Tragic death of John Cobb, who attempted world water speed record on Loch Ness in 1952, recalled
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A special exhibition will revisit the story of John Cobb's world record attempt.
John Cobb died on September 29, 1952 when his jet-powered Crusader disintegrated seconds after he became the first man to break the 200mph barrier on water.
The exhibition, Remembering John Cobb, will be held at Glen Urquhart Hall, Drumnadrochit, on Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1.
It will be opened by Richard Noble who was inspired to set a new world land speed record of 633mph in October 1983.
Organised by Glenurquhart Heritage Group, it underlines the deep affection which developed between the community and the quietly-spoken English adventurer.
For weeks, he and his team of engineers were present at Temple Pier in Drumnadrochit preparing for the historic attempt during which time he endeared himself to the community by his willingness to speak to visitors, especially children, by numerous small acts of kindness and by his deference to the local respect for the Sabbath.
Josie Mackenzie, the heritage group’s secretary, said his death came as an enormous blow to the community.
“At the time, people felt as if they had lost one of their own – so much so that by the first anniversary of his death Glen Urquhart Rural Community Association (GURCA) had collected enough local subscriptions to erect a traditional Highland cairn in his memory at the side of the A82 west of Urquhart Castle,” she said.
In 2002, the heritage group marked the 50th anniversary of his death with a commemorative booklet, a display of posters and a film containing interviews with locals recalling what happened.
Since then, further research has given a clearer picture of what happened to Crusader.
As a result, the group was approached by tour boat operator Gordon Menzies to put on a fresh exhibition to display the evidence surrounding the ultimate cause of the accident as well as to commemorate the 70th anniversary.
Mr Menzies grew up at Temple Pier and was a curious youngster when the original world record attempt was made.
Living by the loch, he was also aware that, in 2019, a team working on behalf of Norwegian firm Kongsberg Maritime had finally located and carried out a sonar as well as a photographic survey of Crusader 67 years after the crash.
Heritage group chairman Duncan MacDonald said: “Gordon brought to our attention the fact that the data collected from this recent investigation gives us a new perspective on the tragic events that unfolded on September 29, 1952 and that in turn gave us the impetus to recreate our exhibition to share this new information with visitors and locals alike.”
It is open to all between 2pm and 8pm on the Friday and between 11am and 6pm on the Saturday.
