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Vivian Hewitt

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Welsh aviator

Vivian Hewitt
Born1888
Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Died1965 (aged 76–77)
NationalityBritish
Known forSecond flight from Great Britain to Ireland, 26 April 1912
Aviation career
Flight license1 October 1912
London

Vivian Vaughan Davies Hewitt (1888–1965) was a pioneering Welsh aviator. Born in Grimsby, he moved to Bodfari, Denbighshire, Wales, his mother's family home, on the death of his father during his childhood.

On 26 April 1912, Hewitt successfully completed a flight between Holyhead and Dublin, landing in the Phoenix Park. Interviewed by the press, he expressed the view that Damer Leslie Allen, who had disappeared a few days earlier whilst attempting the same flight, had been insufficiently experienced as an aviator for a task of such difficulty.

Although widely reported to be the first person to cross the sea from Great Britain to Ireland in an aeroplane, several days earlier, on 22 April Denys Corbett Wilson had flown from Goodwick in Pembrokeshire to Enniscorthy. Nevertheless, the view was expressed at the time that Hewitt's flight was "a more difficult and dangerous feat" than Corbett Wilson's.

Hewitt was also a keen ornithologist and set up a bird sanctuary at his home of Bryn Aber at Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey, which is now managed by The North Wales Wildlife Trust. He was known as the "world’s greatest private Great Auk collector", as he built up a collection of the skins and eggs of these extinct birds. His specimens are now in museums in Cardiff, Birmingham, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati.

References

  1. Flight Magazine 5 October 1912
  2. ^ Lewis, Alys (10 March 2010). "BBC: Captain Vivian Hewitt – the aviation pioneer". BBC News. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Aviation: Flight from Holyhead to Dublin – Mr Hewitt descends in the Phoenix Park". Irish Times. Dublin. 27 April 1912. p. 7.
  4. ^ Birkhead, Tim R.; Clugston, David L.; Fuller, Errol (April 2023). "The dispersal of Vivian Vaughan Davies Hewitt ' s collection of great auk ( Pinguinus impennis ) eggs". Archives of Natural History. 50 (1): 191–206. doi:10.3366/anh.2023.0837. ISSN 0260-9541.
  5. "Flying the Irish Channel" (PDF). Flight Magazine. IV (17). London: Reed Business Information: 379. 27 April 1912. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  6. "Irish Aviator's Feat: St. George's Channel Crossed". Irish Times. Dublin. 27 April 1912. p. 23.
  7. "Editorial". (Weekly) Irish Times. Dublin. 4 May 1912. p. 10.
  8. Wyn-Williams, Gareth (22 May 2017). "Anglesey home of famous airman put up for auction". northwales. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  9. "Captain Vivian Hewitt ~ Lincolnshire Born Aviation Pioneer » Rod Collins". www.rodcollins.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  10. Thomas, Jessica E.; Carvalho, Gary R.; Haile, James; Martin, Michael D.; Castruita, Jose A. Samaniego; Niemann, Jonas; Sinding, Mikkel-Holger S.; Sandoval-Velasco, Marcela; Rawlence, Nicolas J. (15 June 2017). "An 'Aukward' Tale: A Genetic Approach to Discover the Whereabouts of the Last Great Auks". Genes. 8 (6): 164. doi:10.3390/genes8060164. PMC 5485528. PMID 28617333.


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