Sir Alan John Cobham (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was born to Frederick and Elizabeth in Camberwell.
Alan Cobham is recorded living at 59 Baldry Gardens Streatham in 1911 and 1921.
He attended Wilson's school and was an aviation pioneer who as a child built giant kites which he flew on Streatham Common.
A pilot and instructor in the RAF. He worked for de Havilland where he flew wealthy clients all over Europe after working for an aerial photography company.
He was tasked with researching air routes to India. His venture flying to India and back is on the Pathe news clip
Cobham joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and was commissioned as an instructor. After the war he worked for De Havilland as a test pilot, and made his name in long-distance flights to Rangoon, Burma (present-day Yangon, Myanmar, 1924), the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa (1925-6) and Australia (1926), establishing air routes for Imperial Airways. From the 1930s he pioneered the development of in-flight refuelling, and set up a company to develop its potential.
As a taxi-pilot giving commercial 'joyrides', and through his air display company of 1934, he spread interest in aviation and contributed to the popularisation of air travel. He wrote several books including an autobiography, A Time to Fly (1978).
