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Royal Flying Corps

S

sylviasayers

master brummie
I have just been having a sort out and came across a scrap of paper that gave me some details of my dad's service in the RFC. No.4 /squadron Reconnaissance Rigger 1917 France. After Armistice No.12 Squadron in Germany.

Prior to the this he was in the army and I have his General Service Medal Pte. William Wallace - No.45696, Devonshire Regt., also he was in the 13th Btn.

Worcestershire Regt. No.25757 and No.186937 2nd Btn. Warwickshire Regt.

Can anyone help me find out more about his RFC service.
 
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His service record will be held at the National Archives in the AIR76 collection. Not online, I am afraid. The RAF medals records for the Great War period are not yet public.
 
Hi Sylvia


Have you seen his pension records on Ancestry? Only 4 pages. Reg No.25757

Suzanne
 
You could keep your fingers and everything else crossed, but I doubt that there will be any more than the above. The army records (which included any service in the Royal Flying Corps before it merged with the Royal naval Air Service to create the RAF) were passed across to the RAF. The main details were transferred to the RAF record and the army record junked. It's possible some fragment remained behind somehow, so don't give up just yet! The RAF records have all survived, so you'll certainly find him at Kew.
 
Yes Chris, I have got his pension record he was awarded £15.00 probably a one off payment, he was discharged 4th May 1916 and re-enlisted 9th December 1916 - still well under the age of 18 - so typical of his generation who raised their age to join up. Thankfully he survived and lived to be 84.
 
Suzanne sorry I forgot to thank you re Pension Records.

Chris, do you think it worthwhile to contact the National Archives with the very sparse information I have? If so where do I write to and do you know the costs?

BTW my dad never felt any animosity to the Germans and he did mention the Schmidts a family he got to know, I don't remember whether he said the father was employed by the British after the Armistice or whether he was billeted with them, but he had a lot of respect for them.
 
My great uncle served in the RFC. He served in 15 Squadron as a pilot on Be2e's involved in reconnaissance on the Western Front. On one mission during a photographic flight in March 1917 he and a 2nd Lieutenant, whilst taking photos of the Hindenburg Line, were attacked by hostile aircraft near Heninel. The hostile aircraft were driven off and the photographic machine was hit by an anti-aircraft shell, killing the 2nd Lt observer. The aircraft was considerably damaged but my gt uncle survived, receiving a shot to the leg. He still succeeded in re-crossing the line and landing his machine along with his photographs which were claimed to be 'of much value'. He received a Distinguished Conduct Medal and in the 1914-20 citation it says it was awarded

" For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while engaged in a photographic reconnaissance. He was attacked by several hostile machines, and, although his observer was killed and he himself wounded, he succeeded in obtaining seventeen photographs and in effecting a successful landing"

He was one of the lucky ones. This is him and I think he's wearing a hospital uniform. Can anyone confirm that please? Also, I've zoomed in and out of the photo trying to work out what's in his left hand but can't work it out, so any help on that would also be appreciated. Viv.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1335390975.834350.jpg
 
Viv,

It looks to me like a pair of goggles or sunglasses.

You didn't mention his right hand. He seems to be holding something interesting there as well. My guess is a camera. (Please don't scoff - our wonderment at the compact size of modern Olympuses was matched by that of our forefathers in the early 20th century). My guess is that it would be a camera and that most probably it would be a Kodak Folding Pocket model. Very much Googleable. These things were diminutive, about 6 3/4 x 3 1/2 x 1 5/8 inches.

If this discussion continues, perhaps we should start a new thread for your very interesting post and image, rather than impinge further on Sylvia's.

Which leads to the question: Sylvia, have you made any progress on your original query of 2009?

Chris
 

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Thanks Chris, well the glasses and camera make perfect sense. Sorry Sylvia, hadn't meant to send your thread offcourse but I'm always relunctant to start a new thread if there's one listed which seems to fit the subject. If there are any more comments on my post I'll set up a new thread as Chris suggests. Regards Viv.
 
According to the Imperial War Museum, on this day, 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force was formed following the merger of the Royal Flying Corps & the Royal Naval Air Service. Viv.
 
The Royal Naval Air Service is 104 years old this year Viv. Formed in 1909. Merged with the Army in 1913 to form the RFC. From then until 1918 the RFC operated as the Army Wing and the Naval Wing of the RFC. On 1st April 1918 the RAF was formed and the Army Wing ceased to exist but the Naval Wing became the Fleet Air Arm of the RAF.
 
My dad was in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. After a crash he was hospitalised and then joined the National War Aims Committe and went round the country showing films to recruit for the Forces. We used to have his 'Wings' when I was a little girl but they were mislaid during a house move unfortunately.

Judy
 
Hi Chocks and Judy. What an interesting history the RFC/RAF has. Those early days when the RFC were forming must have been like a Boy's Own dream for aspiring airmen. My gt uncle came over from Brazil just before WW1. He'd every intention of flying planes because previously he'd trained on seaplanes up on Lake Windermere. But to then get the chance to do his bit must have been very exciting for him. Judy, being shot down must have been a reality check for any airman, all those dreams turning into a horrible and real nightmare. But at least some of the lucky ones survived. Viv.
 
It must have seemed a better chance for surviving compared to the lot down below in the trenches...
 
I have just reread this interesting thread and have one or two minor comments to make.

Chris Baker mentions that Sylvia's father's Squadron was based at Bickendorf (near Cologne) after the Armistice. Another squadron there at that time was 206. These were part of the Army of Occupation and 206 in particular were responsible for one of the first air mail services in the world, that between Cologne and Aix-la-Chappelle where there was an Army HQ. What their other duties were, or those of 4 Squadron, I don't know.

Some time ago I did quite a lot of work on one particular pilot who served in 206 and then spent several months at Bickendorf. (Unfortunately he wasn't a Brummie but came from New Brighton; he is on the left of the attached image, taken at Bickendorf). The finished effort is all online and it includes a number of images of aircraft at Bickendorf, possibly including some which Sylvia's father worked on. It also includes a bit about life in Cologne but this is mainly to do with the (quite jolly) existence of an aircrew officer and doesn't include much about the blokes for whom life was almost certainly not quite so comfortable. It can be seen HERE. The Bickendorf images are part of an appendix at the end of Part 2.

Viv mentioned a great uncle who came from Brazil. Looking at 206 I was always struck by the number of men who came from South American countries to serve in the Great War and ended up in the RFC. I have a page devoted to one of them who unfortunately did not survive, HERE.

Chris
 

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