Harry Roberts

Harry Roberts came from a family of wealthy Norfolk landowners. He was born in what is now the Thorpe district of Norwich and attended Seckford Grammar School before obtaining a scholarship to Westminster School. Roberts then went to Trinity College Cambridge in 1873, from where he obtained a BA in 1877. At the outbreak of World War I, Roberts joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) despite being 60-years-of-age at the time. He rose to the rank of sergeant-major in the Royal Air Force.

An exponent of pigeon shooting, Roberts had a vast knowledge of bird life in East Anglia. His expertise as a shot took him all around the world. He was regularly seen on the shooting grounds of Monte Carlo. One of his greatest triumphs was in winning the 1883 International Pigeon Shooting Trophy at Monaco from a field of 80 starters. Roberts was also invited to guest at shoots in the United States, and back in England he won many events and championships at the Gun Club in Notting Hill.

Roberts’ wife Evelyn was an accomplished long distance bicyle rider and in 1901 rode over 1000 miles around Britain on a tricyle. She also attempted a long distance ride across Canada in 1913.