Friday 31st December 1948

Sir Malcolm Campbell, legendary racing driver and land speed record holder, died at his Reigate (Surrey, England) home at the age of 63 after a series of strokes. He was one of the few leading drivers of his era, especially those who featured in speed-record attempts, to die in his bed. Campbell became a national celebrity as he broke the land speed record nine times between 1924 and 1935 – on his last attempt he became the first person to drive a car at more than 300 miles per hour. He also set the water speed record four times. As a grand prix driver he won the 1927 and 1928 Grand Prix de Boulogne driving a Bugatti T39A. He stood for Parliament without success at the 1935 general election in Deptford for the Conservative Party, despite his links to the British Union of Fascists. Reportedly, he once adorned his car with a Fascist pennant of the London Volunteer Transport Service, though there has been no photographic evidence to support this claim. His son Donald continued the Campbell legacy setting records on both land and water until he was killed in 1967 in a crash on Coniston Water.