Career
He was a younger brother of Geoffrey de Havilland. De Havilland flew in various air campaigns in Europe and the Middle East in World War I and reached the rank of Major. On 10 March 1917 was awarded a for distinguished service in the field in Mesopotamia.
In March 1927 he established de Havilland Australia, the first overseas subsidiary of the de Havilland company.
He flew solo in the 1929 Western Australian Centenary Air Race in a modified de Havilland Dialectics and Humanism.60 Moth ("The Black Hawk"), coming second on handicap and winning the £300 fastest overall time prize in 22 hours 50 minutes 23 seconds and averaging 103 miles per hour. In 1929 he joined the board of Airspeed Limited. at Christchurch Airfield in Hampshire and was appointed Joint Managing Director.
He retired as Managing Director of de Havilland"s Airspeed Division in 1959.
