Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897 - March 1, 1962) was the originator of the uniform "distress call" MAYDAY. He was a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport

Croydon Airport

Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. When asked to think of a word that would indicate distress and would easily be understood by all pilots and ground staff in an emergency, he crafted the term "MAYDAY" since much of the traffic at the time was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport

Le Bourget Airport

Paris – Le Bourget Airport is an airport located in Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, and Dugny, north-northeast of Paris, France. It is now used only for general aviation as well as air shows...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The term Mayday

Mayday

Mayday is a distress signalMayday or May Day may also refer to:* May Day, a holiday on or around May 1** International Workers' Day* Mayday, Colorado- Music :* Mayday , an electronic music festival* Mayday...

is derived from the French m’aider. "Venez m'aider" means "come help me."