John Stuart Hindmarsh

Who was John Stuart Hindmarsh?

John Stuart Hindmarsh, also known as Johnny Hindmarsh, was an English racecar driver and aviator.

Hindmarsh was educated at Sherborne, Dorset and then attended the Royal Military College. He joined the Royal Army Tank Corps in 1928, then in 1930 learned to fly with the Royal Air Force.

Hindmarsh also raced Talbot and Lagonda cars; he won the Le Mans 24-Hour Race in 1935 in a 4½ litre Lagonda M45R Rapide with Luis Fontés.

Hindmarsh was killed aged 30 while test flying Hawker Hurricane I L1652 at Brooklands on 6 September 1938; he is thought to have been overcome by carbon monoxide fumes in the cockpit, and the aeroplane then dived almost vertically into the ground and exploded at the foot of St George’s Hill almost opposite the Vickers factory entrance.