 1921 she won the ladies' race at the Junior Car Club meeting, averaging . In 1925 she publicised the new Invicta car, also manufactured by Noel Macklin, by racing and breaking records. At the West Kent Motor Club meeting at Brooklands she won the half mile sprint in a 2.7 litre Invicta, and went on other victories and records. In 1926 she set a long distance record at the

Autodromo Nazionale Monza The Monza Circuit ( it, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, , National Automobile Racetrack of Monza) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after ...

, Italy, when she co-drove a 19.6 hp Invicta for at . In July 1926 she averaged for at

Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry Autodrome de Montlhéry (established 4 October 1924) is a motor racing circuit, officially called L’autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry, owned by Utac, located south-west of the small town of Montlhéry about south of Paris. History Industri ...

, Paris, and became the first woman to be awarded the Dewar Trophy by the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a ...

. In 1927 she drove an Invicta around the world in five months, covering at an average speed of . She traveled through Europe, Africa, India, Australia, the United States, and Canada accompanied by a nurse, a mechanic, and a Royal Automobile Club observer. In 1929, with her younger sister Evelyn, she covered of the

Brooklands Brooklands was a Auto racing, 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 fir ...

circuit within 30,000 minutes (approximately 20 days, 20 hours) at an average speed and earning a second Dewar Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club. By 1930 her 4.5-litre Invicta tourer had completed return journeys from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino i ...

, London to John O'Groats and London to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Family life

Cordery married the racing driver and aviator John Stuart Hindmarsh on 15 September 1931 at Stoke D'Abernon parish church. They had two daughters, of whom Susan married the racing driver

Roy Salvadori Roy Francesco Salvadori (12 May 1922 – 3 June 2012) was a British racing driver and team manager. He was born in Dovercourt, Essex, to parents of Italian descent. He graduated to Formula One by 1952 and competed regularly until 1962 for a ...

. Widowed in 1938 by Hindmarsh's death while test flying a

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

, she retired from public life until her death on 30 December 1983 in

Oxshott Oxshott is a suburban village in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England. Oxshott includes hilly acidic heath which is partly wooded (see Esher Commons and Prince's Coverts) and occupies the land between the large towns of Esher and Leath ...

, Surrey. She was cremated at Randalls Park crematorium.Obituary - Roy Salvadori

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

, 6 June 2012, by Alan Henry

References

External links

British Pathe Video of Violet Cordery's Invicta beginning its 'Round the World' trip in 1927
*Tejera, P. (2018).
Reinas de la carretera
'. Madrid: Ediciones Casiopea. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordery, Violette English female racing drivers English racing drivers Brooklands people Land speed record people English feminists 1900 births 1983 deaths English rally drivers Female rally drivers People from Oxshott Circumnavigators of the globe