Donald Campbell And 4th January 1967

I have two very early memories of being emotionally moved. The first was England winning the World Cup final against West Germany in 1966 and I remember crying. More of that in a future blog no doubt. The second instance came early in the following year - January 4 1967 to be precise. I came home from school and the TV news showed black and white images of a high speed boat crash in which the driver was killed instantly. I was seven and a half years old and still to this day remember the shock and emptiness of the occasion. The suddenness of tragic death. Even when it involved someone I had never heard of before from a world I knew nothing of. It was without doubt the first occasion in my short life that I had been touched by death.

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On Friday I read a story that the two parts of the destroyed boat had finally been joined together after so many years. It was the culmination of the efforts of diver Bill Smith and a team of people involved in The Bluebird Project. Work can now begin to restore Bluebird K7, the boat of Donald Campbell, the man killed on that fateful day. It happened on Coniston Water, in the Lake District. Campbell ,who was born in Horley, Surrey in 1921, was a famous car and motorboat racer who had broken 8 world speed records in the 1950's and 60's. He was the son of Sir Malcolm Campbell who himself had held 13 world speed records in the 20's and 30's. On the day in question, Donald Campbell had completed a perfect north-south run. The plan had been for him to re-fuel and allow the wash to settle before going back and attempting to break the world record but he chose to go straight into the south-north run. Bluebird reached a speed of 320 mph at one stage before somersaulting and plunging nose first into the lake. The body of Campbell was not found in the wreckage though his mascot teddy bear, Mr Woppit, was floating in the debris.

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The nation was stunned by the events of that day. For many years thereafter, The Bluebird Project worked towards rescuing the boat from the bottom of Coniston Lake and finally achieved it in March 2001. A few months after this, Donald Campbell's body was also recovered, and he was finally laid to rest later that year in the Parish Cemetery in Coniston.

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Incredibly, the recovery and restoration of Bluebird has failed on more than one occasion to receive backing from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and its success rests solely with Bill Smith, Campbell's daughter Gina, The Ruskin Museum in Coniston, and the enthusiasts who rightly believe that the story of the life and death of Donald Campbell should be told. More details of the project can be found at www.bluebirdproject.com