Christopher Draper

Squadron Commander Christoper Draper DSC , was an English flying ace of World War I. His penchant for flying under bridges earned him the nickname the Mad Major. After the war he became a film star through his work both as a stunt pilot and as an actor. During the 1930s he worked for a time as a British secret agent, serving as a double agent to Nazi Germany. He returned to the Navy in World War II. During his flying career he logged over 17,000 flying hours on 73 types of aircraft.

Christopher Draper was born at Bebington, on the Wirral in Cheshire, England, into a family of five sons and two daughters. He became interested in flying in July 1909 when Louis Blriot flew across the English Channel. Unable to afford the 75 fee for pilot training, Draper wrote to his local MP, Joseph Hoult, who was an acquaintance of his father. Hoult provided Draper with 210 after making him promise not to tell anyone about the gift. OnOctober 1913, with a total ofhoursminutes of flying experience, he obtained Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate No. 646 after flying a GrahameWhite biplane at the GrahameWhite Flying School at Hendon Aerodrome.

Source: Wikipedia