Alfred de Bathe (Bath) Brandon (21 July 1883 – 19 June 1974) was a New Zealand lawyer and military aviator who served in the First World War, and was credited with the destruction of two Zeppelin airships.

Biography

Brandon was born in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, on 21 July 1883. He was the son of the

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representati ...

, Alfred Brandon and Louisa Kebbell. He was the grandson of the Member of the House of Representatives (MHR), also called Alfred Brandon. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin *Wellington College, Wellington, New Z ...

and

Canterbury College, Christchurch The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a Public university, public research university based in Christchurch, Ne ...

, before going to England to study law at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. Brandon was practising law for his father's company 'Brandon, Hislop and Johnston' in Wellington when the war broke out in August 1914. He gave up his job and resigned his commission in the

5th (Wellington) Regiment The Wellington (City of Wellington's Own) and Hawke's Bay Regiment was a Territorial Force regiment of the New Zealand Army. It was formed in 1964 during the reorganisation of the army by the amalgamation of two separate regiments: *Wellington ...

in order to travel to England, where he learned to fly at the Hall Flying School at

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

at his own expense, gaining Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No. 1905 on 17 October 1915. He joined the

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

, receiving a commission as a probationary second lieutenant on 8 December 1915, which was confirmed on 8 March 1916. On 1 April 1916, flying a B.E.2e fighter of No. 19 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron, he succeeded in attacking Zeppelin L 15 using

Ranken dart The Ranken Dart was an anti-Zeppelin weapon developed during the First World War. It was an air-dropped explosive flechette-type of missile-shaped bomb which was long and wide while being of a steel and wood construcation. It was developed for ...

s. It subsequently came down in the sea, and although the airship had already been damaged by anti-aircraft fire, his efforts won him the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. It was the first Zeppelin brought down over England. On the night of 23 September 1916 flying a B.E.2e fighter he attacked Zeppelin L 33, helping to bring the airship down in a field. On 4 October 1916 he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order, "in recognition of his gallantry and distinguished service in connection with the successful attack on Enemy Airships", following the shooting down of Zeppelin L 33 by No. 39 (Home Defence) Squadron. During 1917–1918 he was the commanding officer of 50 Squadron, and was promoted to major in January 1918. Brandon returned to New Zealand in early 1919 and assisted in the preparation of a report on New Zealand air defences, before returning to join his family's law practice, Brandon, Ward, Hislop and Powles.

Personal life

Brandon married Ada Mabel Perry at the Cathedral Church of St Paul, Wellington, on 2 January 1942; he was 58, she 38. They had one child, Peter de Bathe Brandon. Alfred Brandon died in

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city cent ...

on 19 June 1974, survived by his wife.

Notes

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandon, Alfred de Bathe 1883 births 1974 deaths People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) University of Canterbury alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand aviators New Zealand military personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order