Bernard Laurence Hieatt
| Bernard Laurence Hieatt | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | English |
| Born |
1909 Reading |
| Died |
3 May 1930 (age 21) Brooklands, Surrey |
Bernard Laurence Hiett (1909 – 3 May 1930 (Aged 21) was an English air pilot who became famous for his exploits in motorcycle racing, where he achieved several world records in the sport. He has a memorial in Reading Old Cemetery which is Grade II listed.
Life and career
Born in Reading, Berkshire, Hieatt, the son of a Reading butcher, was a member of the Reading and District Motorcycling Club, where he was captain. He was also an air pilot and had his own Moth aeroplane which he used to fly to racing venues.[1]
He started in dirt track racing for a while, then went to Brooklands, the famous Surrey racetrack in 1927, to race for various engine manufacturers. Achieving distinction on the road and track, he competed on a Cotton in the 1928 TT Races on the Isle of Man when he finished 9th and in 1929 he started in three races but did not finish in any of these races.[2] He was part of the British Motor Cycle team, touring Europe and Egypt and in 1929 won the ‘Sir Charles Wakefield Cup' at Brooklands.
He took several world records, creating two world records in the two hundred miles motorcycle and side car race and won races at Brooklands. He achieved a coveted BMCRC 'Gold Star' in 1929 for lapping the Brooklands track at over 100 mph.[3]
On 3 May 1930 at Brooklands, he had broken the 100 miles record and the 2 hours record covering 160 miles. This was achieved despite raining hard throughout and, with mud being thrown up from the grassy track, visibility was so bad that some competitors said they did not even know if they were on the race track or not.
There had been enough fuel in Bernard’s bike to finish the race, but with a leak in his motorcycle tank, he went into the pits 8 laps from the finish to refuel. During the pitstop he also swapped his goggles for a new pair, as the ones he was wearing were covered in mud.
Bernard was leading the race by a lap and a half when an official went out on to the track to within a few yards of the motorcycle and sidecar waving a large red disc, signalling him to slow down to five miles an hour, but it seemed Bernard did not appear to see him.
With another bike 200 yards in front of him, Bernard tried to overtake the other bike taking the inside course, but he steered too close to the grass verge, when the side car wheel struck the grass verge at 83 mph, the bike and side car turned over. F. Mathews the sidecar passenger was trapped, lying face downwards, but escaped with severe shock.
But Bernard was flung ten feet into the air and hit a concrete post, breaking his leg and shattering his skull and lacerating his brain; he died instantly. Officials and a doctor quickly arrived with an ambulance to the crash site, but when Bernard was found, he was not wearing goggles. He must have thrown them off while still riding. This was the first motorcycling fatality at Brooklands since the First World War.
‘Death by misadventure’ was the verdict of the inquest, while an official described Bernard as, "one of the finest riders on the track and in every respect an all round man.".[4]
Legacy
Bernard Laurence Hieatt's grave in Reading Old Cemetery in Cemetery Junction in Reading is a Grade II listed memorial, with a statue of him in full racing gear.[5] On the memorial it reads,
To the proud and beautiful memory of Air Pilot Bernard Laurence, the beloved eldest son of B. L. & L. Hieatt, who was suddenly called away in his hour of victory on May 3rd 1930, after creating two world records in the two hundred miles motor cycle and sidecar race at Brooklands, aged 21 years
A development of flats on Silver Street, Reading has also been named Hieatt Close in his honour.
References
- ↑ Published on May 29th, 2014 by Niall Norbury (2014-05-29). "6 more of Reading's best hidden secrets". Alt Reading. Retrieved 2016-03-19.
- ↑ "Bernard Laurence Hieatt – Race Results". iomtt.com. 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ↑ "Early Modern Whale -Bernard Hieatt". Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ↑ "Readings Forgotten Boy hero". Retrieved 17 December 2011.
- ↑ Good Stuff IT Services. "Monument to Bernard Laurence Hieatt – Reading – Reading – England". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 4 December 2012.