1-193-322 - National Motor Museum/Heritage Images

Donald Campbell with a Sunbeam 350 and Leo Villa with Bluebird, c1964. Malcolm Campbell, Donald's father, bought a Sunbeam 350 in 1923 and modified it to become the first man to exceed 150 mph on land at Pendine sands on 21st July 1925. Leo Villa was an engineer involved with both Donald and Malcolm Campbell, on all their Bluebird record attempts. Campbell was the first person to complete an officially timed run with a jet-propelled hydroplane, on 23rd July 1955, at Lake Ullswater, achieving a speed of 202.32 mph (325 kmph). On 31st December 1964, he beat this record at Dumbleyung Lake, Australia, with a speed of 276.33 mph (444.6 kmph). On 17th July 1964 he set a speed record on land with a jet-powered Class A land vehicle, with a speed of 403.1 mph (649 kmph), at Lake Eyre Salt Flats, Australia. He is the first and thus far only person to hold both Water and Land Speed Records. He died on 4th January 1967 on Coniston Water, Cumbria whilst attempting to beat his own world record of 276 mph at a speed close to 320 mph on his return run.