Reginald Alexander John Warneford VC
Further to my article the other day regarding the death of a boy soldier whose grave I found in Brompton Cemetery, here is a page from wikipedia on the other military grave that I mentioned and thought might be of interest to readers.
Born 15 October
1891
Darjeeling, British India
Died 17 June 1915
(aged 23)
Buc, Yvelines, France
Buried at Brompton
Cemetery, London
Allegiance
United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal
Navy
Rank Flight
Sub-Lieutenant
Unit Royal Naval
Air Service
Battles/wars World
War I
Awards Victoria Cross
Légion d'honneur (France)
Reginald Alexander John Warneford, VC (15 October 1891 – 17
June 1915) was a Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) officer who received the
Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the
face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Service
3 See also
4 Notes
5 Bibliography
6 External links
[edit]Early life
Warneford was born in Darjeeling, India, the son of an
engineer on the Indian Railways. He was brought to England as a small boy and
educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon[1] but when his family
returned to India he continued his education at the English College, Simla.
Following apprenticeship in the Merchant Marine, Warneford joined the
British-India Steam Navigation Company. At the time of the outbreak of World
War I, he was in Canada awaiting return to India. Instead, he sailed then to
Great Britain, joining the Army but almost straightaway transferred to the
Royal Navy Air Service for pilot training.[2]
[edit]Service
A drawing of the downing of LZ37 by Rex Warneford
Warneford's initial training took place at Hendon, passing
then to Upavon where he completed his pilot training on 25 February 1915.[2]
During the course of training, the Commander of Naval Air Stations, R M Groves
was quoted as saying: "This youngster will either do big things or kill
himself."[3] Warneford's flying instructor at the time, Warren Merriam,
noted his skills as a pilot but had to make special arrangements to ensure that
Warneford's perceived over-confidence did not bar him from attaining a
commission. Merriam took an opportunity whilst Commander Groves was visiting
Hendon to ask Warneford to demonstrate his flying skills. Groves' favourable
impression overcame the views of the Squadron Commander at the time who
believed that Warneford would never make an officer because of his lack of
concern for disciplinarian matters.[4]
Warneford was initially posted to 2 Wing on the Isle of
Sheppey in Kent but was quickly (7 May 1915) posted to an operational unit with
1 Wing at Veurne on the Belgian coast. Over the next few weeks, Warneford was
involved in attacks on German troops and guns, as well as actions against enemy
aircraft. His aggressiveness and effectiveness led to his being given his own
aircraft and a roving commission.[5] On 17 May 1915, Warneford encountered
Zeppelin airship LZ39 setting out on a raid over the UK. He attacked LZ39 with
machine gun fire but the airship was able to ascend out of range by jettisoning
ballast.[5]
On 7 June 1915 at Ghent, Belgium, Warneford, flying a
Morane-Saulnier Type L, attacked the German airship LZ37. He chased the airship
from the coast near Ostend and, despite its defensive machine-gun fire,
succeeded in dropping his bombs on it, the last of which set the airship on
fire. LZ37 sunsequently crashed in Sint-Amandsberg[6](51°3′43.2″N
3°44′54.7″E).[7] The explosion overturned Warneford's aircraft and stopped its
engine. Having no alternative, Warneford had to land behind enemy lines, but
after 35 minutes spent on repairs, he managed to restart the engine and
returned to base.
On 17 June 1915, Warneford received the award of Légion
d'honneur from the French Army Commander in Chief, General Joffre. Following a
celebratory lunch, Warneford travelled to the aerodrome at Buc in order to
ferry an aircraft for delivery to the RNAS at Veurne. Having made one short
test flight, he then flew a second flight, carrying an American journalist,
Henry Beach Newman, as passenger. During a climb to 200 feet, the righthand
wings collapsed leading to a catastrophic failure of the airframe. Accounts
suggest that neither occupant was harnessed and were both thrown out of the
aircraft, suffering fatal injuries. In the case of Newman, death was instantaneous.
Warneford died of his injuries on the way to hospital. He was buried at
Brompton Cemetery,[8] London on 21 June 1915 in a ceremony attended by
thousands of mourners.[9]
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Fleet Air Arm Museum
in Yeovil, Somerset, England.
Reginald Warneford's funeral
Funerary monument, Brompton Cemetery, London
[edit]See also
Leefe Robinson - another VC awarded for shooting down a
Zeppelin
[edit]Notes
^ http://www.kes-stratford.org.uk/houses/houses.html
^ a b O'Connor 2005, p. 26.
^ Turner 1972, p. ?
^ Merriam 1954, p. ?
^ a b O'Connor 2005, p. 27.
^ In remembrance of this event and the pilot, Ghent a street
in Ghent was named Reginald Warnefordstreet on the spot where the airship
crashed.
^ (in Dutch) Historische ontmoeting in Gent, Hangarflying.b
^ CWGC entry
^ O'Connor 2005, p.31
[edit]Bibliography
Buzzell, Nora (1997). The Register of the Victoria Cross
(3rd ed.). Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: This England Alma House. ISBN
0-906324-27-0.
Cooksley, Peter G. (1999). VCs of the First World War: Air
VCs. Stroud: Sutton Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 0-7509-2272-9.
Gibson, Mary. Warneford, VC: The First Naval Airmen to Be
Awarded the VC. Fleet Air Arm Museum for the Society of Friends of the Fleet
Air Arm Museum, 1979 (republished in 1984).
Harvey, David. Monuments to Courage: Victoria Cross
Headstones and Memorials. Vol.1, 1854-1916. Kevin & Kay Patience, 1999.
Merriam, F. W. First Through the Clouds: The Autobiography
of a Box-kite Pioneer. Batsford, 1954.
O'Connor, Mike (2006). Airfields and Airmen : the Channel
Coast. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 1-84415-258-8.
Rimell, Raymond Laurence (1989). The airship VC : the life
of Captain William Leefe Robinson. Bourne End: Aston Publications Ltd.. ISBN
0-946627-53-3.
Turner, C.C. (1972). The Old Flying Days (Reprint ed.). New
York: Arno Press. ISBN 0-405-03783-X.
[edit]External links
Location of grave and VC medal (Brompton Cemetery)
Reginald Warneford ;findagrave.com
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