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Title
Material related to Donald Campbell and the Bluebird car and hydroplane
Reference
VILL
Production date
1949 - 1967

Creator

Villa, Leo Biography Biography
1899-1979, chief mechanic to and close family friend of Malcolm and Donald Campbell Leopoldo Alphonso Villa was born in London in 1899 to an Italian father and Scottish mother. From 1915 he was employed as a riding mechanic with racing driver Giulio Foresti, before joining Captain Malcolm Campbell (1885-1948) in 1922 as a racing mechanic, in time becoming his Chief Engineer. There, Villa worked with Campbell on the ‘Bluebird’ cars and boats used for his nine land and four water speed world record attempts. In 1926 he married Emily Jane Proctor. Following Malcolm Campbell’s death in 1948, Villa continued to work for his son, Donald Campbell, who was to devote the rest of his life to retaining the land and water speed world record for Britain. With Villa’s help, Donald Campbell achieved his first water speed world record at Ullswater in 1955 in the ‘Bluebird K7’ jet powered hydroplane, going on to set a total of seven water and one land speed world records before his death in 1967 on Coniston Water during his eighth water speed world record attempt. After Donald Campbell’s death, Villa worked for Norris Brothers, the consultant engineers who had helped to design Campbell’s world record breaking machines. In June 1976 he was awarded an OBE for his services to land and water speed records. Villa was also granted The Freedom of the City of London and he went on to write 3 books about his record breaking career. Leo Villa died in Surrey in January 1979.

Scope and Content
The collection comprises 8 series arranged in 3 boxes. Series 1 comprises 1 album of photographs and newspaper clippings (1949-1950) relating to initial attempts to break the water speed world record at Coniston, with annotations by Villa. Series 2 comprises 1 album entitled ‘Blackbird. Ullswater 1955. Speed 202.32 mph’ with a written dedication to ‘Tim Villa’ from Donald Campbell, containing photographs of the successful water speed world record attempt in 1955. Series 3 comprises 1 album inscribed ‘Ullswater 1955’ containing photographs (1952-1955) relating to the construction, testing and successful record attempt of the ‘Bluebird’ turbo-jet hydroplane, with annotations by Villa. Series 4 comprises 2 sub series. 4/1 is a certificate of British Registry (1955) for the Bluebird turbo-jet hydroplane. 4/2 is an Australian Department of Supply Report (1964) of a radiological examination of the ‘Bluebird’ hydroplane. Series 5 comprises 1 album inscribed ‘1955-56. Lake Mead Nevada – Coniston’ containing photographs (1955-1956) relating to the water speed world record attempts at Lake Mead in Nevada, USA, and at Coniston Water, as well as Campbell’s appearance on ‘This is Your Life’ and receiving his CBE at Buckingham Palace. Series 6 comprises 1 album of photographs and a plan (1956-1960) relating to the Bluebird car and hydroplane, including its planning, testing and publicity, the 1960 Utah land speed record attempt and successful attempts at the water speed world record in 1956, 1958 and 1959 on Coniston Water, together with a plan for the CN7 ‘Bluebird’ car. Series 7 comprises 1 file of papers (1955-1967). Including letters and telegrams of congratulations, good luck messages, an invitation to act as a judge for awarding the National Trophy for greatest contribution to road safety for children, and a copy of the programme for Donald Campbell’s memorial service in February 1967. Series 8 comprises 3 sub series. 8/1 consists of 6 photographs of Bristol Siddeley engines, 8/2 of 22 miscellaneous photographs of components, planning, construction and workshop interiors. Sub series 8/3 comprises 211 photographs in total (1958-1964), arranged in 5 folders, relating to the Bluebird car and Campbell’s land speed world record attempts at Utah and Lake Eyre, Australia, as well as its planning, construction, testing and publicity.
Extent
3 boxes
Language
English
Level of description
TOP
Repository name
Science Museum, London
Conditions governing access
Open Access
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied in accordance with current copyright legislation and Science Museum Group terms and conditions
External document
Collection Contents List
Appraisal
No appraisal of this collection has been undertaken.
System of arrangement
The files are grouped in 8 series, numbered alpha numerically, according to subject areas. Original numbering sequences, where evident, were maintained in the order of the files. Where no such sequences were evident, the order was decided by the archivist.