bentley priory - Spink

September 6, 2012 - LONDON
Cunningham having just been presented
with the Segrave Trophy at the R.A.C.,
November 1979
Cunningham with H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh at the unveiling of the de
Havilland Memorial, July 1997
John had got the Chinese party together, and they boarded the 125 for the short return trip to Hatfield.
Everything was fine as John took off, and at about 100 feet selected wheel-up. Then an extraordinary thing
happened. Looking ahead he saw a huge flock of plover returning to the airfield and there was nothing he
could do to avoid them. His engines ingested numerous birds, and power died.
He had to push the stick forward and the aircraft touched down again at about 130mph. It hurtled beyond
the runway, crashing through the boundary and shot across a public road, before coming to a standstill in a
field. Then it caught fire, but everybody was able to get out. However, in crossing the road it had collided
with a car, and the four occupants of the car were killed. John had hurt his back, and later found that he had
two crushed vertebrae. He was able to return to flying in early 1976, and suffered no lasting effects.
John was then 58 years old, and would normally have been retired. He had long since decided that he was
not going to continue flying for the sake of keeping a licence going after retirement. This had been a difficult
decision for him, because of his passion for flying, and the fact that he had been in the cockpit for all his
working life. However, he was a man who would carefully consider any situation confronting him, make up
his mind and stick to it.
But again, fate had something in store for him. On this occasion it was to provide an extension of his career
as Chief Test Pilot. When the Chinese got wind of John’s impending retirement, they made it plain that they
required his services to fulfil the contract, and they were not going to accept a replacement. So, John was
able to look forward to another three years as Chief Test Pilot, and more visits to Kwangchow and the
concrete Transit Hotel!’ (ibid)
Everything Has To Come To An End
Cunningham remained as Chief Test Pilot after Hawker Siddeley merged into British Aerospace, with whom
he was an Executive Director from 1978 until his retirement in 1980 (awarded the Air League Founders
Medal 1979); having lived most of his adult life in a house not far from the former de Havilland airfield and
factory in Hertfordshire, he spent a lot of his new found spare time devoted to aiding the nearby museum
housing the prototype Mosquito and other important items from de Havilland’s past; Cunningham was also
very active with fundraising for many organisations including the RAF Benevolent Fund and the de
Havilland Flying Foundation; he was President of the 604 and 85 Squadron associations, a Liveryman of the
Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, and heavily involved with the Battle of Britain Fighter Association;
Cunningham served as Deputy Lieutenant of Middlesex for 18 years, and when Middlesex became part of
the Greater London Council he became Deputy Lieutenant of the GLC, retiring at the required age of 75.
Group Captain John Cunningham, C.B.E., D.S.O., D.F.C., A.E., died in 2002, aged 84. He had given his
life to aviation for his country in both times of war and peace. A night fighter ace of almost unrivalled ability
and a much loved wartime hero he moved seamlessly in to civil aviation. He spent 32 years perfecting his art
as a Chief Test Pilot. He was truly an aviation legend during the golden years of British aviation.
Note: Owing to the large and heavy nature of this lot it is unsuitable for postage and we would recommend
collection.
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