Lydston G. Hornsted

Hornsted in his Calthorpe at the 1912 French Grand Prix at Dieppe.

Lydston Hornsted, (Lydston Granville Hornsted), L.G. Hornsted, Cupid, (1883–1957), was the first British holder of the World Land speed record, which he achieved on 24 June 1914 with an official speed of 124 miles per hour at the Brooklands motor racing circuit.

He married four times: first in 1907 to Isabella Reilly Marston in Hampstead, London, but divorced in 1913; second to Olive May Allsopp on 1 July 1915 in Camden, London; third to Alice M. Reynolds in Hampstead, London, in 1919; fourth to Joyce M. Williams in Chelsea, London, during 1937, sister of stage, film and television actor John Williams.

The Blitzen Benz No 3 produced 200 hp from its inline-4 cylinder Benz engine.

Military service Hornsted joined the British Army, (Army Service Corps) on 29 August 1914, as a Second Lieutenant. He became a Lieutenant on 1 August 1915, and a Temporary Captain in 1918.

Death Hornsted died in Plymouth, Devon, in 1957.