A letter from the Deputy Editor – June 2025

Sitting at the recent Banquet in Mansion House, listening to Eric Whittle talk about his father and the development of the jet engine, convincing people how revolutionary that was and what it could bring to aviation, made me think about how Donald Campbell took Bluebird K7 into the record books, breaking the world water speed record for Britain using a jet engine.

In my previous editorial letter, I mentioned that there was a lot going on with Bluebird and the plans to get her back on Coniston Water for the first time since the fatal crash.

It’s a mammoth task, but that is exactly what we are trying to do next year and the planning for that is on-going. As the Master, Stephen Fitz-Gerald, mentioned at the banquet, Bluebird is to be part of our float at the Lord Mayor’s Show this November, which will include a double decker bus and a military band.

Why a military band, you may ask? Well, you may also be aware that our Clerk, Lt Col Craig Hallatt, has written a piece of music to celebrate Bluebird and Donald Campbell, which he writes about in his notes this month.

I’m always thinking about how we can raise the profile of what we are trying to do next year, and as you can imagine, there are lots of ideas, from a documentary to a feature film, and a well-known artist producing a poster. But what about a piece of music?

All it took was a quick call to Craig, who immediately embraced the idea and said he would be honoured to write the music. What he has produced is stunning, a great credit to him as a musician and is something which tells the story of Donald and his Bluebirds, his triumphs and demise, in sound.

But where to play it to the public for the first time? Another call, this time to Dominic Reid, Pageant Master for the Lord Mayor’s Show, and it was agreed that our float would be preceded by a military band.

It is not just getting the boat back on the water, it’s encouraging companies and experts to get involved, it’s about raising money, and raising the profile to a generation who have no knowledge of what men such as Donald Campbell aspired to and why they did it, what the engineering challenges were, and how they raised the money to do so. The issues are the same today.

A few days after the Banquet, the Master visited the Ruskin Museum to see Bluebird, which was greatly appreciated by the Director of the Museum, Tracy Hodgson, and the Trustee Board who are grateful for the Coachmakers’ support.

I was delighted to hear, as I am sure all of you are, that Honorary Assistant David Barrett has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 by the City Livery Club, which I am sure we all agree is well deserved – David has been a great help to me recently.

As I was finishing this letter, I received a note from the Clerk to say that the Master will be abseiling from the 47^th floor of the ‘cheese grater’ building in London to raise money for the Lord Mayor’s appeal. Many of us would not attempt this, so I commend you to support this feat if you can.

Next month I will reveal more about Bluebird and if anyone has any ideas, please get in touch!

Freeman David Barzilay, Deputy Editor