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Archie Birkin

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Archie Birkin
NationalityEnglish
Born(1905-03-30)30 March 1905
Nottingham, England
Died7 June 1927(1927-06-07) (aged 22)[1]
Kirk Michael, Isle of Man

Charles Archibald Cecil Birkin (30 March 1905 – 7 June 1927)[2] was an English motorcycle racer, brother of Tim Birkin, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s.[3]

Background and family

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Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1905. He was the son of Sir Thomas Stanley Birkin, 2nd Bt. and Hon. Margaret Diana Hopetoun Chetwynd.[4]

Motorcycle racing

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During an early morning practice session for the 1927 Isle of Man TT races, Birkin, riding a 500c McEvoy motor-cycle, crashed fatally at Rhencullen after swerving to avoid a collision with a Fish Van being driven on open roads.[5] From 1928 onwards, practice sessions for the Isle of Man TT Races and Manx Grand Prix were held on closed public roads.[6]

Sources

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  1. ^ Isle of Man Weekly Times page 7 Friday 11 June 1927
  2. ^ Daily Express page 1 Wednesday 8 June 1927
  3. ^ MOTOR SPORT Incorporating Speed and the Brooklands Gazette page 41 Mat Oxley ON TWO WHEELS Volume 87 Number 7 July 2011 Dafina Keys (2011) "One Hundred Years of the TT Mountain Course"
  4. ^ Census of England and Wales 1911 RG14 20624 page 309 The National Archive
  5. ^ Mona's Herald page 5 T.T. RIDER KILLED Wednesday 8 June 1927
  6. ^ Mona’s Herald page 5 A SAFETY MEASURE Wednesday 14 March 1928