Glen Kidston
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George Pearson Glen Kidston (born January 23, 1899 - May 5, 1931 in Natal ) was an English bon vivant, officer, racing driver and pilot, who became known as one of the Bentley Boys .
Glen Kidston was born the wealthy son of Archibald Glen Kidston, who had become a partner in Clydesdale Bank in Glasgow, Scotland . During the First World War he served as Lieutenant Commander in the British Royal Navy , where he was torpedoed twice at the beginning of the war . Later he took part in the Battle of the Skagerrak . Already at this time he was very interested in aviation and became a naval aviation pioneer .
Career as a racing driver and pilot
After the war, Kidston was one of the legendary Bentley boys in the 1920s, who at that time caused a sensation in international motorsport and were known for their dissolute lifestyle. Their parties, which could last for days, regularly hit the headlines in the British tabloids; Kidston himself had affairs with Barbara Cartland and the later Duchess of Argyll . In 1925 he married Nancie Miriel Denise Soames, with whom he subsequently had a son named Archibald Martin Glen (1927–1978).
Kidston began motorsport in the early 1920s. He drove in the Monte Carlo Rally , hill climbs in Great Britain and also competed in motorcycle races. Several times he competed in the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man . In 1929 he started at the Irish Grand Prix in Dublin, where he had to admit defeat to Boris Iwanowski in his Alfa Romeo in the Éireann Cup race . In the same year he made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with second place in the overall standings. In 1930 he won the race as a partner of Woolf Barnato . Kidston was also a big game hunter and took part in safaris in remote areas of Kenya. Due to their pioneering quality, the films made in the process are in custody at the British Film Institute . In 1929 he was the only one who survived a civil plane crash with severe skin burns. In 1931, Kidston finally switched to aviation and set some records. In May 1931, he had a fatal accident in a plane crash in South Africa when his De Havilland machine broke in two in a sandstorm. Kiston's grave is in Glasbury.
His wife Nancie married Reginald Sheffield, the son of a former Conservative member of the House of Commons, six months after his death. She is the grandmother of Samantha Cameron and Cath Kidston .
statistics
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 |
 Bentley Motors Limited
|
Bentley 4½ liter |
Jack Dunfee
|
Rank 2 and class win | |
| 1930 |
Bentley Motor Company
|
Bentley Speed Six |
Woolf Barnato
|
Overall victory |
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kidston, Glen |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kidston, George Pearson Glen (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 23, 1899 |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 5, 1931 |
| Place of death | Natal Province |