The Archive Photographs series. Sir Alan Cobham is regarded by many as the visionary who made the largest individual contribution to the cause of British civil aviation. Graduating from early joy-riding operations he became Geoffrey de Havilland’s first and, subsequently, senior pilot and undertook many long-distance route-proving flights throughout the 1920s. His determination to bring aviation to the people and officialdom alike resulted in aerial tours which spanned the length and breadth of the United Kingdom and produced some 1,000 ‘Flying Circus’ performances during the years 1932-35