# Sefton Brancker

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British Army general (1877–1930)

Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker KCB AFC Brancker, c. 1915–1918 Born William Sefton Brancker (1877-03-22)22 March 1877 Woolwich, Kent, England Died 5 October 1930(1930-10-05) (aged 53) Allonne near Beauvais, France Allegiance United Kingdom Branch British Army (1896–1918) Royal Air Force (1918–1919) Service years 1896–1919 Rank Air Vice-Marshal Commands Master-General of Personnel (1918–1919) Controller-General of Equipment (1918) HQ RFC Middle East (1917) Palestine Brigade (1917) Northern (Training) Brigade (1915–1916) No. 3 Wing (1915) Conflicts Second Boer War First World War Awards Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Air Force Cross Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class (Russia) Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st Class (Russia) Commander of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium) Relations Wife: May Wynn Field Other work British Director of Civil Aviation

[Air Vice-Marshal](/source/Air_Vice-Marshal) **Sir William Sefton Brancker**, [KCB](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath) [AFC](/source/Air_Force_Cross_(United_Kingdom)) (22 March 1877 – 5 October 1930) was a British pioneer in [civil](/source/Civil_aviation) and [military aviation](/source/Military_aviation) and senior officer of the [Royal Flying Corps](/source/Royal_Flying_Corps) and later [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force). He was killed in an airship crash in 1930, exactly 20 years after his first flight.[1]

## Early life

Sefton Brancker was born in [Woolwich](/source/Woolwich),[2] the eldest son of Col. William Godeffroy Brancker and Hester Adelaide, the daughter of Major General Henry Charles Russell. Brancker grew up as the elder of two brothers; their father died in 1885. From 1891 to 1894, the young Brancker attended [Bedford School](/source/Bedford_School).[1] His father was born in [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg) to a British father and German mother;[3][4] the Branckers were a long-established Anglo-German family that had lived in England for several generations.[5]

On 7 April 1907, he married May Wynne, the daughter of Colonel Spencer Field of the Royal Warwickshire regiment; they had one son, also called William Sefton Brancker.[5]

## Military career

Brancker was trained for the [British Army](/source/British_Army) at Woolwich, joining the [Royal Artillery](/source/Royal_Artillery) in 1896.[6] He served in the [Second Boer War](/source/Second_Boer_War) and later in India, where he made his first flight in 1910.[7] On 18 June 1913 he was awarded the [Royal Aero Club](/source/Royal_Aero_Club)'s [Aviator's Certificate no. 525](/source/List_of_pilots_awarded_an_Aviator's_Certificate_by_the_Royal_Aero_Club_in_1913).[6]

During the First World War, Brancker held important posts in the [Royal Flying Corps](/source/Royal_Flying_Corps), including Director of Military Aeronautics.[6] In late 1915 a brigade system was introduced in the RFC, and Brancker was promoted to [brigadier general](/source/Brigadier_general) and appointed to command the Northern Training Brigade, with his headquarters in Birmingham. This appointment was to be short-lived, as in early 1916 he was appointed Director of Air Organisation in London.[8] In 1917, he briefly served as the General Officer Commanding Royal Flying Corps's Palestine Headquarters and then its Middle East headquarters.[6] Promoted to [major general](/source/Major-general_(United_Kingdom)) in 1918, he became Controller-General of Equipment in January of that year and Master-General of Personnel in August 1918.[6] On 23 August 1918 he resigned his commission in the Army[9] and was granted a permanent commission as major-general in the RAF.[10] He was appointed [Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath) on 1 January 1919[11] and retired from the RAF with the rank of major-general on 13 January following.[12] He was granted the rank of air vice-marshal in 1924.[13]

## Civil aviation

On 11 May 1922 he was made Director of Civil Aviation,[6] and worked assiduously to stimulate British interest in the subject among local authorities and flying clubs. He encouraged Manchester and other cities to construct municipal airports and airfields. He participated in several long-distance survey flights, notably with [Alan Cobham](/source/Alan_Cobham). He was an ardent supporter of the development of British civilian air services connecting London to British colonies and dominions overseas.[14]

Brancker was chairman of the [Royal Aero Club](/source/Royal_Aero_Club)'s (RAeC) Racing Committee from 1921 to 1930, and his dynamic leadership led to the RAeC forming the Light Aero Club scheme in 1925, which helped provide the British clubs with examples of such new and improved aircraft types as the [de Havilland Moth](/source/De_Havilland_Moth) and [Avro Avian](/source/Avro_Avian).

## Death

The wreckage of R101

Together with [Lord Thomson](/source/Christopher_Thomson%2C_1st_Baron_Thomson), the Air Minister, Brancker was killed when the airship [R101](/source/R101) crashed near [Beauvais](/source/Beauvais), France, on 5 October 1930, during its maiden voyage to India.[6][14] His death occurred on the 20th anniversary of his first flight.[1]

## Legacy

In 1952, [British European Airways](/source/British_European_Airways) named its 'Pionair' ([Douglas DC-3](/source/Douglas_DC-3)) G-AKNB "Sir Sefton Brancker" to mark his substantial contribution to the development of British aviation.

In 1996, British Airways (BA) named one of its newly delivered [Boeing 777s](/source/Boeing_777) (G-ZZZB) "Sir William Sefton Branker" [*[sic](/source/Sic)*] in recognition of his work. Other 777s in the BA fleet were named after aviation pioneers, for example "Wilbur and Orville Wright" and "Sir Frank Whittle".

Kenmore Park housing estate in [Kenton](/source/Kenton%2C_London), Harrow, has a number of its roads named after aviators including Brancker.

Brancker Road in Plymouth was named in his honour during build in the mid 1930s.

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-times_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-times_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-times_1-2) "Obituary: Sir Sefton Brancker – Development of Civil Aviation". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 6 October 1930. p. 19.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *1891 England Census*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** *Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** *1881 England Census*

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-odnb_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-odnb_5-1) ["Brancker, Sir William Sefton (1877–1930), army and air force officer"](https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-32041). *[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography)* (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/ref:odnb/32041](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fref%3Aodnb%2F32041). Retrieved 7 May 2019. (Subscription, [Wikipedia Library](https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/partners/88/) access or [UK public library membership](https://www.oxforddnb.com/help/subscribe#public) required.)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-air_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-air_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-air_6-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-air_6-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-air_6-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-air_6-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-air_6-6) [Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker](http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Brancker.htm)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Raleigh_v1_p421-2_7-0)** Raleigh 1922, pp. 421–22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Brancker, Sefton (1935). Macmillan, Norman (ed.). *Sir Sefton Brancker*. London: William Heinemann Ltd. pp. 122 to 115.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["No. 31265"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31265/page/4292). *[The London Gazette](/source/The_London_Gazette)* (Supplement). 1 April 1919. p. 4292.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["No. 31078"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31078/page/14960). *The London Gazette*. 20 December 1918. p. 14960.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["No. 31098"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31098/supplement/91). *The London Gazette* (7th supplement). 1 January 1919. p. 91.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["No. 31196"](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31196/page/2623). *The London Gazette*. 21 February 1919. p. 2623.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** *[Who Was Who](/source/Who_Was_Who) 1929–1940*, p. 154.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Pirie_14-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Pirie_14-1) Pirie 2009.

- Pirie, Gordon H. *Air Empire: British Imperial Civil Aviation, 1919–1939*. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009.

- Raleigh, Walter. *The War In The Air: Being the Story of The part played in the Great War by The Royal Air Force: Vol I*. Oxford:Clarendon Press, 1922.

## Further reading

- *Sir Sefton Brancker*, [Norman Macmillan](/source/Norman_Macmillan_(RAF_officer)), William Heinemann Ltd, London, 1935

- *Heavenly Adventurer: A biography of Sir Sefton Brancker*, [Basil Collier](/source/Basil_Collier), London, 1959

- *Air Days*, John F. Leeming, Harrap, London, 1936

- Higham, Robin (2016). [*Britain's Imperial Air Routes 1918–1939*](https://books.google.com/books?id=SQfzDQAAQBAJ&q=Brancker). Croydon: Fonthill Media. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-78155-370-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-78155-370-1).

## External links

Media related to [Sefton Brancker](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sefton_Brancker) at Wikimedia Commons

- ["Major General William Sefton Brancker"](https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205018044). *Imperial War Museums*. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

Military offices New title Directorate established Assistant Director of Military Aeronautics Deputy Director from March 1915 1913–1915 Succeeded by John Fulton Preceded by John Higgins Officer Commanding No. 3 Wing August – December 1915 Unknown New title Brigade established Brigadier-General Commanding Northern (Training) Brigade December 1915 – February 1916 Unknown New title Post created Director of Air Organization March 1916–1917 Succeeded by Lionel Charlton New title Deputy Director-General of Military Aeronautics February – November 1917 Succeeded by Edward Ellington Preceded by Geoffrey Salmond Officer Commanding Palestine Brigade November – December 1917 Succeeded by Amyas Borton General Officer Commanding HQ RFC Middle East November – December 1917 Succeeded by Geoffrey Salmond New title Air Council established RAF Controller-General of Equipment January – August 1918 Succeeded by Edward Ellington Preceded by Sir Godfrey Paine RAF Master-General of Personnel 1918–1919 Vacant Title next held by Cecil Lambert As Director of Personnel Government offices Preceded by Sir Frederick Sykes As Controller Director of Civil Aviation 1922–1930 Succeeded by Sir Francis Shelmerdine Professional and academic associations Preceded by Lord Weir President of the Royal Aeronautical Society 1926-1927 Succeeded by William Forbes-Sempill Notes and references 1. A complete list of Brancker's military appointments can be found in Appendix I to Brancker, Sefton (1935). Macmillan, Norman, ed. Sir Sefton Brancker. London: William Heinemann Ltd. pp. 420 to 425.

v t e Royal Air Force generals RAF generals between 1 April 1918 and 31 July 1919 Lieutenant-Generals David Henderson John de Mestre Hutchison Major-Generals Edward Ashmore Sefton Brancker George Cayley Edward Ellington Philip Game Frederick Gordon Frederick Heath-Caldwell John Higgins Mark Kerr Charles Lambe Charles Longcroft Godfrey Paine Geoffrey Salmond John Salmond Frederick Sykes Hugh Trenchard Tom Webb-Bowen Brigadier-Generals William Alexander John Becke Amyas Borton Harold Briggs Robert Brooke-Popham Charles Burnett Walter Caddell Lionel Charlton Christopher Courtney Alfred Critchley Hugh Dowding Francis Leycester Festing Eugene Gerrard Percy Groves Robert Marsland Groves John Hearson Thomas Higgins Cuthbert Hoare Felton Holt Guy Livingston Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt Norman MacEwen Edward Maitland Edward Masterman Cyril Newall Duncan Pitcher Francis Scarlett John Miles Steel Oliver Swann Harry Viener Vyell Vyvyan James George Weir Kenneth Wigram

Authority control databases VIAF GND WorldCat

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