Lives of the First World War

1 – Thomas, born Stockton-on-Tees, Co. Durham, was the son of Thomas Hopwood and Maud Gladstone, née Rudd. 2 – 1911 Census, Newton le Willows, Yorkshire N.R., Aysgarth School: Thomas Anthony Gladstone. Boarder. Aged 12. Schoolboy. Born, Stockton, Durham. 3. – Supplement to the London Gazette, 10 October 1919. Royal Air Force, in recognition of distinguished services rendered during the war: Awarded the Air Force Cross. Flt. Lieut. Thomas Anthony Gladstone. 4 – " Yorkshire Post " Wednesday, 6 May 1931: IDENTIFIED BY A VISITING CARD. Storekeeper's Discovery of Wreckage. VAN REENEN, Natal, Tuesday. A vivid story of how Lieut.-Commander Glen Kidston, the " flying millionaire with a charmed life, " and his companion, Captain T.A. Gladstone, met their deaths in a crash at Mauba, about 16 miles from here, was told to Reuter's correspondent to-night by Mr. Helman, the Mauba storekeeper, who discovered the tragedy. " I was busy in my store, " said Mr. Helman, " when above the roar of the gale outside I suddenly heard a terrific crash. I rushed into the open, and was horror-stricken to see the tangled wreckage of a large aeroplane which had fallen nearby. " The bodies of the two occupants were so mutilated that I had to search for some means to identify them. Eventually I found a visiting card near one of the bodies. It bore the name Lieutenant-Commander G.P. Glen Kidston. " I hastily summoned a neighbour, and then hurried to the telephone and reported the tragedy to the magistrate at Harrismith." Borrowed Machine It was learned to-night from Johannesburg that Lieut-Commander Kidston was not flying the aeroplane in which he made his England to Cape Town dash last month, but a Puss Moth machine belonging to a local flyer. At the time of the tragedy the airmen must have been flying in the teeth of a hurricane through dust-laden air. It is thought here that they came unexpectedly upon the range of the Drakensberg Mountains, and failing to avoid them, crashed to the ground. The airmen had left Johannesburg on a tour with a view to developing air services … CAPT. T.A. GLADSTONE. Work for Development of African Air Route. Captain T.A. Gladstone, who was unmarried, lived with his mother, Mrs. T.I. Gladstone, at Castle Hill, Middleton St. George, near Darlington. He went to South Africa in January in connection with the organisation of an air mail service from England to Central Africa, Johannesburg, and Cape Town, by the Cobham-Blackburn Air Lines, Limited, of which he was a director. Mrs. Gladstone, the mother of Captain Gladstone, is at present staying at Eastbourne for her health. His sister, Mrs. Green, lives at the Manor House, Carlton Husthwaite, near Easingwold. A close friend of Captain Gladstone said last night: " I have been in very close touch with Captain Gladstone for many years, and I can say definitely that he has literally given up his life since the war to the development of this African air route. It was absolutely due to his pioneer work in conjunction with Sir Alan Cobham, who knew him personally, that the route was made possible. He carried out negotiations with all the Governments along the route, and obtained subsidies from various Governments. The present Imperial Airways African route is based entirely on Gladstone's pioneer work. " Captain Gladstone was in the early thirties, and was educated at Uppingham. During the war he served in the Royal Flying Corps, and I understand that he gained a decoration for his courage in rescuing a comrade when their machine crashed into the sea. In the course of his adventurous work in Africa he had many hairbreadth escapes. Twice his machine crashed and was completely destroyed."

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