Category Archives: Second Lieutenant

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Second Lieutenant Victor Bracey

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Second Lieutenant Victor Bracey

Victor Charles Edelsten Bracey was born in October 1897, the only child of William and Florence Bracey. William was a physician and surgeon, practicing in Lancashire when Victor was born. The young family soon moved south, however, and by the time of the 1901 census, they were living in Wedmore, Somerset, where William had taken up as the village’s general practitioner.

Military records for Victor are not available, but his life can readily be pieced together from newspaper reports of his death and the de Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, published after the war.

TWO PILOTS KILLED IN THE NEW FOREST

Two air fatalities have occurred within twenty-four hours of each other in the New Forest. On Saturday [22nd September 1917] Second Lieutenant Ernest Hargrave’s machine nose-dived from the height of 200ft, and crashed to earth.

Second Lieutenant Victor Bracey was flying on Sunday morning at a height of 300ft, when his machine turned and came down in a spinning nose-dive.

At the inquests verdicts of “Death by misadventure” were returned.

Western Gazette: Friday 28th September 1917

BRACEY, VICTOR CHARLES EDELSTEN, 2nd Lieut., RFC, only child of William Edelsten Bracey, LRCP [Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians], Lieut. (Hon.) RAMC (retired), by his wife, Florence Marion, dau. of the late James Canning Gould.

[Victor was] educated St Peter’s School, Weston-super-Mare, and Blundell’s School, Tiverton, where he was a member of the OTC [Officers’ Training Corps]; passed into the Royal Military Academy in April 1915; joined the Inns of Court OTC in December 1916; was gazetted 2nd Lieut. RFC [Royal Flying Corps] 27 April 1917, obtaining his wings in July, and was killed in an aerial accident at the Beaulieu Aerodrome, Hampshire, 23 September, while testing a new machine.

A brother officer wrote that he was a gallant gentleman and a most skilful pilot.” He was a keen cricketer and footballer, and while at Blundell’s played in the First Cricket XI and the Second Football XV, and was also captain of the First Hockey XI; later played for the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and the RFC Rugby Football XV at Oxford.

de Ruvigny’s Roll of Honour, 1914-1919

A note on Second Lieutenant Bracey’s Roll of Honour states that he was ineligible for medals as he saw no overseas service; this seems to have been challenged by Victor’s father in 1921, but nothing confirms whether this anything was subsequently awarded.

Victor Charles Edelsten Bracey lies at rest in the churchyard of St Mary’s in Wedmore, where his father continued to practice. He died, aged just 19 years of age.

William’s prominence in the village played a big part in Victor’s legacy. A Memorial Fund was set up; this helped fund “necessitous cases for medical requirements and for conveying patients to hospitals“. The Victor Bracey Cup was also awarded into the 1940s for sporting achievement in the schools he had attended.

Commonwealth War Graves, Dorset, Great War, history, injury, Lieutenant, photography, Royal Air Force, Second Lieutenant, story, war

Second Lieutenant Sidney Pragnell

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Second Lieutenant Sidney Pragnell

Sidney Ralph Pragnell was the eldest of two children of Edward and Ellen Pragnell. Edward grew up in Sherborne, before moving to London to work as a chef; he found employment as a cook in an officer’s mess, which took him and his wife first to Ireland – where Sidney was born – and then to the barracks at Aldershot.

By the time of the 1911 census, Edward had brought his family back to Dorset, and was running the Half Moon Hotel, opposite the Abbey in Sherborne. Sidney, aged 12, was still at school.

When war broke out, Sidney was eager to play his part, even though he was underage. An article in the local newspaper highlights his keenness and how he progressed.

…he was keen to serve his country and joined every local organisation his age would allow him to. He was an early member of the Sherborne VTC and Red Cross Detachment, and was actually the youngest member of the Volunteers to wear the uniform. Whilst still under age, he enlisted in the Royal Naval Division at the Crystal Palace and after a period of training was drafted as a qualified naval gunner to a merchant steamer carrying His Majesty’s mails and in this capacity went practically round the world. In February he joined the RNAS and after some air training in England went to France to an air station, where he passed all the tests with honours and gained the ‘wings’ of the qualified pilot. Lieutenant Pragnell then decided to go in for scouting and came back to England for advanced training in the special flying necessary for this qualification and it was whilst engaged in this that he met with the accident which resulted in his death.

Western Chronicle: Friday 16th August 1918.

The esteem in which Second Lieutenant Pragnell was held continues in the article, which quotes the condolence letter sent to his parents by his commander, Major Kelly.

It is with deep regret that I have to write you of the death of your son, Second-Lieutenant SR Pragnell. Your boy was one of the keenest young officers I have ever had under my command and was extremely popular with us all and his place will be extremely hard to fill.

The service can ill afford to lose officers of the type of which Lieutenant Pragnell was an excellent example and it seems such a pity this promising career was cut short when he had practically finished his training. May I convey the heartfelt sympathy of all officers and men in my command to you in this your hour of sorrow.

Western Chronical: Friday 16th August 1918.

What I find most interesting about this article is that the letter from Major Kelly detail how Edward and Ellen’s son died, and this this too is quoted by the newspaper.

Your son had been sent up to practice formation flying and was flying around the aerodrome at about 500 feet with his engine throttled down waiting for his instruction to ‘take off’. Whiles waiting your boy tried to turn when his machine had little forward speed. This caused him to ‘stall’ and spin and from this low altitude he had no chance to recover control and his machine fell to earth just on the edge of the aerodrome and was completely wrecked. A doctor was there within a minute, but your boy had been killed instantaneously.

Western Chronicle: Friday 16th August 1918.

Further research shows that the aerodrome Second Lieutenant Pragnell was training at was RAF Freiston in Lincolnshire, which had been designated Number 4 Fighting School with the specific task of training pilots for fighting scout squadrons. He had been flying a Sopwith Camel when he died.

Second Lieutenant Sidney Ralph Pragnell lies at rest in the cemetery of his Dorset home, Sherborne.