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Awdry Vaucour
Awdry Morris Vaucour, (8 March 1890 – 16 July 1918) was a First World War flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. For part of his career he flew with observer/gunner Alan Bott, who would go on to become an ace in his own right. Vaucour was killed in Italy in a "friendly fire" incident, when he was shot down by an Italian Hanriot pilot. Military career Vaucour, having served as a cadet in the University of London Officers' Training Corps, was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery on 1 September 1914, soon after the outbreak of the First World War. On 28 September 1915 Vaucour flew on a reconnaissance mission over Valenciennes and Douai, piloted by Captain Euan Rabagliati, completing the mission despite thick cloud and heavy anti-aircraft fire over the objective. Both men were subsequently awarded the Military Cross. Soon after, on 22 November, Vaucour was officially appointed a flying officer (observer) in the Royal Flying Corps. V ...
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Topcliffe, North Yorkshire
Topcliffe is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated on the River Swale, on the A167 road and close to the A168. It is about south-west of Thirsk and south of the county town of Northallerton. It has a population of 1,489. An army barracks, with a Royal Air Force airfield enclosed within, is located to the north of the village. History The name is derived from the Old English words ''topp'' and ''clif'' and combined give the meaning ''top of the cliff'', from its position at the top of a steep bank overlooking the River Swale. The village is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'' as "Topeclive" in the "Yarlestre hundred." At the time of the Norman invasion, the manor was the possession of Bernwulf. Afterwards it was granted to William of Percy. The manor became the chief seat of the Percy family until the middle of the 17th century, though there was some confusion of the line of inheritance in the 12th cent ...
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Friendly Fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while engaging an enemy, long range ranging errors or inaccuracy. Accidental fire not intended to attack enemy/hostile targets, and deliberate firing on one's own troops for disciplinary reasons, is not called friendly fire,Regan, Geoffrey (2002) ''Backfire: a history of friendly fire from ancient warfare to the present day'', Robson Books and neither is unintentional harm to civilian or neutral targets, which is sometimes referred to as collateral damage. Training accidents and bloodless incidents also do not qualify as friendly fire in terms of casualty reporting. Use of the term "friendly" in a military context for allied personnel started during the First World War, often when shells fell short of the targeted enemy. The term ''friendly fire'' ...
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Leopold Reimann
''Offizierstellvertreter'' Leopold Rudolf Reimann was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.The Aerodrome websitRetrieved 23 September 2020 Biography See also Aerial victory standards of World War I Leopold Rudolf Reimann was born at Oberhohnsdorf, Kingdom of Saxony, Germany on 7 December 1892.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 185 Reimann joined a pioneer battalion at the start of World War I, winning an Iron Cross Second Class on 30 August 1914. In Spring 1915, he was wounded in action. In June, he was awarded the Silver Military Order of St. Henry. He then transferred to aviation duty. While his training is unknown, he was posted to fly one of the world's original fighter planes, the Fokker Eindekker, as a member of a pioneering fighter organization, ''Kampfeinsitzerkommando B'' (Combat Single-Seater Command B). On 30 June 1916, he was shot down, but s ...
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Alan Bott
Captain Alan John Bott (14 January 1893 – 17 September 1952) was a World War I flying ace who was credited with five aerial victories. He later became a journalist, editor and publisher who founded Pan Books.Shores ''et.al.'' (1990), p.82. Pre-war career Bott worked as journalist before and just after the outbreak of the war, serving as " special correspondent" of the ''Daily Chronicle'', based in Basle, Switzerland. He reported on the British air raid on the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen on 21 November 1914, and travelled to the Swiss town of Romanshorn, on the opposite side of Lake Constance, to observe the German response, on one occasion going out into the middle of the lake on a boat to gain a closer look. Military service Bott returned to England in early 1915, and after training in the Inns of Court Officers' Training Corps he was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) in the Royal Garrison Artillery on 22 July 1915. He was transferred to the Royal ...
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Sopwith 1½ Strutter
The Sopwith Strutter was a British single- or two-seat multi-role biplane aircraft of the First World War.Lake 2002, p. 40. It was the first British two-seat tractor fighter and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun. It was given the name Strutter because of the long and short cabane struts that supported the top wing. The type was operated by both British air services and was in widespread but lacklustre service with the French . Design and development In December 1914, the Sopwith Aviation Company designed a small, two-seat biplane powered by an Gnome rotary engine, which became known as the "Sigrist Bus" after Fred Sigrist, the Sopwith works manager. The Sigrist Bus first flew on 5 June 1915 and although it set a new British altitude record on the day of its first flight, only one was built, serving as a company runabout.Bruce 1982, p. 499.Jarrett 2009, p. 56. The Sigrist Bus formed the basis for a new, larger, fighter aircraft, th ...
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Catterick Bridge
Catterick Bridge is both a bridge across the River Swale in North Yorkshire, England, about 1 mile north of Catterick, and a hamlet at the south end of the bridge. The bridge The bridge carries the A6136 road (once the Great North Road). It was originally built in 1422, rebuilt probably in the late 16th century and widened in 1792. It is now a Grade II* listed building. The hamlet The hamlet includes Catterick Racecourse and a few houses, the Sunday market, held at the racecourse, was once the largest of its kind in Northern England. After declining fortunes, the market closed in 2016. The former ''Bridge House Hotel'' currently stands derelict after a fire destroyed a vast majority of Grade II listed building in 2014. There had been a coaching inn at this site since at least the 16th century. After several attempts to auction the property, it was removed from the market in October 2020 due to lack of interest. Charles Macintosh, the inventor of the Mackintosh raincoa ...
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John French, 1st Earl Of Ypres
Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, (28 September 1852 – 22 May 1925), known as Sir John French from 1901 to 1916, and as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a senior British Army officer. Born in Kent to an Anglo-Irish family, he saw brief service as a midshipman in the Royal Navy, before becoming a cavalry officer. He achieved rapid promotion and distinguished himself on the Gordon Relief Expedition. French had a considerable reputation as a womaniser throughout his life, and his career nearly ended when he was cited in the divorce of a brother officer while in India in the early 1890s. French became a national hero during the Second Boer War. He won the Battle of Elandslaagte near Ladysmith, escaping under fire on the last train as the siege began. He then commanded the Cavalry Division, winning the Battle of Klip Drift during a march to relieve Kimberley. He later conducted counter-insurgency operations in Cape Colony. During the Ed ...
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Mention In Despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described. In some countries, a service member's name must be mentioned in dispatches as a condition for receiving certain decorations. United Kingdom, British Empire, and Commonwealth of Nations Servicemen and women of the British Empire or the Commonwealth who are mentioned in despatches (MiD) are not awarded a medal for their actions, but receive a certificate and wear an oak leaf device on the ribbon of the appropriate campaign medal. A smaller version of the oak leaf device is attached to the ribbon when worn alone. Prior to 2014, only one device could be worn on a ribbon, irrespective of the number of times the recipient was mentioned in despatches. Where no campaign medal is awarded, the oak leaf is worn direct ...
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Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battles_label = Wars , battles = First World War , disbanded = merged with RNAS to become Royal Air Force (RAF), 1918 , current_commander = , current_commander_label = , ceremonial_chief = , ceremonial_chief_label = , colonel_of_the_regiment = , colonel_of_the_regiment_label = , notable_commanders = Sir David HendersonHugh Trenchard , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Roundel , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Flag , aircraft_attack = , aircraft_bomber = , aircraft_el ...
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Euan Rabagliati
Cuthbert Euan Charles Rabagliati, , (1 January 1892 – 6 January 1978) was a British soldier, pilot, race car driver and intelligence officer. He served in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War and is credited as being the first RFC pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. As a racing driver at Brooklands in the 1930s, his crash was followed by the introduction of signs "Motor Racing is Dangerous" at all race meetings. During the Second World War he served as head of MI6's Dutch section. Early life and education Rabagliati, who preferred to use his second name Euan, was born in Manningham, Bradford, Yorkshire, the fourth son of Andrea Rabagliati and Helen Priscilla McLaren. His father, the son of an Italian political refugee who had settled in Edinburgh, worked as a surgeon at Bradford Infirmary. Euan was educated at the Loretto School in Edinburgh, Charney Hall School, Grange-over-Sands (1905-6) and Bradford Grammar School. He then attended the Royal Militar ...
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Douai
Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfries. History Its site probably corresponds to that of a 4th-century Roman fortress known as Duacum. From the 10th century, the town was a romance fiefdom of the counts of Flanders. The town became a flourishing textile market centre during the Middle Ages, historically known as Douay or Doway in English. In 1384, the county of Flanders passed into the domains of the Dukes of Burgundy and thence in 1477 into Habsburg possessions. In 1667, Douai was taken by the troops of Louis XIV of France, and by the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the town was ceded to France. During successive sieges from 1710 to 1712, Douai was almost completely destroyed by the British Army. By 1713, the town ...
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Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded. The 1999 census recorded that the population of the commune of Valenciennes was 41,278, and that of the metropolitan area was 399,677. History Before 1500 Valenciennes is first mentioned in 693 in a legal document written by Clovis II (''Valentiana''). In the 843 Treaty of Verdun, it was made a neutral city between Neustria and the Austrasia. Later in the 9th century the region was overrun by the Normans, and in 881 the town passed to them. In 923 it passed to the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia dependent on the Holy Roman Empire. Once the Empire of the Franks was established, the city began to develop, though the archaeological record has still not revealed all it has to ...
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