Bluebird K7 lawyers – ‘We wanted to avoid a full trial in favour of Bluebird’s fans and to bring the iconic boat home as soon as possible’

The Lancashire-headquartered law firm that backed the return of the Bluebird K7 to Coniston has revealed it always intended to avoid a court battle, as it means the public will be able to enjoy an iconic part of British history much sooner.

Forbes Solicitors was appointed by The Ruskin Museum in late 2022 to support its efforts to reclaim the Bluebird K7 hydroplane from North Shields based Bill Smith. The vessel tragically flipped on Coniston Water in January 1967, killing pilot Donald Malcolm Campbell MBE, who was attempting to break his own World Water Speed Record of 267mph, pushing this to over 300mph.

The damaged boat lay in Coniston water until March 2001, when it was salvaged by Bill Smith, under an agreement with Donald’s daughter Gina Campbell that Bluebird K7 would be temporarily gifted for restoration and then returned to the Campbell family.

On Saturday 9 March 2024, Bluebird K7 arrived back in Coniston at The Ruskin Museum, where it will take residency in a specially built Bluebird Wing. There’s also plans for the hydroplane to run again on Coniston Water, subject to permission from the Lake District National Park Authority.

Stephen McArdle, a Partner, and Head of the Commercial Litigation Team at Forbes Solicitors, said: “It had been our intention from the outset to reach a settlement as quickly and as amicably as possible. The Campbell family have always been the rightful owners of Bluebird K7 and were keen for the hydroplane to be returned to Coniston, so that it can be enjoyed by the public.

“People travel from all over the country and the world to Coniston to appreciate Donald Campbell’s legacy. A lengthy court battle would have only delayed and deprived them the pleasure of seeing Bluebird K7 in its spiritual home.”

Sheroze Nadeem, an Associate at Forbes Solicitors, added: “From the pre-action stage of issuing legal proceedings, we developed a strategy that was built on reiterating the generosity and goodwill shown by the Campbell family in temporarily gifting Bluebird K7.

“There’s much respect and appreciation for the hydroplane’s restoration, and we’re sure the chronicling of this process has benefitted different parties during the past two decades. It was now time for Bluebird K7 to be returned to the Campbell Family. We were resolute in our legal position and extremely confident any court ruling would have found in our favour. However, we wanted to avoid the prospects of a full trial, as this  would have only delayed the Bluebird K7 taking residency in its custom built wing at The Ruskin Museum – a place where people will be able to enjoy seeing this iconic piece of history.”