Jersey Flag
The Channel Islands and the Great War
Guernsey Flag
 

HENRY (or HENRI) CHARLES BIARD




A Visit to Supermarines by the Prince of Wales

A Visit to Supermarines by the Prince of Wales
(Henry is 4th from the right of this photograph,
while RJ Mitchell is 3rd from the right)

"Civvy Street" and the Schneider Trophy

Unemployment was a fate that befell the many thousands of Officers and Other Ranks following the Great War. In Henry's case, he was successful in competition with some 200 other ex-pilots who applied for six positions as company test pilots with the up and coming Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd. based at Woolston, Southampton. The work involved the testing of newly designed aircraft as well production aircraft and in due course, he became the Chief Test Pilot.

In 1919, Supermarine established a company, British Marine Air Navigation Ltd. (later to become part of Imperial Airways), to operate the first cross-Channel air service from Woolston to Le Havre in France, and a few years or so later to Cherbourg and the Channel Islands. Henry was among the pilots involved in operating the aircraft, a risky business in those days with few instruments, often in adverse weather conditions, and a cockpit open to the elements. He recounted one flight to Le Havre that lasted 5 hours flying into a gale, and later an accident to a fellow pilot off Alderney on the inauguration service to Guernsey.

In 1922, Hubert Scott-Paine decided to fund and enter an aircraft in the Schneider Trophy competition.

Italy had won the trophy in the previous two years of competition, and another success in 1922 would mean that the Italians would retain the trophy. Henry was selected as the race pilot flying the Sea Lion II around a 175 mile course in the Bay of Naples.

Henry Biard's Supermarine Sea Lion II

 

Henry Biard's Supermarine Sea Lion II

The final competitors for the Trophy consisted of three Italians and Henry, this coming after the French team of two pilots mysteriously withdrawing before the flying competition got under way. The race saw the Italians taking and holding the lead for the first six or seven laps and bunching so that any overtaking would mean covering a greater distance, however, Henry decided to pass them by flying over the top! This manoeuvre took him into a lead from which the Italians could not recover. Thus the Italians were prevented from winning the Trophy outright, an event that Great Britain would achieve in 1931. Henry would enter twice more, finishing third to the USA at Cowes in 1923, and crashing during trials in 1925 at Baltimore, MD in the USA.

The Schneider Trophy

The Schneider Trophy

Later Years

Henry Biard in 1933/34

Henry Biard in 1933/34

Henry continued with Supermarine until 1933, when he became redundant a few years after the company had been taken over by Vickers-Armstrong.

Later on, he would maintain his links to the Channel Islands, working with the Guernsey Meteorology Service. During the Second World War, he would return to the RAF in 1939 as a communications pilot operating out of Hendon, before returning again to Guernsey to live and work after the War.

He died on 18th January 1966 at Charminster in Dorset.

Henry Biard's Autobiography "Wings"

As has already been commented several times, the autobiography lacks a clear chronology to accurately relate events to dates, although it covers the period between 1909 and 1934. It is a collection of aviation anecdotes, some humorous, some serious, the latter serving to remind the reader of the perilous nature of the early days of heavier than air flight. Some of his predictions for the expansion of aviation now appear rather wide of the mark, e.g. the continued major use of seaplanes for over-water flying and there being more private planes purchased than motor cars! But such predictions would not have been out of place seventy years ago. However, he also projected that a further war might be a fact within five years, and he fully acknowledged RJ Mitchell's outstanding aircraft design skills, that were, fortunately for the United Kingdom, later so evident in the Spitfire!

The book has been long out of print, but copies might be found via library request systems or www.abebooks.co.uk.

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Peter Tabb, author of "A Peculiar Occupation", for providing a number of pointers regarding Henry Biard's life and career.

Author's Note

This brief overview of Henry Biard's career covers a period that obviously exceeds the length of the Great War, however, it looks at how in his case, he learnt to fly, at some of his activities during the Great War, and then at his post-war experiences, not least winning the Schneider Trophy in 1922. It may not "sit" naturally within a Great War website, but it is nevertheless worth including because of the part he played in the evolution of aviation which coincided with the Great War.

It is hoped that readers with some additional knowledge of Henry Biard will be good enough to pass it on for possible inclusion.

© 2007 Barrie Bertram

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