Alcock, Sir John William

Alcock, Sir John William (1892-1919), airman, b. Manchester, England.

Jack Alcock made the first non-stop flight across the North Atlantic with Arthur Whitten Brown on 14-15 June, 1919.

They flew from St. John's, Newfoundland to Clifden, Ireland (2,042km) in 15 hours 57 minutes.

Alcock had been a bomber pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, winning the DSC (Distinguished Service Cross).

He died in a plane crash six months after the Atlantic flight.

Alcock and Brown's plane, a Vickers Vimy, can be seen today at the Science Museum, London.

In ROBERT J. HOARE Wings over the Atlantic