Captain Arthur Whitehair Vigers (20 January 1890 – September 1968) 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
14 aerial victories. He was the third ranking of the 27 aces who flew the
Sopwith Dolphin
The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on th ...
, and the highest scoring ace in his squadron.
Early life and background
Vigers was born in
Isleworth,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, the son of Thomas William Vigers and Margaret Mary (née Whitehair), and was educated at
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
History
A committee of Nonconformist ...
, London. In 1908 he enlisted into the London Cable Signal Company, part of the
London District Signals
London District Signals was a headquarters signal unit of the Royal Engineers (RE) and later Royal Corps of Signals in Britain's Territorial Army from 1908. It served with a corps headquarters at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during World ...
, a
Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...
unit of the
Royal Engineers Signal Service
The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...
.
World War I
Vigers was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the London Cable Signal Company on 5 September 1914, and on 9 December 1914 he was one of the many officers from the London Signal Companies who were seconded to the regular army.
On 11 July 1915 Vigers was appointed a temporary lieutenant. He received a
mention in despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
for "gallant and distinguished service in the field" from Field-Marshal
John French, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in France on 30 November 1915, and on 14 January 1916 he was awarded 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 ...
.
On 12 May 1917 Vigers was seconded for duty with
Royal Flying Corps, being appointed a flying officer (observer), with seniority from 1 February 1917. He flew as an observer in
No. 15 Squadron RFC,
and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1917. He then trained as a pilot, and was appointed a flying officer on 16 November 1917.
He was posted to
No. 87 Squadron RAF
No. 87 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during the First World War and Second World War.
World War I
87 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was first formed on 1 September 1917 at Upavon from elements of the Central Flyi ...
to fly the
Sopwith Dolphin
The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on th ...
single-seat fighter. He gained his first victories on 3 June 1918, shooting down two enemy fighter aircraft. On 10 August he accounted for three more, taking his total to five and making him an ace. He shot down three in August,
and was appointed a
flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 1 September, going on to account for six more aircraft that month.
On 1 November 1918 Vigers was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross. His citation read:
:Lieutenant Arthur Whitehair Vigers, MC.
::"A gallant and skilful airman. During the recent operations whilst leading a formation of eight machines he saw a group of twelve Fokker biplanes; without hesitation he attacked them, and, in the engagement, crashed two and shot down another out of control. Since June last he has crashed three enemy aeroplanes and driven down three out of control."
Vigers remained with No. 87 Squadron after the Armistice, receiving a second mention in despatches from Field-Marshal Sir
Douglas Haig
Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...
on 16 March 1919, and was again appointed a temporary captain on 1 May 1919.
List of aerial victories
Post-war career
Vigers left the RAF and moved to Australia, where he worked for the
Sopwith Larkin Aviation Company, which had been founded by
Herbert Joseph Larkin
Herbert Joseph Larkin, (8 October 1894 – 10 June 1972) was an Australian flying ace of the First World War credited with 11 confirmed victories. Postwar, he became a pioneering aviator and aircraft manufacturer in Australia. He served in the Ro ...
, who had served alongside Vigers as a flight commander in No. 87 Squadron. On 15 December 1919 Vigers announced his intention to make the first flight over the
Bass Strait, from
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
to
Launceston, Tasmania, in a
Sopwith Gnu
The Sopwith Gnu was a 1910s British touring biplane, designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation & Engineering Company of Kingston-upon-Thames. It was one of the first cabin aircraft designed for civil use.
Design and development
Designed for ...
. However, he was forestalled by Lieutenant
Arthur Leonard Long, who flew his
Boulton Paul P.9
The Boulton & Paul P.9 was a British single-engined two-seat biplane aircraft built by Boulton & Paul Ltd.
Design and development
The P.9 was an enlarged development of the P.6 single-engined biplane, with a longer fuselage and a increase ...
biplane from
Stanley, Tasmania
Stanley is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the second-last major township on the north-west coast when travelling west, Smithton being the larger township in the Circular Head municipality. According to the , Stanle ...
, to Melbourne on the 17th.
On 26 December 1919 Vigers took part in an air display organised by the Larkin Company at the Epsom racecourse,
Mordialloc
Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the . ...
, to an audience of about 10,000. It began with Vigers, flying a
Sopwith Dove
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 characteristi ...
, in a mock dogfight with Captain
Roy King, in a Sopwith Gnu. There was then an air race between Vigers, King, and Long, in his Boulton Paul. The race, the first in Australia, was flown over the from the racecourse to a balloon tethered over
Wirths' Park and back. Vigers won, but owing to a misunderstanding regarding the finish, Long and Vigers re-flew the race, with Long winning this time. Captain Gordon Campbell Wilson then made a parachute descent from the Gnu at about , and Vigers made a mock attack on the racecourse, and gave an exhibition of aerobatics.
On 2 January 1920 Vigers took off from
Glen Huntly
Glen Huntly is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District,[Port Phillip
Port Phillip ( Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, narrow channel known as The Rip, and is com ...]
. In the passenger seat was Phillip Roff Nunn, an 18-year-old student from
Elsternwick
Elsternwick is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Elsternwick recorded a population of 10,887 at the 2 ...
. However, on approaching
Mornington, his engine failed. Vigers attempted a forced landing, but in avoiding crowds on the ground, hit telegraph wires, flipping the aircraft over, and smashing it into the ground. The two men were extricated from the wreckage, but Nunn died from his injuries a few days later. At the inquest it was proved that a fractured piston had caused the accident, and that Vigers was in no way to blame. By June Vigers had recovered from his injuries, and took his Sopwith Gnu with three passengers to an altitude of , setting an Australian record for an aeroplane carrying more than one person. In August Vigers set off in his Sopwith Gnu on a two-week tour of Victoria with Howard Jolley and Dr J. Webb from the Life Insurance Company of Australia as passengers. However, on 2 August, while taking off from
Kerang
Kerang is a rural town on the Loddon River in northern Victoria in Australia. It is the commercial centre to an irrigation district based on livestock, horticulture, lucerne and grain. It is located north-west of Melbourne on the Murray V ...
, the aircraft crashed. Fortunately no one was injured.
In mid-March 1923 Vigers flew the last of the Avro aeroplanes built by the
Australian Aircraft & Engineering
Australian Aircraft & Engineering Co. Ltd. was formed in 1919 by N.B. Love, W.J. Warneford and H.E. Broadsmith. The company was registered in Sydney on 1 October 1919 with capital of £50,000 with the intention of manufacturing aircraft in Austr ...
Company from
Sydney to Melbourne. In May Vigers was surveying an air route from Adelaide to Sydney via Melbourne on behalf of the
Defence Department. He and Air Mechanic G. Held successfully flew their
Airco DH.9 from Sydney to Adelaide, but on the return flight crashed at Jerrawa near
Yass. The aircraft was wrecked, but both men escaped with only minor injuries.
Vigers also worked for the
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...
Aerial Mail Service, until leaving in May 1924.
In November 1925 he was working for the West Australian Mail Service, taking part in the transportation by air of a body from
Fitzroy Crossing Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
** FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Bea ...
on a flight to
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, Western Australia, for burial.
Vigers married Marjorie Frances Vigers, of Kippington House, Sevenoaks, at St. Mary's Church, Kippington,
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, on 10 August 1929.
He served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II.
Vigers died in
Bunbury, Western Australia
Bunbury is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's third most populous city after Perth and Mandurah, with a population of approximately 75,000.
Located a ...
, in September 1968.
References
;Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigers, Arthur
1890 births
1968 deaths
People from Isleworth
People educated at Mill Hill School
British Army personnel of World War I
Royal Engineers officers
Royal Flying Corps officers
British World War I flying aces
Recipients of the Military Cross
Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
English emigrants to Australia
British aviation record holders
Commercial aviators