Gwenda Mary Hawkes (' Glubb, previously Janson and Stewart; 1 June 1894 – 27 May 1990) was notable as an ambulance driver in

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 ...

and later as a

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

driver and speed record holder.

Early life

Gwenda Mary Glubb was born in 1894 in

Fulwood, Lancashire Fulwood is an area and unparished area in Lancashire, England, forming much of the northern half of the unparished part of the City of Preston district. It had a population of 28,535 in 2011 and is made up of five wards. For several reasons, de ...

, to Major General Sir

Frederic Manley Glubb Major General Sir Frederic Manley Glubb (19 August 1857 – 31 July 1938) was a British Army officer, who was a senior figure in the Royal Engineers during the First World War. He was the father of the Army officer Sir John Bagot Glubb ("Glubb P ...

and Frances Letitia Glubb, ''née'' Bagot.

War record

Gwenda's father was an officer in the British Army who fought in the

Boer Wars The military history of South Africa chronicles a vast time period and complex events from the dawn of history until the present time. It covers civil wars and wars of aggression and of self-defence both within South Africa and against it. It in ...

, and later became Chief Engineer of the

British Second Army The British Second Army was a field army active during the First and Second World Wars. During the First World War the army was active on the Western Front throughout most of the war and later active in Italy. During the Second World War the army ...

. Her brother,

John Bagot Glubb Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC, KStJ, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha, was a British soldier, scholar, and author, who led and trained Transjordan's Arab Legion between 1939 a ...

, also a British soldier who fought in World War I, became known as Glubb Pasha as commander of the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 1 ...

from 1939 until 1956 - ''

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...

'' being an Arab honorary title. Gwenda herself served during World War I as an ambulance driver, and as a result of her skill and endeavours on both the Russian Front and Rumanian Front from 1914 to 1918, she was awarded both the

Cross of St. George The Cross of Saint George (russian: Георгиевский крест, Georgiyevskiy krest) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It was initially established by Imperial Russia where it was officially known as the Decoration of ...

and the Cross of St. Stanislaus and was also mentioned in despatches.

Motor-cycle racing

Following her marriage to Colonel Sam Janson, a director of the

Spyker Spyker or Spijker was a Dutch carriage, automobile and aircraft manufacturer, started in 1880 by blacksmiths Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Originally located in Hilversum, the company relocated to Trompenburg, Amsterdam in 1898. Notable produ ...

car company, on 17 February 1920 in Brompton, Gwenda became interested in motor-cycle racing, competing in events 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 ...

. In the winter of 1921, Gwenda established the 1000-mile record on a Ner-A-Car motor-cycle and in 1922 took the Double-12-hour record at Brooklands on a Trump- JAP. Gwenda spent time away from home whilst participating in motor-cycling events, and the close relationship that she developed with Colonel Neil Stewart, who was involved with the company who provided her motor-cycles, resulted in Janson divorcing her in 1923. Gwenda and Stewart married, and, as a result of night-time restrictions on the use of the circuit at Brooklands interfering with Glenda's motor-cycle record breaking activities, the pair moved to France to be closer to the unrestricted circuit at Montlhéry. At the Montlhéry circuit, Gwenda broke the world 24-hour motor-cycle speed record on a Terrot-JAP. At Montlhéry, Gwenda met Douglas Hawkes, who became one of her mechanics. In 1930, Gwenda turned in a speed of in a race-tuned British 3-wheeler created by Morgan Super Sports.Boddy, William. "Morgan: An Ageless Thoroughbred", in Ward, Ian, Executive Editor. ''The World of Automobiles'', Volume 12 (London: Orbis, 1974), p.1415.

Motor-car racing

Douglas Hawkes was a director of the Derby engine and car company and was able to source a Miller Special from the United States. In the period between 1930 and 1933, in the Miller-derived car specially prepared by Derby and designated as a Derby-Miller, Gwenda broke the one-mile speed record several times at Montlhéry. Gwenda also competed on two occasions, with little success, in the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

event, at the wheel of a Derby car using a Maserati engine. In 1935 she became the fastest woman ever at Brooklands, with a lap speed of 135.95 miles per hour which bettered the previous lap record set by

Kay Petre Kathleen Coad Petre (' Defries; 10 May 1903 – 10 August 1994), known as Kay Petre, was an early motor racing star. She was born in York, Ontario, now part of Toronto. Family Kathleen Coad Defries was the daughter of Robert Leo Defries KC (di ...

. Gwenda's affair with Douglas Hawkes resulted in her divorce from Stewart, and her marriage in 1937 to Hawkes as her third husband.

Later life

In 1940, after the start of the

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 ...

(WWII), Gwenda and Douglas Hawkes moved to England, where Mrs Hawkes took up work in an armaments factory to help the

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative si ...

. After World War II, they moved to the small Greek island of

Poros Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south from the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the ...

. Douglas Hawkes died in 1974, and Gwenda died in May 1990, aged 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkes, Gwenda 1894 births 1990 deaths Brooklands people 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers English racing drivers English female racing drivers Sportspeople from Preston, Lancashire