Donald Campbell: The Man Behind The Mask

by David Tremayne

Generations are familiar with the haunting black and white television footage of Donald Campbell somersaulting to his death in his famous Bluebird boat on Coniston Water in January, 1967. It has become an iconic image of the decade. His towering achievements, and the drama of his passing, are thus part of the national psyche. But what of the man himself? The son of the legendary Sir Malcolm Campbell who was famous for being the ultimate record-breaker of the inter-war years - he broke the land speed record nine times and the water speed record four times with his Bluebird cars and boats - Donald Campbell was born to speed. He was outgoing and flamboyant, yet carefully orchestrated the image he presented to the world. Some saw him as a playboy adventurer; others, such as the radio producer on the twenty-first anniversary of his death, as a reckless daredevil with a death wish. He was known to take solace in extra-marital dalliances, and was obsessed with spiritualism. And in his final years, battered by a 360-mph accident while attempting the land record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and his prolonged and anti-climactic subsequent effort on the treacherous Lake Eyre in Australia, Campbell appeared a haggard and often frightened man. He had become trapped on his record-breaker's treadmill as he continually sought to prove himself to his illustrious father, in whose long shadow he felt forever trapped. DONALD THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK paints a fascinating portrait of an intense, complex, superstitious yet abnormally brave man who was driven not only by the desire to prove that he was worthy of the mantle of his father, but also by his fervent and unswerving desire to keep Britain at the forefront of international speed endeavour. This book generates a unique insight into how his desperate fear of failure finally lured him into taking one risk too many.

Genres: Biography

546 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Robin Newbold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donald Campbell was an amazing man, of that there is no doubt, having broken the world land and water speed records in the 1950/60s. But what drove him? That is where David Tremayne's excellent biography succeeds, as it does indeed peer "behind the mask".

Journalist Tremayne concedes in the introduction that he is something of a Campbell fan but he goes about his business with a professionalism and rigour that makes reading this book truly enlightening. It really is warts and all as we see the "speed king" struggling under the weight of his dead father's legacy - Sir Malcolm was also a holder of the world land and water speed records.

Through numerous interviews with Campbell's family members and friends, a picture emerges of a man that while always in the shadow of his father - at least in his own mind - strode his own heroic path. These men are from a select group, since how many of us would want to be strapped into a car/boat in an attempt go faster than anyone has ever gone before? Why?

Tremayne succeeds in that he uncovers Campbell's motivation, that yearning to better his father, to do it for Britain but the author also does not shirk from detailing the fact the "fastest man on Earth" was a ladies man but had problems with long-term relationships - being twice divorced. The Man Behind the Mask also rivetingly captures Campbell's last chapter where he appears like someone with their back against the wall, striving to be relevant in the changing world of the Sixties - where pop stars not record breakers reigned supreme.

It is unflinching in its retelling of the what appears reckless last attempt in 1967 to break the 300mph limit in his boat on Coniston Water, which led to Campbell's death when it somersaulted horribly out of the water. Reading it, you get the sense he really was one of a kind and this book is a fitting epitaph.

[Nick Hazlewood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably does what it says on the cover. Some aspects were maybe a little bit "pedistal" but there is well researched interviews and articles in there and enough space for you to make your own mind up about what Donald Campbell was doing, who he was and maybe even why. Excellent reference for what happened when and who said what to the book is attractive to the historian and the curious.