Herbert Carmichael Irwin Flight Lieutenant Herbert Carmichael " Bird " Irwin , AFC ( 26 June 1894 – 5 October 1930 ) was an Irish aviator and athlete . During World War I , Irwin joined the Royal Naval Air Service ( RNAS ) , where he commanded non - rigid airship s . After the war , the " tall sensitive Irishman " commanded larger rigid airship s , initially for the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) and later on secondment to the ( civilian ) Royal Airship Works as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme . Both before and after the war , Irwin also had a successful career as a middle - and long - distance and cross - country runner , and he represented Great Britain at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp , Belgium . Irwin ' s career as an aviator culminated in his command of the airship R101 , the largest airship in the world at the time . He was killed along with another 47 people when it crashed in northern France on a flight from Britain to India . Early life . Herbert Carmichael Irwin was born in Dundrum , County Dublin , on 26 June 1894 , the second of four sons born to Thomas Frederick Irwin , a solicitor , and his wife Elinor Emily Lindsay Carroll , a daughter of the rector of Dundrum . He was baptised in Taney Parish on 1 August . Irwin ' s father and two uncles , Herbert Irwin and Major General Sir James Murray Irwin , were noted members of the Dublin University Rowing Club , and one of his grandmothers was a sister of Major - General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes . His godfather was Sir Thomas Myles , a well - known Dublin surgeon , Home Rule campaigner and , later , gunrunner for the Irish Volunteers . Irwin attended St . Andrew ' s College , Dublin , from August 1909 to June 1913 . Athletic career . Irwin was a member of the Dublin athletic club Clonliffe Harriers , which commemorates him with a trophy , the Irwin Memorial Challenge Cup . Aged 18 , in 1914 , he was the Irish four - mile champion , as well as the winner of the Irish senior and junior cross - country championships . After the war , he went on to represent Great Britain at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp . At the Games , Irwin finished second in Semifinal 1 of the men ' s 5000 metres on 16 August , achieving a career best . However , he was unable to repeat his performance in the final on the following day , finishing only twelfth . After the event , Irwin went on to be the Irish mile and four - mile champion in 1921 . He was also the RAF mile champion in 1920 and RAF three - mile champion in 1919 , 1920 and 1922 . Irwin ' s personal bests were 4 : 33 . 8 in the mile ( set in 1920 ) , 15 : 15 . 6 in the three miles ( set in 1919 ) and 15 : 17 . 8 in the 5000 metres ( set at the 1920 Olympics ) . Military career . Irwin joined the RNAS in 1915 and was entered as a Probationary Flight Sub - Lieutenant on 13 August of that year . He went on to command non - rigid airships of the SS Zero , Coastal and NS types " in Home Waters and the East Mediterranean " during 1916 and 1917 and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant with seniority 1 April 1917 . At RNAS East Fortune , Scotland , he " enjoyed the reputation of having the smartest ship . " Under the RAF , which subsumed the RNAS in 1918 , he was granted a short - service commission as Flight Lieutenant on 24 October 1919 . Irwin subsequently commanded the rigid R29 , with Noël Atherstone , who would again be his second - in - command on R101 , as his first officer . He became captain of the R36 , by now regarded as a civil aircraft , in 1921 . On the R36 ' s 14 June 1921 trial flight , with journalists and Metropolitan Police representatives aboard , to assess the airship ' s value for road - traffic control during the Ascot Races , he served as an officer under Major George Herbert Scott ( who had commanded the R34 on its Atlantic crossing in 1919 and was to become another victim of the R101 disaster ) . On 21 June , however , Irwin and Scott were involved in an incident with the same ship when , approaching RNAS Pulham , Scott " took over from Lt Irwin and decided to direct the landing himself . " An excessively rapid approach to the mooring mast led to a violent deceleration and accidental ballast release , causing a sudden pitch - up that badly damaged the ship ' s bow . Irwin " broke down " on seeing the scale of the damage . The accident was attributed to equipment failure , and the R36 never flew again ( despite various proposals to recommission it ) , remaining in its hangar until broken up in June 1926 . The episode was not the first landing accident in which Scott had been involved and foreshadowed several incidents involving the R101 . Subsequently , Irwin became captain of the R80 . Irwin held ground positions at RAF Headquarters ( Coastal Area ) , at RAF Leuchars and with the Air Ministry ' s Director of Operations and Intelligence before his first transfer to the RAW in 1924 . After being transferred back to the RAF ( see below ) , he commanded the RAF School of Balloon Training at Larkhill , Salisbury Plain , between 1926 and 1928 . He was granted a permanent commission as Flight Lieutenant on 1 January 1926 . Although on secondment to the RAW , Irwin was studying in his spare time for his RAF promotional examination at the time of his death . ( However , he was the intended commander of the R101 ' s proposed successor , R102 ; Atherstone would then have taken command of the R101 . ) The Imperial Airship Scheme . Proposals for an airship network linking Britain to its colonies and dominions emerged in the early 1920s but , due to economic and political factors , only bore fruit with the 1929 launch of two large prototype passenger airships from competing manufacturers , the R101 from the state - owned RAW and the R100 from the private - sector Airship Guarantee Company , a subsidiary of Vickers - Armstrongs . Irwin was involved in the programme in two capacities : initially commanding the R33 on experimental flights to aid the design of the new ships and later as captain of the R101 . R33 . Irwin was transferred to the RAW on 1 December 1924 . He took command of the R33 , which had been recommissioned as part of the programme after four years in mothballs , at Cardington on 2 April 1925 . Under his command , the ship flew to Pulham for aerodynamic testing . However , the R33 broke away from its mast , at a time when Irwin was not aboard , during a gale on the night of 16 – 17 April and — after being blown backwards to the Netherlands , then making a safe return to Pulham — spent six months in its hangar , undergoing repairs that included the complete replacement of the nose section . The R33 returned to service in October , then was mothballed again in the spring of 1926 and resurrected in October of that year before its final withdrawal in November ; it was eventually broken up in 1928 . Irwin transferred back to the RAF in 1926 . R101 . Early flights and incidents . In 1929 , Irwin returned to the Royal Airship Works to command the newly completed R101 , which first flew on 14 October . However , the ship ' s second flight on 18 October ended in an unfortunate incident , reminiscent of the one that had ended the R36 ' s career and again involving Scott , who by now was Officer in Charge of Flying and Training at the Works . Scott " not only insisted on taking over for the landing from [ Irwin ] but also made a mess of the job , " upsetting the ship ' s trim and permitting it to over - ride the Cardington mooring mast . Irwin and Atherstone were " thoroughly upset " by the episode . Subsequently , on 21 October , Scott took over from Irwin while moving the R101 from the mast to its shed and " so confused the issues " that the task was greatly protracted . Other incidents took place on the ship ' s third flight on 1 November when Scott released ballast during the landing without Irwin ' s knowledge and on the subsequent flight , when Scott took charge while landing at Cardington on 3 November and caused damage to one of the mooring mast ' s reefing booms . The endurance flight and afterwards . On 17 and 18 November 1929 , the R101 made an " endurance " flight of over 30 hours ' duration ( in fact , this flight was to be the longest the ship ever completed ) , taking the airship over England , Scotland , Ireland and Wales . According to Atherstone ' s diary , as the R101 approached Dublin Bay at 0800 on 18 November , Irwin " took over for the Forenoon Watch and flew the ship in majestic sweeps over his native land and city " ; the R101 then passed down the coast to Bray and " gave the Kingstown – Holyhead mail boat a good start and then hooshed past her headed for the same place . " In Anglesey , the ship overflew Rhosneigr , where Irwin ' s mother lived . According to the report of the subsequent inquiry into the R101 disaster , the R101 ' s performance on this flight " gave much satisfaction " to both Irwin and Major Scott . At this point , the ship had still not been formally handed over to Irwin . According to Atherstone ' s diary entry for 2 December , Irwin was " fed [ up ] to the teeth about the way promises made to him by Colmore [ the Director of Airship Development ] and Scott have not been kept . " Irwin had been " definitely assured " that the R101 would be handed over to him before entering its shed for a refit that began on 1 December , but he was left in what Atherstone called the " unenviable position of being unofficial captain of the ship . " Modifications and preparations for the India flight . Lord Thomson , the Secretary of State for Air , expressed his interest in making a flight to India after travelling as a passenger on the new airship ' s second flight . However , the R101 , as originally built , had insufficient disposable lift to make the flight . Weight - saving measures and efforts to improve lift were initiated and completed in early 1930 . R101 made three flights in late June 1930 and , in a report to Scott on 1 July , Irwin expressed concerns over " flapping " of the ship ' s outer cover , possible malfunctioning of gas valves and " an abundance of holes " in the gas cells due to chafing against girders . In a previous conversation with Squadron Leader Ralph Booth , captain of the R100 , on 27 June , Irwin had expressed the opinion that " most of the losses were from the gas valves " , due to " excessive pulsing and flapping " of the envelope fabric . The R101 then returned to its shed for rebuilding with an added section . It came out of the shed on 1 October and departed later that day on what would be its only test flight before departure for India . However , the flight , planned to last 24 hours , was cut short to 16 hours 51 minutes . At the inquiry following the crash Irwin and the other officers were described as " undoubtedly well satisfied with the performance of the ship " but Squadron Leader Booth told the inquiry that he had no reason to think that Irwin had changed his previous view that " more elaborate trials in bad weather would be expedient " , and the inquiry report stated that it was " impossible to avoid agreeing " with Booth ' s opinion . It was eventually decided that the flight from Cardington to Karachi ( then northern British India , now Pakistan ) and back , with a stop at Ismaïlia , Egypt , in both directions , would set out on 4 October 1930 . Lord Thomson , Director of Civil Aviation Sefton Brancker and other dignitaries would be aboard . Major Scott was in charge of the flight . He had travelled on the R100 ' s trip to Montreal and back in July and August 1930 . As he explained his position to a " Flight " correspondent he was " officer in command of the flight " and decided " all such points as when the ship would sail , her course , her speed , her altitude . " Irwin was the airship ' s captain - in charge of the crew and discipline . " As James Leasor phrased it in his book " The Millionth Chance " , " Scott was in the position of an Admiral in his flagship ; Irwin was the flagship captain and responsible for [ crew ] discipline . " Sources differ on the degree to which Irwin expressed concern as the India flight neared . Leasor quoted Elsie O ' Neill , the widow of one of the passengers , to the effect that Irwin " kept on saying ' They ' re rushing us . We ' re not ready , we ' re just not ready ' " when she and her husband visited the ship prior to the flight . Moreover , according to the airship historian Giles Camplin , it was " often said " that Irwin " considered stepping down " but was dissuaded from this by " the certain knowledge that others would step forward to take his place . " However , Sir Peter Masefield , another historian of the R101 , believed that " Colmore , Scott , Richmond [ the ship ' s designer ] and Irwin were all satisfied that the airship was sound and airworthy and that the flight . . . could be mounted in confidence " . Notwithstanding this , both Masefield and the inquiry report observed that the programme of trial flights that Irwin himself drew up in 1929 had not been completed at the time of departure . Personal life . Irwin became engaged to Olivia Marjory Macdonald Teacher , daughter of Dr and Mrs Charles C . Teacher of Fareham , Hampshire , and formerly of North Berwick , in early 1925 . The couple were married at Holy Trinity Church , Fareham , on 23 September 1926 . In Bedford , the Irwins lived at Long Acre , Putnoe Lane ; the R101 overflew their house on its final , ill - fated flight . After Irwin ' s death , his widow received an annual pension of £100 , plus a gratuity of £200 . The couple had no children . Death . R101 ' s final flight . Irwin came on duty before 06 : 00 GMT on 4 October 1930 , in preparation for departure later that day ; he " had very little rest while shouldering the chief responsibility for the preparations for departure and for the VIP passengers on board . " Moreover , although the captain was theoretically not required to stand watch , the presence of only three watch - keeping officers - Irwin , Atherstone , and second officer Maurice Steff - on board meant that " there was no alternative but for . . . each to take his turn in three - hour shifts . " ( Atherstone had called this situation " really quite wrong " in his 26 August diary entry . ) Irwin was in charge of the ship ' s departure from the Cardington mast , which took place at 18 : 36 . According to Masefield , in the conditions prevailing , it would have been " in character " for both Irwin and Atherstone to consider " a temporary and precautionary return to base to await better weather " , around 19 : 00 , as the ship completed its departing circuit of Bedford , but also for Scott to be " all for pressing on " . Masefield believed the final decision not to turn back was taken at 19 : 19 , with Scott " certainly the final arbiter . " Irwin came on watch at 23 : 00 ; about two hours later , he spoke to Harry Leech ( a foreman engineer from the Airship Works , who survived the subsequent accident ) and William Gent ( chief engineer of the R101 , who did not survive ) in the ship ' s smoking room but " made no remark about the behaviour of the ship except that the after - engine [ which had given trouble earlier ] was continuing to run satisfactorily " . ( During the flight , Irwin and Leech had also discussed the ship ' s continuing problems with gas leakage . ) At 02 : 00 on 5 October , by which time the ship was cruising in stormy conditions over northern France ( the weather outlook having worsened significantly since departure ) , Irwin was relieved by Steff and went directly to bed . At this time , he apparently " felt no concern about the progress of the flight or the integrity of R101 . " However , errors in Irwin ' s midnight radio message may have reflected the effects of fatigue ; moreover , Steff was less experienced than Irwin and , likewise , the coxswains who operated the airship ' s elevator and rudder controls were less experienced than their counterparts on the preceding watch . Thus , the crew ' s ability to cope with any crisis that might arise may have been reduced . Within seven minutes of the change of watch , the R101 entered an uncommanded dive , then recovered slightly before entering a second dive , making contact with the ground at low forward speed , ploughing into the edge of a wood ( the " Bois des Coutûmes " at Allonne , Oise , near Beauvais ) and catching fire at about 02 : 09 . Of the 54 people aboard , 46 , including Irwin and all the other officers of the ship , were killed ; two more died later in hospital . The subsequent inquiry attributed the ship ' s descent to a " substantial loss of gas " . Funeral . Irwin and the other victims received " full state honours . " The bodies were transported to London via special trains and warships before lying in state in Westminster Hall . Irwin ' s body was identified in London . Following a memorial service at St . Paul ' s Cathedral on 11 October , the victims were taken by special train to Bedford for burial in a common grave in the cemetery of St Mary the Virgin , Cardington . Paranormal claims . Eileen J . Garrett , an Irish medium , claimed to have made contact with Irwin at a séance held with Harry Price at the National Laboratory of Psychical Research two days after the disaster , while attempting to contact the then recently deceased Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , and discussed possible causes of the accident . The event " attracted worldwide attention " , thanks to the presence of a reporter . Major Oliver Villiers , a friend of Brancker , Scott , Irwin , Colmore and others aboard the ship , participated in further séances with Garrett , at which he claimed to have contacted both Irwin and other victims . However , Garrett ' s claims have been questioned by several commentators . Researcher Melvin Harris who studied the case wrote that the information described in Garrett ' s séances were " either commonplace , easily absorbed bits and pieces , or plain gobblede - gook . The so - called secret information just doesn ' t exist . " The magician John Booth analyzed the mediumship of Garrett and the paranormal claims of R101 and considered her to be a fraud . References . county