Lieutenant Arthur William Hammond was an English

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 five aerial victories as an observer/gunner.

Early life

Hammond was born on 29 August 1890 in Walton on the Hill, Lancashire, England. He was the son of Henry and Alice (née Kincaid) Hammond, his father was a Master Mariner.

Military life

Hammond joined the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

as a trooper. In October 1915, he was commissioned as a Temporary Second Lieutenant in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) as an observer. Flying with 2 Squadron RFC he was credited with five victories as an observer/gunner flying the

Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 The Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 was a British two-seat general-purpose biplane built by Armstrong Whitworth during the First World War. The type served alongside the better known R.E.8 until the end of the war, at which point 694 F.K.8s remained ...

biplane. The pilot mentioned in his second

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 ...

citation was Alan Arnett McLeod, who was awarded 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 ...

for the same action. Hammond lost a leg due to his wounds and left the RFC.

Later life

At the end of the war, he emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the invitation of the family of Alan McLeod. He landed in

Stonewall, Manitoba Stonewall is a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba with a population of 5,046 as of the 2021 census. The town is situated approximately north of Winnipeg on PTH 67. It is known for its limestone quarries. The local festival is the Quarry ...

and worked as a road engineer for a year. He then moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

and began a long career with the Great West Life Company. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served as an adjutant in the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. Arthur Hammond was married twice – first to Nellie Grant of Winnipeg in 1927 and later in life as a widower to longtime friend Dorothy Wardrop (née Williams) in 1956. On retirement in 1946 he moved to Victoria, BC. He died in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

, on 22 December 1959, aged 69.

Honours and awards

*22 April 1918 – T/Lt Arthur William Hammond, RE, attached to the Royal Flying Corps is awarded the

: *26 July 1918 – T/Lt Arthur William Hammond, MC, RE and RFC is awarded a bar to the

List of aerial victories

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Arthur William 1890 births 1959 deaths Royal Air Force officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Horse Guards soldiers Royal Engineers officers English aviators People from Burton upon Trent