Frank McClean

Francis Kennedy McClean put a large family fortune to work in the early days of flight, and his support helped the Short Brothers firm grow into one of Britain's leading aircraft makers. Along the way he got the Royal Navy's first pilots airborne, earning him the nickname Godfather of British naval aviation.

His contributions went well beyond that. A balloonist and pioneer aviator, he flew alongside Wilbur Wright in France in December 1908. Before the First World War he bought sixteen aircraft from Short Brothers, served as the company's unpaid test pilot, and gave the Royal Aero Club one of the first flying grounds in the country. He was convinced aviation would matter to national defence, so he lent his planes to the Territorial Army and the Royal Navy for training and secured a site where the Navy could fly, founding England's first naval flying school at Eastchurch in Kent.

He is also remembered for a daring flight up the Thames to Westminster on 10 August 1912, passing between the upper and lower spans of Tower Bridge and under the other bridges. Throughout these achievements he stayed modest, unassuming and private. This book is the first to reveal the full extent of his influence and importance.