A man who taught himself to fly a monoplane from Brooklands in Weybridge has been credited with influencing British aviation for six decades

A man who taught himself to fly a monoplane from Brooklands in Weybridge has been credited with influencing British aviation for six decades

Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, who taught himself to fly when he was just 22 years old, formed Sopwith’s Aviation Company in 1912. His designs were central to Britain’s World War One air effort, including the Hurricane which helped win the Battle of Britain.