21 JUNE 1930, Page 3

Sir Henry Segrave The death of Sir Henry Segrave from

an accident just after he had attained a mean speed of 98.76 miles an hour in his motor boat on Windermere Lake, has caused universal sorrow. Mr. A. V. Halliwell, one of his two mechanics, was drowned, but Mr. M. Wilcocks escaped, though badly bruised. Responsible observers say that the accident was due to a submerged branch of a tree which tore away the step of the boat and made it unmanageable. Engineers do not doubt that speed and the researches which make it possible are entirely for the benefit of the science of motor-design. We must hope that it is so, for it would be pitiable to think that a life like that of Sir Henry Segrave had been sacrificed to a paltry cause. He was a perfect model to his class. Although extraordinarily daring he was, in motive and temper, a true man of science ; he did not foolishly take avoidable risks. Ostentation and silly forms of publicity were foreign to him. Although he had driven motor cars and motor boats faster than anybody had ever driven them, he was the most modest of men. And partly for that reason he was one of the most lovable.