Claude Alward Ridley
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Claude Alward Ridley
Claude Alward Ridley, (15 November 1897 – 27 June 1942) was a British aviator and military officer. During the First World War, he served as a fighter pilot and was decorated for home defence in southern England against German attacks from planes and Zeppelins. While a pilot with No. 60 Squadron, Ridley landed in occupied France and, despite being taken prisoner, he escaped and spent several weeks on the run before returning to England via the Netherlands. Early life Ridley was born in Sunderland on 15 November 1897, and was the youngest of seven children. He grew up in the suburb of Fulwell in the city, but by the age of 11, the family were living in Notting Hill in London. First World War At the start of the First World War, Ridley was offered a temporary commission into the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), but on being granted a full commission, he entered Sandhurst and passed out as an officer in the Royal Fusiliers. He did, however, keep up with his flying and was transferre ...
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Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on the River Wear's mouth to the North Sea. The river also flows through Durham, England, Durham roughly south-west of Sunderland City Centre. It is the only other city in the county and the second largest settlement in the North East England, North East after Newcastle upon Tyne. Locals from the city are sometimes known as Mackems. The term originated as recently as the early 1980s; its use and acceptance by residents, particularly among the older generations, is not universal. At one time, ships built on the Wear were called "Jamies", in contrast with those Tyneside, from the Tyne, which were known as "Geordies", although in the case of "Jamie" it is not known whether this was ever extended to people. There were three original settlements ...
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Royal Fusiliers
The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars and conflicts throughout its long existence, including the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Lancashire Fusiliers – to form a new large regiment, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The Royal Fusiliers War Memorial, a monument dedicated to the almost 22,000 Royal Fusiliers who died during the First World War, stands on Holborn in the City of London. History Formation It was formed as a fusilier regiment in 1685 by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, from two companies of the Tower of London guard, and was originally called the Ordnance Regiment ...
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Yorkshire Universities Air Squadron
The Yorkshire Universities Air Squadron (more commonly known as YUAS) is a Royal Air Force flying training unit that currently operates out of RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire, England. One of fourteen University Air Squadrons, the unit traditionally recruits students from universities across the Yorkshire and Humber region and provides bursaries for those who wish to pursue a career in the Royal Air Force. History YUAS was formed in 1969 when the University Air Squadron (UAS) from Hull and the UAS from Leeds, were combined to make YUAS. Leeds UAS was formed in January 1941 and had been allocated to airfields at Sherburn-in-Elmet and RAF Yeadon. Whilst at Yeadon, the squadron represented the final RAF presence when the airfield had gone over to a commercial operation as (what is now) Leeds Bradford Airport. Hull UAS was formed at RAF Driffield, but flew out of Leconfield and Brough. With the amalgamation of the two squadrons in 1969, flying was retained at RAF Leconfield for students ...
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Grossa
Grossa (; co, A Grossa) is a commune in the Corse-du-Sud department of France on the island of Corsica. Population See also *Communes of the Corse-du-Sud department *Bizzicu Rossu Bizzicu Rossu is an archaeological site in Corsica. It is located in the commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial enti ... References Communes of Corse-du-Sud Corse-du-Sud communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{CorseSud-geo-stub ...
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RAF Throwley
Royal Air Force Throwley or more simply RAF Throwley is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) installation located south of Throwley, Kent and north of Ashford, Kent. The installation was also used by the Royal Flying Corps was previously called Throwley Aerodrome before being taken over the RAF during April 1918 and renamed to its current name. History Land situated between Bells Forstal and Throwley Forstal, including Dodds Willows and the Bells Forstal farmhouse was acquired by the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 for use as a landing ground for home defence squadrons defending London and the Thames Estuary and Kent. From October 1916 50 Squadron RFC detached aircraft to Throwley. In July 1917 newly formed 112 Squadron was based with a variety of biplane fighters including the Sopwith Pup, Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Snipe. In February 1918 143 Squadron was formed at Throwley flying the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 but it moved soon after to nearby RAF Detling. 188 Squadron was formed at ...
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RAF Rochford
London Southend Airport is an international airport situated on the outskirts of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, approximately from the Charing Cross#Official use as central point, centre of London. The airport straddles the boundaries between the city of Southend-on-Sea and the Rochford District. Southend was London's third-busiest airport from the 1960s until the end of the 1970s, when it was overtaken in passenger numbers by London Stansted Airport.EasyJet Helps Make Southend London's Sixth Major Airport
London.net, published 16 June 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011

Financial Times, ...
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Sopwith Pup
The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good manoeuvrability, the aircraft proved very successful. The Pup was eventually outclassed by newer German fighters, but it was not completely replaced on the Western Front until the end of 1917. Remaining Pups were relegated to Home Defence and training units. The Pup's docile flying characteristics also made it ideal for use in aircraft carrier deck landing and takeoff experiments and training. Design and development In 1915, Sopwith produced a personal aircraft for the company's test pilot Harry Hawker, a single-seat, tractor biplane powered by a seven-cylinder Gnome rotary engine which was known as Hawker's Runabout. Another four similar aircraft have been tentatively identified as Sopwith Sparrows. Sopwith next developed ...
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Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinity). For this reason the limits of the Thames Estuary have been defined differently at different times and for different purposes. Western This limit of the estuary has been defined in two main ways: * The narrow estuary is strongly tidal and is known as the Tideway. It starts in south-west London at Teddington Lock and weir, Teddington/Ham. This point is also mid-way between Richmond Lock which only keeps back a few miles of man-made head (stasis) of water during low tide and the extreme modern-era head at Thames Ditton Island on Kingston reach where slack water occurs at maximal high tide in times of rainfall-caused flooded banks. In terms of salinity the transition from freshwater to estuarine occurs around Battersea; east of the Th ...
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Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155–157. and developed in detail in 1893.Dooley 2004, p. A.187. They were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word ''zeppelin'' came to be commonly used to refer to all rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and as scouts, resulting in over 500 deaths in bombing raids in Britain. The defeat of Germany in 1918 temporarily slowed the airship business. Although DELAG establish ...
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Gotha Bombers
The Gotha G.V was a heavy bomber used by the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. Designed for long-range service and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik AG, the Gotha G.V was used principally as a night bomber. Development Operational use of the Gotha G.IV demonstrated that the incorporation of the fuel tanks into the engine nacelles was a mistake. In a crash landing the tanks could rupture and spill fuel onto the hot engines. This posed a serious problem because landing accidents caused 75% of operational losses. In response Gothaer produced the G.V, which housed its fuel tanks inside the fuselage. The smaller engine nacelles were mounted on struts above the lower wing. The Gotha G.V pilot seat was offset to port, with the fuel tanks immediately behind. This blocked the connecting walkway that previously on earlier machines allowed crew members to move between the three gun stations. All bombs were carried externally in this model. The base v ...
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Stow Maries Aerodrome
Stow Maries AerodromeThe base was classified as an aerodrome by the Air Ministry of the time as it did not have paved runways but it consisted of a grassed field which allowed aircraft to take-off and land in any direction no matter from which way the wind was blowing. is a historical airfield located in the village of Stow Maries, Essex, England. The airfield was in use by the Royal Flying Corps (latterly the Royal Air Force) during the First World War. It has been given listed status on account of being the best preserved airfield complete with First World War era buildings and is open to the public as a visitor attraction. History The site, which is southwest of Maldon in Essex, was first surveyed as a possible aerodrome in August 1916, but it was not ready to accept aircraft until May 1917. The aerodrome was built as a direct response to the threat of German Zeppelin and Gotha bomber raids on the London area. It was built as part of a plan to site airfields from Dover to Edin ...
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London Gazette
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as ''Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city#National capitals, Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national Government of the United Kingdom, government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the Counties of England, counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London ...
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