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Sir John Alcock 1892-1919
 John Alcock is remembered for making the first nonstop transatlantic airplane flight. After qualifying for his pilot’s certificate in 1912, he came third in the 1914 London-Manchester race. At the start of WW1, Alcock joined the Royal Naval Air Service, where he became an instructor. In 1917, he was appointed flight commander, and in September of that year was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry. He was later taken prisoner by the Turks after a forced landing during a long-distance bombing raid. After the war, Alcock became associated with Vickers Ltd., and it was in a converted Viny bomber that he and Lt. Arthur Whitten Brown made a nonstop flight from Newfoundland to Ireland, in June 1919.
The news of the adventure spead like wildfire and the two men were received as heroes in London. For their accomplishment they were presented with Lord Northcliffe's Daily Mail prize of £10,000 by Winston Churchill who was then Britain's Secretary of State. A few days later both men were knighted at Buckingham Palace by King George V for recognition of their pioneering achievment.
Alcock was killed on December 18, 1919, when his Viking amphibian crashed at Cote d’Evrard in France during an attempted forced landing in fog.
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