Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight CBE, MC, DFC (6 November 1912 – 5 April 1979) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family of the United States.
Born in New York, Whitney Straight was the son of Willard Dickerman Straight and heiress Dorothy Payne Whitney. He was six years old when his father died in France of influenza during the great epidemic while serving with the United State...
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Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight CBE, MC, DFC (6 November 1912 – 5 April 1979) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family of the United States.
Born in New York, Whitney Straight was the son of Willard Dickerman Straight and heiress Dorothy Payne Whitney. He was six years old when his father died in France of influenza during the great epidemic while serving with the United States Army during World War I. Following his mother's remarriage to British agronomist Leonard K. Elmhirst in 1925, the family moved to England. They lived at Dartington Hall where he attended the progressive school founded by his parents. His education was completed at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Flying was his passion, and while 16 years old, still too young for a pilot's licence he had already achieved over 60 hours solo flight. While still an undergraduate at Cambridge, he became a well known Grand Prix motor racing driver and competed at...
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