Alan Jerrard, VC (3 December 1897 – 14 May 1968) was an English aviator and a recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. An officer of the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

he was 20 years old when, attached as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in No. 66 Squadron of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

during the First World War, he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Early life

Jerrard was born in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

in 1897 and moved in 1902 with his family to

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

where his father was headmaster of

Bishop Vesey's Grammar School Bishop Vesey's Grammar School (BVGS) is a selective state grammar school with academy status in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. Founded in 1527, it is one of the oldest schools in Britain, the oldest state school in the West Midlands and the ...

for 24 years . Later Jerrard attended

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

and

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

First World War

Jerrard volunteered for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and served with the 5th South Staffordshire Regiment before transferring to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in 1916, where he trained as a fighter pilot. From mid-1917, he served in No. 19 Squadron RFC in France, but he was injured in an air crash on 5 August 1917, flying a

SPAD VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

. From 22 February 1918, he served in No. 66 Squadron RFC in Italy, as a

, flying

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

s. Between 27 February and 21 March he scored four aerial victories, including one balloon.

Victoria Cross

Jerrard was awarded the VC for the following deed: On 30 March 1918 near Mansuè, Italy, Lieutenant Jerrard, with two other officers, Peter Carpenter and Harold Ross Eycott-Martin, on offensive patrol, shot down one of five enemy aircraft. Then flying at 50 ft. he attacked an aerodrome with some 19 machines either landing or attempting to take off. After destroying one of these he was attacked by more enemy aircraft but, seeing a brother-officer in difficulties, went to assist him, destroying a third enemy machine, then continued his attacks, only retreating, with five machines in pursuit, on the orders of the patrol leader. Even then, he repeatedly turned to beat off the enemy until finally forced down. After the war records revealed that the Camel's opponents were four Austrian

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service ('' Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). ...

(Oef) fighters, one of which was damaged and had to land, while another pilot was injured by a bullet. Jerrard was shot down by the ace

Benno Fiala von Fernbrugg Hauptmann (Captain) Benno Fiala Ritter von Fernbrugg (16 June 1890 – 29 October 1964) was an Austro-Hungarian fighter ace with 28 victories to his credit during World War I. He was the third ranking ace of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His honour ...

from Flik 51/J, and became a prisoner of war. Although the RFC credited Jerrard with 3 claims on this date, Jerrard himself did not claim to destroy any planes in that skirmish, only that he claimed to shoot one up. He was the only Camel pilot to be awarded a VC.Norman Frank: ''Sopwith Camel aces of World War I'', Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 52, Oxford 2003, , p. 87 Jerrard remained a prisoner until the end of 1918, when he managed to escape and reach Allied lines. He later served in Russia in 1919 and achieved the rank of

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

. Jerrard's VC and other medals are displayed on rotation in the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

References

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Middlesex)''

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerrard, Alan 1897 births 1968 deaths British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British World War I flying aces British World War I prisoners of war British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Italian front (World War I) Royal Flying Corps recipients of the Victoria Cross People from Lewisham Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of the Russian Civil War Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers South Staffordshire Regiment officers World War I prisoners of war held by Austria-Hungary Military personnel from London