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Edward Masterman
Air Commodore Edward Alexander Dimsdale Masterman, (15 April 1880 – 26 August 1957) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century. After retiring from the RAF, he served as the first ever Commandant of the Observer Corps. Service career Masterman started his service career in the Royal Navy, attending the Britannia Naval College around 1894. He served on in the late 1890s and early 1900s, and was promoted to lieutenant in January 1900. After attending Torpedo Specialist Course he in 1907 worked as a Russia interpreter on . By 1911 Masterman had become involved in the Navy's efforts to build an experimental airship and the following year he was appointed Officer Commanding the Naval Airship Section. During the First World War, Masterman served in the Royal Naval Air Service, commanding the Farnborough Airship Station and working in several technical posts; during this time he invented and patented the airship mooring mast with Barnes Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aldershot
Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Aldershot Urban Area, a loose conurbation (which also includes other towns such as Camberley, Farnborough, and Farnham) has a population of 243,344, making it the thirtieth-largest urban area in the UK. Aldershot is known as the "Home of the British Army", a connection which led to its rapid growth from a small village to a Victorian town. History Early history The name may have derived from alder trees found in the area (from the Old English 'alder-holt' meaning copse of alder trees). Any settlement, though not mentioned by name, would have been included as part of the Hundred of Crondall referred to in the Domesday Book of 1086. The Church of St Michael the Archangel is the parish church for the town and dates to the 12th century with la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II. The raid was the subject of the 1955 film '' The Dam Busters'', in which Wallis was played by Michael Redgrave. Among his other inventions were his version of the geodetic airframe and the earthquake bomb. Early life and education Barnes Wallis was born in Ripley, Derbyshire, to Charles William George Robinson Wallis (1859–1945) and his wife Edith Eyre Wallis née Ashby (1859–1911). He was educated at Christ's Hospital in Horsham and Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Boys' Grammar School in southeast London, leaving school at seventeen to start work in January 1905 at Thames Engineering Works at Blackheath, southeast London. He subsequently changed his apprenticeship to J. Samuel White's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Longmore
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore, (8 October 1885 – 10 December 1970) was an early naval aviator, before reaching high rank in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of the RAF's Middle East Command from 1940 to 1941. Early life Born in Manly, New South Wales, the son of Charles Croker Longmore and Janet Murray, he was educated at Benges School, Hertford, and Foster's Academy, Stubbington, before entering Dartmouth Naval College. He was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1904. Having developed an interest in flying, he volunteered for pilot training when the Navy accepted an offer of training facilities by the Royal Aero Club, and was one of the four officers to be selected. He obtained flying certificate No.72 in April 1911 at an RAeC meeting that also awarded licences to the pioneer naval aviators C. R. Samson and Wilfred Parke. That year, assisted by Oswald Short of Short Brothers, he devised a way of mounting streamlined air bags on the undercarriag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel Charlton
Air Commodore Lionel Evelyn Oswald Charlton, (7 July 1879 – 18 April 1958) was a British infantry officer who served in the Second Boer War. During the First World War, Charlton held several command and staff posts in the Royal Flying Corps, finishing the war as a brigadier general. Transferring to the Royal Air Force on its creation, Charlton served in several air officer posts until his retirement from the air force in 1928. Most notably, Charlton resigned his position as the RAF's Chief Staff Officer in Iraq as he objected to the bombing of Iraqi villages. Early life Lionel Charlton was born on 7 July 1879 at Piccadilly in London. He was educated at Brighton College and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers on 28 September 1898, followed by promotion to lieutenant on 1 September 1899. He served with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment in the Second Boer War 1899–1901, including as part of the Ladysmith Relief Force, and was severely wounded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felton Holt
Air Vice Marshal Felton Vesey Holt, (23 February 1886 – 23 April 1931) was a squadron and wing commander in the Royal Flying Corps who became a brigadier general in the newly established Royal Air Force (RAF) just before the end of the First World War. During the inter-war years Holt remained in the RAF, serving in several staff appointments before becoming Air Officer Commanding Fighting Area. Holt was killed in a flying accident not long after taking up his final appointment. He was flying in a de Havilland DH.60M Moth from RAF Tangmere to take him back to RAF Uxbridge when it crashed at Seahurst Park near Chichester, following a collision with an Armstrong Whitworth Siskin The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a biplane single-seat fighter aircraft developed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was also the first all-metal fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RA .... Holt managed to get out of the aircraft, but his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norman MacEwen
Air Vice Marshal Sir Norman Duckworth Kerr MacEwen, (8 November 1881 – 29 January 1953) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century. Army career In 1901, following officer training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, MacEwen was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. As a junior officer he saw service in South Africa in the early years of the 20th century. In August 1915 he was appointed as Aide-de-camp to the General Officer Commanding Southern Command. At some stage in either the second half of 1915 or the early months of 1916, MacEwan went on to take up duties in the Royal Flying Corps. He was promoted major in January 1916 and, following flying duties, on 16 August 1916 was he promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed Deputy Assistant Director of Aeronautics. MacEwen spent the remainder of the First World War in staff and administrative appointments. On 1 April 1918, like other members of the Royal Fly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duncan Pitcher
Air Commodore Duncan le Geyt Pitcher, (31 August 1877 – 1 September 1944) was an infantry and cavalry officer in the British Indian Army. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps and in his later years became a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Early years Pitcher was born in Naini Tal in Uttarakhand (then called the East Indies), the son of Major Duncan Pitcher and his wife Rose. 1881 Census of Hendon, RG11/1367, Folio 91, Page 58, Duncan L G Pitcher, Age: 3, Where born: Naini Tal, East Indies, Address: 8 Edgware Road, Rockhall Terrace, Hendon, Middlesex. His father was on active service with the Bengal Staff Corps of the British Indian Army. At the time of the 1881 Census the family are living in Hendon, North London. In the 1891 Census Pitcher is a 13-year-old scholar at the Sedbergh School in Yorkshire. 1881 Census of Sedbergh, RG12/3489, Folio 25, Page 5, Duncan Leuguy Pitcher, Age: 13, Where born: Lucknow, India, Address: School House Towers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when the Few held off the Luftwaffe attack on Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when it was disbanded and the RAF fighter force was split into two categories; defence and attack. The defensive force became Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) and the offensive force became the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. Air Defence of Great Britain was renamed back to Fighter Command in October 1944 and continued to provide defensive patrols around Great Britain. It was disbanded for the second time in 1968, when it was subsumed into the new Strike Command. Origins On 20 May 1926, the forerunner of Fighter Command was established as a group within Inland Area. On 1 June 1926, Fighting Area was transferred to the Air D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Warrington-Morris
Air Commodore Alfred Drummond Warrington-Morris, (18 December 1883 – 24 March 1962) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century. Following his regular military service he became the second Commandant of the Observer Corps and commanded the corps through its adoption by RAF Fighter Command, the crucial operations during the Battle of Britain and the change to the Royal Observer Corps. Military career Royal Navy Warrington-Morris joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15 in 1899 as a midshipman. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 18 December 1902 then to lieutenant in December 1904. In 1912 he was recorded as being a lieutenant commander studying at the Royal Navy Torpedo School . Following his training, Warrington-Morris was posted as Torpedo Officer to , the RN Flagship East Indies Station with the rank of acting commander. In 1916 he transferred to the Royal Naval Air Service and was promoted commander on 30 June 1917 as a Senior Wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Bentley Priory
RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was the headquarters of Fighter Command in the Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War. During the war, two enemy bombs destroyed a wooden hut near the married quarters, a blast from a V-1 flying bomb broke a few windows, the windows in the Officers' Mess were shattered by a V-2 rocket, and a Vickers Wellington crashed outside the Sergeants' Mess. The Royal Air Force station closed its operations on 30 May 2008, with all units relocating to new accommodation at RAF Northolt, a few miles away. The station incorporated Bentley Priory, which was originally built in 1766. The house was significantly extended in 1788, by Sir John Soane, for John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn. It was the final home of the dowager Queen Adelaide, queen consort of William IV, before her death there in 1849. Afterwards the building was used as a hotel and girls' school befor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Uxbridge
RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years before the founding of the RAF. Until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the station was open to the public. The station is best known as the headquarters of No. 11 Group RAF, which was responsible for the aerial defence of London and the south-east of England during the Battle of Britain. Hillingdon House served as the group's headquarters. A bunker, subsequently known as the Battle of Britain Bunker, was built nearby to house the Operations Room, which controlled fighter squadrons operating within the group. The Operations Room was also responsible for providing air support during the evacuation of Dunkirk in May 1940 ( Operation Dynamo) and the D-Day landings (Operation Overlord). It was here that Winston Churchill fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
