Denys Corbett Wilson

Denys Corbett Wilson (1882 – 10 May 1915) was a pioneering Irish aviator.

He is most notable for his 100-minute flight on 22 April 1912, from Goodwick in Pembrokeshire to Crane near Enniscorthy in county Wexford – from the island of Great Britain to the island of Ireland. The journey time was 1 hour 40 minutes. There is a memorial plaque within the grounds of Enniscorthy Castle.

This was the first complete flight between Britain and Ireland; an earlier flight had been made by actor-aviator Robert Loraine on 11 September 1910. Loraine flew from Wales (part of Great Britain) but landed 300 to 400 yards short of the Irish coast at Dublin, Ireland.

Wilson had initially set off from Hendon Aerodrome on 17 April 1912 in his Bleriot XI monoplane in a race against his friend and fellow pilot Damer Leslie Allen, also flying a Bleriot, who disappeared the following day over the Irish Sea while attempting a flight from Holyhead, Wales to Ireland.

The achievement was commemorated in Centenary Celebrations held in Fishguard and Goodwick on the weekend of 21/22 April 2012 and in a specially commissioned stage play by Derek Webb, called '100 Minutes' which was performed at Theatr Gwaun in Fishguard and Wexford the same week.

A Lieutenant serving in the Third Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, on 10 May 1915 Corbett-Wilson and his observer were on a reconnaissance mission in a Morane Parasol when their aircraft was struck by an enemy shell. Both were reported to have been killed instantly.

He is buried in the Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, France.