Sefton Brancker Air Vice - Marshal Sir William Sefton Brancker KCB AFC ( 22 March 1877 – 5 October 1930 ) , commonly known as Sir Sefton Brancker , was a pioneer in British civil and military aviation . Early life . Sefton Brancker was born on 22 March 1877 , at Woolwich in Kent . His parents were Colonel William Godefroy Brancker and Hester Adelaide , the daughter of Major - General Henry Charles Russel . The Branckers were a long - established Anglo - German family which had lived in England for several generations . Sefton Brancker grew up as the elder of two brothers and their father died in 1885 . From 1891 to 1894 , the young Brancker attended Bedford School . Military career . Brancker was trained for the British Army at Woolwich , joining the Royal Artillery in 1896 . He served in the Second Boer War and later for a number of years in India , where he made his first flight in 1910 . On 18 June 1913 he was awarded the Royal Aero Club ' s Aviator ' s Certificate no . 525 . During World War I , he held important administrative posts in the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force including Director of Air Organisation and Director of Military Aeronautics . In 1917 , Brancker briefly served as the General Officer Commanding Royal Flying Corps ' s Palestine Headquarters and then its Middle East headquarters . Promoted to major - general in 1918 , he became Controller - General of Equipment in January of that year and Master - General of Personnel in August 1918 . The following year , he was appointed KCB and with the introduction of RAF - specific ranks , he became an air vice - marshal . Civil aviation . In 1922 he was made Director of Civil Aviation , and worked assiduously to stimulate UK interest in the subject with both 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 . He was an ardent supporter of the development of British civilian air services connecting London to British colonies and dominions overseas . Sir Sefton was chairman of the 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 UK clubs with examples of such new and improved aircraft types as the de Havilland Moth and Avro Avian . Death . Together with Lord Thomson , the Air Minister , Brancker was killed when the R101 airship crashed near Beauvais France on 5 October 1930 , during its maiden voyage to India . Legacy . In 1952 British European Airways named its ' Pionair ' ( 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 777 ' s " Sir William Sefton Brancker " 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 . " The aircraft ( G - ZZZB ) no longer carries Sir Sefton ' s name , aircraft names having been removed from the BA fleet since the short - lived 1997 Utopia re - branding . External links .