Here, Graham Larn, of Rutland Street, Grimsby, reminds us of one of Grimsby's forgotten celebrities.

THIS year, notches up some remarkable events, the Queen's diamond jubilee, the Olympic Games held in the UK and the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, to name but three.

One event that is almost forgotten, indeed the majority of people wouldn't even be aware of it, involves local lad Vivian Hewitt, heir to the Grimsby-based brewing empire.

One hundred years ago, on April 26, 1912, Captain Vivian Hewitt made aviation history by being the first person to fly across the Irish Sea.

Although two previous attempts had been made by other pilots, it was Hewitt who completed the flight first.

It was also, at that time, the longest flight made over water, so it was two historical events in one really.

Vivian's flight started in Rhyl, North Wales (where remarkably there is no memorial in place), and ended in a park in Dublin, Ireland, some 75 minutes later, where he received a hero's welcome.

Unfortunately, Hewitt's historic achievements were overshadowed by the tragic sinking of RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic just 12 days earlier and probably kept Vivian's effort from making the headlines.

He later gave up flying, but assisted in the First World War as a sort of consultant to the aviation industry.

In the 1930s, Vivian made the headlines for a totally different reason. His uncle Tom had died and left most of his brewing interests of Hewitt Brothers Ltd to his nephew.

Sadly he had no interest in the business and sold the whole lot, lock, stock and barrel.

Some observers claimed that if he had kept the company in family hands it could possibly be thriving today, as many family brewers from the same era still operate.

The sale made him a millionaire, enabling him to purchase land in Wales and create a wildlife sanctuary at Cemlyn.

He became very eccentric over the years and a great collector of birds' eggs, butterflies and stuffed birds. He even had a talking parrot which accompanied him wherever he went.

Sadly, Vivian's exotic collections were stored in poor conditions and disintegrated over time. The wildlife sanctuary, however, still survives.

Vivian died from cancer in 1954, aged 77, and his estate was divided amongst his surviving relatives.

To read more about the Hewitt's brewing empire, a few copies of Beer, Hope and Charity are still available from St Andrew's Hospice, Grimsby. All profits from the sale of the book are donated to the hospice.

To celebrate Vivian Hewitt's remarkable achievement 100 years ago, Phil and Dawn Ellis, owners of the Fulstow brewery in Lincolnshire, are to create a new beer in Vivian's honour.

It will be brewed to an original Hewitt's recipe in time for the centenary celebrations in April of Grimsby's forgotten hero.

For more information, visit www.fulstowbrewery.com