Tag Archives: Second Lieutenant

accident, Air Mechanic, Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, photography, Royal Air Force, Second Lieutenant, story, war

Second Lieutenant Arthur Belyea

1 Comment
Second Lieutenant Arthur Belyea

Arthur Fred Belyea was born in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada, on 21st October 1894. The second of five children, he was one of three sons to John and Sarah. John was a farmer, and local to the area, but Sarah, who was sixteen years her husband’s junior, had been born in Pennsylvania, and lived in Kansas for twenty years before moving to Canada.

By the time of the 1911 census, the family had moved to Calgary, where John had taken up work as a horse dealer. Interestingly, the census also recorded the Belyeas’ racial background, which was German, although John and Sarah were at least second generation North American.

Arthur had finished school by this point, and had found employment as a bookkeeper for the Royal Bank of Canada. He was settled in for a career, and, by 1916 had achieved the role of assistant accountant. War was on the horizon, however, and life was to change.

Full details of Arthur’s military service have been lost to time, but it is clear that he enlisted in the Canadian Royal Flying Corps on 3rd December 1917. His service papers show that Air Mechanic 3rd Class Belyea was 5ft 5.5ins (1.66m) tall, with dark brown hair, hazel eyes and a medium complexion.

Arthur was sent to Britain and stationed at East Boldre, Hampshire. When the Royal Air Force was formed on 1st April 1918, he transferred across. He was obviously proficient at what he did, because at the end of May he earned a commission, and rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Mr A C Hallett, Deputy County Coroner, held inquests on Tuesday, of Lieut. Austin Wyard Blackie, RAF, of California, and Second-Lieut. Arthur Fred Belyea, RAF, of Calgary, Canada, who met thwir deaths while flying. The evidence showed that their machines collided at a great height, and that death in each case must have been instantaneous. Verdicts of “Accidental death” were returned.

[Hampshire Advertiser: Saturday 21st September 1918]

The RAF report card on the incident noted that: “The cause of the accident was in our opinion an error of judgement on one pilot (unknown) in flying his machine into the other machine from the rear, causing the left hand frame of Camel C8322 and the right hand frames of Camel C96 to collapse, thus causing each machine to spin to the ground. The one pilot was probably attempting to obtain good photographs of the other machine.”

Arthur Fred Belyea was 23 years of age when he died on 17th September 1918. He was laid to rest alongside Lieutenant Blackie in the graveyard of St Paul’s Church, East Boldre, not far from the airfield at which he served.

You can read about the life of Lieutenant Blackie here.

Second Lieutenant Arthur Belyea
(from findagrave.com)
accident, Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, photography, Royal Air Force, Second Lieutenant, story, war

Second Lieutenant Frank Reid

Leave a comment
Second Lieutenant Frank Reid

Frank Rice Reid was born on 1st September 1898 in Toronto, Canada. One of four children, his parents were Nova Scotians George and Annie Reid. George was a commercial traveller, and the family had moved back to Nova Scotia by the time of Frank’s youngest sibling’s birth in 1910.

When Frank finished his schooling, he found work as a clerk, but was drawn to the excitement of flight and, soon became an aviation cadet. War was raging across Europe by this point, and, on 9th October 1917, he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps. At 19 years and one month old, his service papers show that he was 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall.

By the spring of 1918, Frank was in Britain, and had been a commission to Second Lieutenant. Assigned to the newly-formed Royal Air Force’s No. 1 Training School in Beaulieu, Hampshire, within a matter of months he was working as an instructor, flying Sopwith Camels.

On the morning of the 30th September 1918, Second Lieutenant Reid was flying his aircraft, when it crashed into the ground and he was killed. He had not long turned 20 years of age. The report of the incident noted that “the cause of the accident was an error of judgement on the part of the pilot in doing a half-roll too near the ground and not having enough height to come out of the dive.”

The body of Frank Rice Reid was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Paul’s Church, East Boldre, not far from the base he had called home.

Second Lieutenant Frank Reid
(from finagrave.com)
accident, Air Mechanic, Canada, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, photography, Royal Air Force, Second Lieutenant, story, United States of America, war

Second Lieutenant Malcolm Vande Water

1 Comment
Second Lieutenant Malcolm Vande Water

Malcolm Gifford Boggs was born on 14th August 1894 in Brooklyn, New York. The second of four children, his parents were Seth and Anna Boggs. Seth died in 1905, and Anna married again, to widower lawyer Charles Vande Water: her children took his name.

The next record for Malcolm is that of his Royal Flying Corps service records. Interestingly, they note that he enlisted on 10th September 1917, and did so in Toronto, Canada. While the United States had entered the First World War by this point, it may have been easier for him to join via a colonial route.

Malcolm’s papers show that he was 5ft 11ins (1.81cm) tall, and was a student aviator at the time he joined up. He was recorded as being an Air Mechanic 3rd Class, but that came to an end when, on 2nd February 1918, he was accepted for a commission.

Second Lieutenant Vande Water was attached to the 29th Training Depot Station in Hampshire. There is little information about his time there, but a later American newspaper provided details of what happened to him:

Intelligence reaching relatives of Lieutenant Malcolm G Vande Water, of the Royal flying corps, a former Passaic newspaper man, is that he was killed in a fall while testing a new airplane at the British airdrome in Beaulieu, France. Wande Water was the first member of the Pica club to pay the supreme sacrifice. He was on leave in England, after six months’ active service at the front, having operated a machine across the English channel to France on the day before his fatal fall. His machine gun shot off a propellor blade while he was flying 100 feet in the air and the airplane dove to the earth.

[The Morning Call: 17th December 1918]

The accuracy of the information included in the article is variable to say the least. Malcolm may have enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, but, by the time of the accident on 26th October 1918, that had become the Royal Air Force. The Beaulieu aerodrome mentioned was in Hampshire, not France. The RAF’s records for the incident do confirm, however, that the propellor of his Sopwith Camel was indeed shot through, causing the aircraft to fall to the ground.

Second Lieutenant Vande Water was taken to the Forest Park New Zealand General Hospital in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, for treatment, but his injuries would prove too severe. He died later that day, at the age of 24 years old.

The body of Malcolm Gifford Vande Water was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Paul’s Church in East Boldre, Hampshire, not far from the base he had called home.

The life of a WW1 pilot was notoriously dangerous. On the same day of Malcolm’s death, and at the same airfield, Flight Cadet Douglas Baker was also killed, in a separate incident.

accident, Cambridgeshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, photography, Royal Air Force, Second Lieutenant, story, war

Second Lieutenant Edward Topley

Leave a comment
Second Lieutenant Edward Topley

Edward Percival Augustus Topley was born on 6th November 1899 in Woolwich, Kent. He was the third of seven children to Percival and Sarah Topley. Percival was a grocer, and the 1901 census found the family living at 64 Eglinton Road, Plumstead.

Details about Edward’s early life are sketchy. There is a record of him learning to fly at the Cambridge School of Flying, and gaining his wings on 4th November 1917. “…he went through a course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. From there he was sent to Beaulieu Aerodrome, Hants…” [Kentish Independent: Friday 15th November 1918]

Edward rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant when the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service merged to become the Royal Air Force on 1st April 1918. Attached to the 29th Depot Training Station, he seems to have built up a fair amount of flying experience.

On 30th October 1918, Second Lieutenant Topley was flying his Sopwith Camel, when the engine stalled, and the aircraft crashed to the ground. Edward was killed instantly. He was a week shy of his nineteenth birthday.

The body of Edward Percival Augustus Topley – “a very promising young officer, and loved by all who knew him” [Kentish Independent: Friday 15th November 1918] – was taken to St Paul’s Church, East Boldre, not far from the base he had begun to call home, and laid to rest.

Second Lieutenant Edward Topley
(from britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
accident, Canada, Canadian Infantry, Commonwealth War Graves, Corporal, Great War, Hampshire, history, Lancashire, photography, Private, Royal Air Force, Second Lieutenant, Sergeant, story, Surrey, war

Second Lieutenant Wesley Archibald

Leave a comment
Second Lieutenant Wesley Archibald

Wesley Alexander Archibald was born in Flatlands, New Brunswick, Canada, on 19th October 1894. The oldest of ten children, his parents were Scottish-born couple James and Jane Archibald. It is unclear what employment James was in, but when he completed his schooling, Wesley found work as a telegraph operator.

When not working, Wesley was an active member of the Irish Fusiliers of Canada, and, by the time was broke out, he had been with the 11th Regiment for a year.

Wesley enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 29th November 1915. His service records show that he was 5ft 6.5ins (1.69m) tall, with black hair, brown eyes and a fresh complexion. He was also noted as having a large scar on the outer side of his right thigh.

Private Archibald’s initial training was completed on home soil. His unit – the 121st Battalion – left Halifax on 14th August 1916, and arrived in Liverpool, Lancashire, ten days later. His dedication to the role was clear: his unit moved to Bramshott, Surrey, and he had been promoted to Corporal by the time he arrived there, and Sergeant just two months later.

In January 1917, Wesley was assigned to the 7th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and sent to the Front Line. Over the next few months, his unit saw some fierce fighting at Arras, Vimy and Hill 70. On 9th July Sergeant Archibald was awarded the Military Medal for his actions.

By the end of 1917, Wesley was seeking more adventure, and, on 10th December, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. Attached to the 29th Training Depot Station, he was based near Beaulieu in Hampshire when the Royal Air Force was created. Over the next year he learnt his new trade and, on 7th November 1918, he was appointed Second Lieutenant.

The following day, Wesley was preparing for a flight in his Sopwith Dolphin. The aircraft took off, but the engine stalled, and the plane crashed. Second Lieutenant Archibald was killed instantly. He was 24 years of age.

The body of William Alexander Archibald was laid to rest in the graveyard of St Paul’s Church in East Boldre, not far for the airfield he had called home.

accident, Captain, Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, Hampshire, history, Kent, Lieutenant, Middlesex, photography, Royal Air Force, Royal Engineers, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Second Lieutenant, story, Surrey, war

Captain Percy Rawlings

Leave a comment
Captain Percy Rawlings

Percy Townley Rawlings was born on 22nd September 1887 in Clapham, Surrey. Details of his early life are sketchy, and most of the information comes from second hand accounts. His baptism record gives his parents as Edward and Lizzie Rawlings. Edward was listed as being a gentleman, but there is no record of the family on the 1891, or 1901 census returns.

He was educated at Westminster School and Cambridge University, where he obtained honours in the Mechanical Sciences Tripos.

In 1910 he went to Woolwich Arsenal as [an] advanced workshop student, and in the following year he obtained a Commission in the Royal Engineers…

In 1912 he entered the Public Works Department of the Sudan Government, and during 1913-14 acted as engineer to the Egyptian Irrigation Service on the construction of the Blue Nile Dam.

On the outbreak of the War he was sent to France [as a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers], in the 2nd Field Co., being transferred in the following year to the [Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve], for engineering duties with the [Royal Naval Air Service].

In 1917 he flew to Constantinople in a Handley-Page machine, and bombed the Goeben, for which he received the DSC.

[1921 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Obituaries]

By the end of the conflict, Percy had been promoted to Captain. After the Armistice he remained involved in the Royal Air Force, and was involved in testing the rapidly changing technology of flight.

A Tarrant triplane, constructed at the Royal Aircraft Factory, Farnborough, was wrecked on a trial flight on Monday. The machine, which had six engines, each developing 500 horse power, after running along the ground toppled forward and seemed to bury itself in the earth. One of the pilots… Captain Rawlings, has died, and the other, Capt. Dunn, is in a very grave condition.

[Waterford Standard: Wednesday 28th May 1919]

Captain Percy Rawlings’ Tarrant triplane after the crash

Captain Dunn also died in the crash, which happened on 26th May 1919. Percy was 31 years of age when he died.

A close friend, Henry Edmunds, wrote to the Flight Magazine to express his sympathy at the loss:

As a boy, Rawlings was always interested in scientific matters, particularly photography and motors..

He was manly, open, and frank, fearless and honest, of an enquiring mind, and fond of experimenting. I remember his pre-heating paraffin vapour electrically, as a fuel for explosive engines…

It was at my house at Brighton that Rawlings met Mr. W. G. Tarrant, who was spending the week-end with me. Rawlings had just returned from the famous flight in the Handley Page to Constantinople, where he bombed the ‘Goeben.’ I remember his describing vividly his impressions of that memorable journey. If I recollect correctly, he motored down to Folkestone somewhat rapidly. He told me he believed the police were on the look-out for him for exceeding the speed-limit; but he went from Folkestone by air, proceeding to Naples. It was delightful to hear him recount that remarkable voyage. Their fears lest they should not be able to cross some of the high mountain ranges with the heavy load they were carrying, and where, had anything happened, they would have been out of the reach of all human aid. How he availed himself of a special camera for photographing portions of his trip, the results of which he feared it might be unwise to disclose at that time, so he brought the negatives back with him, and I believe they wore kept personally until after the War.

He and Mr. Tarrant were mutually attracted to each other, and discussed with much seriousness the construction of a new type of bombing-plane, which eventuated in the great Tarrant machine. Rawlings joined Tarrant shortly afterwards, and devoted all his energies to carrying on the work of design and construction. On several occasions he came down to see me, and related his experiences. He was full of confidence as to the future of his work; and invited me to take my first flight with him.

Townley Rawlings was a gallant gentleman. Those whom the gods love are taken early.

[Flight Magazine: 29th May 1919]

The speeding incident is an interesting anecdote, another similar incident recorded in a separate newspaper report:

Chauffeur Summoned for Fast Driving

Capt. Rawlings, who was killed in the Tarrant triplane accident, should have appeared as a witness yesterday in the Kingston court.

His chauffeur, Arthur B Cogger, of West Byfleet, summoned for exceeding the limit, was driving Captain Rawlings to Farnborough on Saturday, before the accident.

He said the captain told him he wanted to get along as quickly as possible as he was going to test an aeroplane. He had intended to come to court.

The summons was dismissed.

[Dublin Daily Express: Saturday 31st May 1919]

Percy Townley Rawlings was laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery, possibly close to where he or his family had been living.

Commonwealth War Graves, County of London Yeomanry, Egypt, Great War, history, injury, Northumberland Fusiliers, photography, Private, Second Lieutenant, story, Surrey, war

Second Lieutenant Dudley Weedon

Leave a comment
Second Lieutenant Dudley Weedon

Dudley Harry Weedon was born in Islington, Middlesex in the spring of 1891. The second of two children, his parents were solicitor’s clerk Thomas Weedon and his wife, Frances.

When Dudley finished his schooling, he also found work as a clerk. The 1911 census recorded the Weedon family living at a prestigious address – an eight roomed Victorian villa at 59 Canonbury Park North, Islington. Thomas was still employed as a solicitor’s clerk, Dudley as a clerk for a corn merchant, and his older brother, Horace, as a clerk for a mining company.

War came to Europe in the summer of 1914, and Dudley was keen to step up and play his part. He enlisted early on, joining the 1st/2nd County of London Yeomanry, also known as the Westminster Dragoons. The regiment spent most of the war in the Middle East, and by November 1914, Private Weedon found himself in Egypt.

Dudley would spend the next year or so overseas, and was sent to, and evacuated from, Gallipoli. In February 1916, he received a promotion – to the rank of Second Lieutenant – this increase in rank coming with a transfer to the Northumberland Fusiliers. His new unit – the 8th (Service) Battalion – had also served in the Dardanelles, but by that summer they had moved to France.

Second Lieutenant Weedon spent the next eighteen months on the Western Front, fighting at Messines and at Ypres. It was here, possibly at the Battle of Polygon Wood, that Dudley was injured. Details are unclear, but his wounds were sever enough for him to be medically evacuated to Britain for treatment.

Dudley was admitted to a hospital in Roehampton, Surrey, but his injuries were to prove too severe. He passed away on 20th November 1917, at the age of 26 years old.

Dudley Harry Weedon was laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery, not far from his grieving family’s home.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, Lieutenant, London, London Regiment, Middlesex, photography, story, unknown, war

Lieutenant Thomas Prior

Leave a comment
Lieutenant Thomas Prior

Thomas Ashley Prior was born in Islington, Middlesex, at the start of 1886. The third of seven children, he was the only son to Thomas and Ellen Prior. Thomas Sr was a colonial produce broker agent and, at the time of the 1891 census, the family were living in rooms at 115 Sussex Road.

Over the following years, the family lived together, but moved homes. By 1901 they were living at 1 Blythwood Road, Islington; ten years later they had set up home at 10 Oakfield Road, Stroud Green. By this point Thomas Sr was listed as being a rubber broker. Four of the children were employed in respectable trades: Thomas Jr as a bullion refiner’s clerk, his older sisters as a paper merchant’s clerk and a saleswoman for the court dressmaker. The youngest employed sibling, 22 year old Margaret, was also a clerk, for an estate agent. The family had a live in servant, Alice Charles, supporting them.

War rose its ugly head in 1914, and Thomas Jr stepped up to play his part. He was already a volunteer in army and, as a later military history confirms, he threw himself into a more permanent role:

PRIOR, THOMAS ASHLEY. Enlisted 1909. Served continuously and went to France with 1st Batt. Nov. 1914-May 1915 (wounded). 2nd Lieut. 28/9/15. Served in France again with 1st Batt. March-June 1916 and Nov. 1916-June 1918. Lieut. 1917. Sports. Member of Brighton March and Marathon Teams. Died 1921.

[The History of The London Rifle Brigade 1859-1919]

Thomas’ regiment – the London Rifle Brigade – was actually the 5th Battalion of the London Regiment. Based on his unit’s time abroad, it is likely what Thomas was wounded at Ypres – possibly during the Battle of St Julien. On his return to the front, he would have fought at Arras and Ypres in 1917, and at the Somme (Arras) the following year.

Lieutenant Prior’s return to Britain is not documented. HIs mother, Ellen, had died in 1912, and his father followed in 1918. The London City Directory for 1920 recorded him as living at 8 Oakfield Road, a double-fronted Victorian terrace within sight of Finsbury Park.

Thomas Ashley Prior died on 10th February 1921. Just 34 years of age, the cause of his passing is not clear. He was laid to rest in Highgate Cemetery, not far from his last recorded address.

Berkshire, Commonwealth War Graves, Devon, Great War, history, injury, Lieutenant, photography, Rifle Brigade, Second Lieutenant, story, war

Lieutenant Charles Vanstone

Leave a comment
Lieutenant Charles Vanstone

Charles Douglas Howard Vanstone was born in Paignton, Devon, on 27th October 1888. The fourth of seven children, he was the second son to Frederick and Charlotte Vanstone. Frederick was an architect’s surveyor and civil engineer, and the family lived comfortably in the seaside town.

The 1891 census found them living at Sorrento, a villa on Esplanade Road, overlooking the sea. By the time of the next census, they had moved to Torbay Park, and lived in a 12-room property. The family’s three sons all followed in their father’s trade, and, according to the 1911 return, four of the Vanstones were recorded as being civil engineer architects and surveyors.

When war came to Europe, Charles stepped up to play his part. He received a commission in August 1915 and, as a Second Lieutenant, was assigned to the Rifle Brigade. Attached to the 15th (Reserve) Battalion, the records suggest that he was in France by 23rd March 1916.

Lieutenant Vanstone seems to have been part of a Trench Mortar unit at the Somme. Wounded during the battle, he was medically evacuated to Britain for treatment. Admitted to the Reading War Hospital in Berkshire, his injuries were to prove too severe. Charles passed away on 7th February 1917: he was 28 years of age.

Charles Douglas Howard Vanstone’s body was brought back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in his home town’s sweeping cemetery.

Charles’ death was the third loss for the Vanstone family in as many years. His older sister, Constance, had died in 1914, while his younger brother, Stanley, a Lieutenant in the 20th Royal Fusiliers, died of wounds he received on the Western Front in October 1915. Just 25 years of age, he is buried in Merville Communal Cemetery, France.

Commonwealth War Graves, Great War, history, illness, India, Lancashire, photography, Private, Royal Defence Corps, Second Lieutenant, Somerset, story, war

Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue

Leave a comment
Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue

Algernon Leopold O’Donoghue was born on 4th June 1869 in Plymouth, Devon. The youngest of five children, his parents were Charles and Frances O’Donoghue. Charles had worked for the East India Company and the family travelled a lot while the children were growing up. He was in India when, in the spring of 1872, he passed away.

By the time of the 1881 census, Frances had moved the family to the Walcot area of Bath, Somerset. She was working as an assistant, and employed a servant of her own to help support the four children.

Over the next few years, Algernon’s trail goes cold. In 1900, he married Janette Hay, the daughter of a Justice of the Peace, who had been born in Ceylon. It seems likely that they met overseas: the 1911 census return records that she had been born in Ceylon, while he was a retired forest manager whose job had taken him to Burma (now Myanmar).

The census document found the couple living in a seven-room villa in Combe Down, on the outskirts of Bath. The had had a son by this point, with Algernon Jr making up the family.

Algernon was working for the Bombay Trading Company, and back out in India, when war broke out. He returned home, and stepped up to serve his King and Empire. While his service records have been lost to time, Private O’Donoghue joined the Royal Defence Corps, and quickly rose through the ranks: by the spring of 1917, he was a Second Lieutenant.

It was while serving in the north west of Britain that he fell ill: “[he got] wet while out in heavy rain, pneumonia following, and then double pneumonia.” [Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette: Saturday 26th May 1917] Second Lieutenant O’Donoghue was admitted to the Whitman Military Hospital in Manchester, but his condition was too severe. He passed away on 22nd May 1917, two weeks before his 48th birthday.

The body of Algernon Leopold O’Donoghue was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid in the family plot in Bath’s panoramic Locksbrook Cemetery, reunited with his mother, Frances, who had died a decade before.

Second Lieutenant Algernon O’Donoghue
(from findagrave.com)