SEGRAVE’S LAST TRIUMPH

Taranaki Daily News, 16 June 1930, Page 9

SEGRAVE’S LAST TRIUMPH

GREAT FEAT BEFORE DEATH CAUSE OF ACCIDENT IN DOUBT BRANCH OF TREE IN WATER By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rec. 5.5 p.m. London, June 14. Sir Henry Segrave was conscious for two minutes before he died. Though in terrible pain he was so much master of himself that he asked by how much lie had beaten the record.. He died of internal haemorrhage, the ribs on the right side having punctured the lung.*

Another theory of the accident"is that Miss England 11. ran into the wash caused by its passage on the second lap. The water was most turbulent when the boat came back on the third lap at such speed that even a wave of moderate height would have been sufficient to make it leap from tire water. Then, when the boat touched the water again the blow might have ripped away the hull. It seems certain that the propellor stood the strain, as it was seen to be intact when the Miss England 11. sank, but there was evidence of broken timber in. the bottom of the boat.

A pathetic feature of the tragedy was the dramatic rush of. Sir Henry’s father in an aeroplane when he heard of the accident. A few minutes after the aeroplane left London news was received that the son was dead, but the father learned the news only when the plane reached Manchester, whence he motored to Windermere. Lady Segrave was prostrated with grief and was unable to attend the inquest, which was opened and adjourned. Mr. Halliwell’s body has not been recovered. It is believed to be imprisoned in the boat, the salvaging of which is being considered. It is pointed out that the greater portion of the front step was torn away. A waterlogged branch of a tree, thxee feet in length and three inches in diameter, which was picked up astern of the Miss England 11. after the disaster, is believed to have caused the damage. The main hull and the machinery were undamaged. The King, the Queen and the Prince of Wales sent a message of sympathy to Lady Segrave. It is unofficially but reliably stated that Sir Henry 'had attained 119.8 miles an hour when the fatal plunge occurred. Soundings show that the Miss England 11. is in 195 feet of water.

A brother of Sir Henry, Mr. C. R. Segrave, is on holiday in Melbourne with his wife. Sir Henry’s famous Golden Arrow is on view at the Adelaide motor show.

• The reason for the selection of Windermere was that it is fresh water, and gives the same conditions as those which existed at Detroit for the United States record holder, Commodore Gar Wood, who attained 93 miles an hour. Lord Wakefield financed the previous boat, Miss England; in which Sir Henry set up a record at the Lido last year. Miss England 11. was fitted with two RollsRoyce engines giving 2100 h.p. each, and both are geared together on the propellor shaft, which revolves at the extraordinary rate of 14,000 to 16,000 revolutions per minute. x