Captain Alexander Roulstone (10 October 1890 – December 1965) was a British World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with eight aerial victories. He scored his victories, and downed two German aces, while handicapped by flying bombers.

World War I service

Roulstone was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the infantry on 7 April 1915, and on 9 May 1916 was transferred to the regular forces from a service battalion in the

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment The Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for just under 90 years, from 1881 to 1970. In 1970, the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to f ...

. He was transferred to the General List to serve in the

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

, and appointed a flying officer on 14 February 1917. By 6 April, he was flying with No. 25 Squadron in a

Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2 Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 (Farman Experimental 2) designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout. The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day and n ...

b; when flying over

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, he saw a German

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''). T ...

set afire a British aircraft from No. 16 Squadron, turned the tables on the German, Leutnant

Karl Emil Schäfer Karl Emil Schäfer (17 December 1891 – 5 June 1917) was a German pilot during World War I; he became one of the major German flying aces of the war, with 30 confirmed aerial victories. Early life and infantry service Schäfer was born in Kr ...

, and scored his first victory. Roulstone would soon score twice more as a FE.2b pilot, on 24 April and 21 May 1917. On 7 July 1917, he was appointed a flight commander, with rank of acting captain. At about the same time, No. 25 Squadron upgraded to

Airco DH.4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Air ...

s as replacement bombers for the FE.2. On 20 and 22 July, Roulstone used his new mount to great effect, downing a German each day and becoming an ace. He added one more to his score a month later, on 22 August. After a transfer to No. 57 Squadron, which saw him still a flight commander piloting a DH.4, he rounded off his list with a victory each on 13 and 17 March 1918. His last win was over Hans Bethge. Although classified as an "out of control" victory by the British, Bethge died of wounds received, but in turn wounded Roulstone.

Post World War I

Roulstone was granted a short service commission as a

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 ...

effective 24 October 1919, although on 9 March 1920, the notice of his commission was cancelled. On 18 March 1920, he was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force. Roulstone settled in

East Leake East Leake () is a large village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire, England, although its closest town and postal address is Loughborough in Leicestershire. It has a population of around 7,000, measured in the 201 ...

, Nottinghamshire, where he bought land and built a large bungalow he named "Adastral House". He became the company secretary and director of the Marbleaegis mine, which was bought out by

British Gypsum BPB Ltd (formerly BPB plc) (British Plaster Board) was a British building materials business. It once was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 2005, the company was purchased by Saint-Gobain of France. The company subsidiary British Gypsum, ...

in 1944. In 1954 he and his wife donated a plot of land on Main Street, East Leake, for the building of a new Catholic church "Our Lady of the Angels". In 1961 he sold some land close to his home for house building, and part of this development is named "Roulstone Crescent". He died on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

in late 1965 and was buried in East Leake on 6 December.

Military honours

;Military Cross :T./2nd Lt. (T./Lt.) Alexander Roulstone, Gen. List and R.F.C. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when engaged in aerial fighting and in photographic reconnaissances. In spite of continual hostile attacks he had proved most successful in securing photographs, and on several occasions he shot down enemy machines out of control, displaying skilful manoeuvring and great determination."

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roulstone, Alexander 1890 births 1965 deaths People from Salford Sherwood Foresters officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross British World War I flying aces People from East Leake