In the morning of 25 November 1911 a hydro-aeroplane called 'Waterbird' took off from the waters of Windermere, flew for a short time, and alighted afloat. Herbert Stanley Adams was the pilot on this historic occasion, though the whole enterprise had been the brainchild of barrister landowner E W Wakefield of Kendal, Cumbria. This was one of the very first successful flights from water in the world, and is now recognised as the first successful flight from water, and safely back again, in Britain. As if the rediscovery of archive material relating to E W Wakefield and his flying exploits were not exciting enough, a further trove of recently discovered personal letters and documents offer an invaluable insight into a remarkable man of his time, and one who has much to say to today's world.