Martin Squires Automotive Illustration: Shuttleworth Collection Visit 2014

Friday 5 September 2014

Shuttleworth Collection Visit 2014

The Shuttleworth Collection

Watercolour and Ink, 2m scroll

Planes from Left to Right: DH88 Comet, Bleriot Type XI, Schneider S.G. 38 Glider, Percival Mew Gull, Westland Lysander, AV36 "Monobloc" Glider, Comper Swift, Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Tomtit

Details

On my way to Kings Lynn for Dirtquake on 18th July I decided to drop in to the Shuttleworth Collection. This is a museum I've been wanting to visit for a while. I visited with my latest creation the scrolling sketchbook to see if I could fill a 2m roll in the time I was there. There was too much good stuff to choose from but I hope the final piece gives you some idea of whats there.

The collection is result of Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth who raced cars and planes in the 30s. Shuttleworth won the first Grand Prix at Donnington in 1935 in a 2.9l Alpha Romeo. He also took part in the 1933 Viceroy's Cup Air Race in India in which, after obtaining his pilots licence flew his single seat Comper Swift (the plane on the right of the scroll above) and flew it all the way to the start.

At the age of 23 he inherited the Old Warden Park Estate which is where the museum is sited. Shuttleworth practised agriculture and forestry as well as the cars and aeroplanes. In 1940 whilst serving in the RAF Shuttleworth crashed his Fairey Battle whilst on a night flight, killing him outright.

His mother turned the estate into a charitable trust after her sons death, in order to make sure the collection was used for education in science, practice of aviation and agriculture.

Well It certainly does that, everything in the museum is a working machine, and the workshop is continually working to keep the collection running. The collection often run flying days and I was hoping that they were running one that evening but alas it was not to be.