Roe and Martinsyde amongst others, he flew alongside early British flyers like Tommy Sopwith, Harry Hawker, Gordon Bell and Ronald Kemp.

He flew it for the first time on 18 September 1913 then, two days later gained fourth place in the second Aerial Derby at Hendon, averaging 66.5 mph (107 kmh).

This race, known as the Wars of the Roses, took place on 2 October and was won by the Yorkist Blackburn, after the Lancastrian Avro had to put down in bad weather.

[5][6] In a newsworthy flight on 14 February 1914, Raynham flew the prototype 504 to a height of 15,000 ft (4,600 m) over Brooklands then made a deliberately unpowered 20 mile (32 km) glide to Hendon.

Immediately afterwards he was one of several British aviators competing for the Daily Mail transatlantic non-stop crossing prize but his Martinsyde Raymor biplane twice crashed, overladen, on take off from St John's, Newfoundland in 1919.

[5] Uninjured and back in Europe, Raynham competed in the 1920 Gordon Bennett trophy at Etampes in a Martinsyde Semiquaver, though engine failure prevented a finish.

His position looked strong, but events unfolded in an echo of those at the British Empire Michelin Trophy, his time bettered almost immediately by Alexis Moneyrol, who took the £1,000 first prize.

[3] Sir Sydney Camm later recalled Raynham as "unlucky", referring to the number of times he had just failed to win the main prizes.

The saving of the seriously out-of-balance Avro Pike prototype in 1916, which involved Roy Dobson crawling along the top of the fuselage to the rear gunner's position, speaks both to Robson's courage and Raynham's flying skills.

With his head down in the cockpit, his other hand on the magneto switch for engine control and the occasional glance outside, he managed to land the aircraft without much damage.