Archie Birkin Explained

Archie Birkin
Nationality:English
Birth Date:30 March 1905
Birth Place:Nottingham, England
Death Date:[1]
Death Place: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

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

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]

Notes and References

  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