Group Captain Cecil Francis Kilner, DSO*,

ADC ADC may refer to: Science and medicine * ADC (gene), a human gene * AIDS dementia complex, neurological disorder associated with HIV and AIDS * Allyl diglycol carbonate or CR-39, a polymer * Antibody-drug conjugate, a type of anticancer treatm ...

(8 October 1883 – 20 October 1925) was an early

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and pilot in the 1914

Cuxhaven Raid The Raid on Cuxhaven (german: link=no, Weihnachtsangriff, Christmas Raid) was a British ship-based Airstrike, air-raid on the Imperial German Navy at Cuxhaven mounted on Christmas Day, 1914. Aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service were carried ...

. He was awarded two

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

s during service with the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, he died as a Royal Air Force Group Captain in 1925 after a short illness.

Early life

Kilner was born on 8 October 1883 in

Kemsing Kemsing is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The parish lies on the scarp face of the North Downs, 20 miles south east of Central London, north east of Sevenoaks. Also in the parish are the hamlets of Hea ...

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 ...

12 April 1887 the son of William and Frances Kilner.

Royal Marines

He graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Royal Marine Light Infantry The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...

on 1 September 1902. In the 1911 Census he was described as a Lieutenant of the Royal Marines Light Infantry aboard HMS ''Swiftsure'' in the Grand Harbour,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

.1911 Census RG14 34973

Royal Naval Air Service

On 22 October 1913 he was awarded the Aviators Certificate #667 from the

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

following flights at the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...

at Upavon, Wiltshire and went on to serve with the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

On Christmas Day 1914 he took part in the

for which he was awarded the DSO. The raid was an air reconnaissance flight in the Heligoland Bight with an opportunity to bomb German facilities. The aircraft were launched from seaplane-carriers, which were supported by destroyers and light cruisers, at first light, with bad weather the aircraft had to fly low. The low flying aircraft and the supporting ships were attacked by defending forces with submarines, seaplanes and Zeppelins. Kilner with his observer Erskine Childers flying a

Short Admiralty Type 135 The Short Type 166 was a 1910s British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo-carrying folder seaplane, designed by Short Brothers. Development The Short Type 166 was designed as a 'folder' aircraft to operate from the Ark Royal as a t ...

was one of the few who managed to return to his ship.

Royal Air Force

In 1919 he transferred to the new

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

with a permanent commission as a Major. In early 1925 he was appointed as Air Aide-de-Camp to the King but he died soon after in London on 20 October 1925 at 16 Beaumont Street, London.

Honours and awards

* 19 February 1915 – Captain Cecil Francis Kilner, RNLI (Flight Commander) is awarded the

for distinguished service on the combined operations by HM Ships and Naval Seaplanes on 25 December 1914. * 1 October 1917 – Squadron Cd. Cecil Franscis Kilner, DSO, RNAS (Capt, temp Major RMLI) a bar to the Distinguished Service Order for services in reconnaissance and bombing flights in the eastern Mediterranean.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilner, Cecil Francis 1883 births 1925 deaths English aviators Royal Marines officers Royal Marines personnel of World War I Royal Naval Air Service aviators Royal Air Force officers People from Kemsing Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Military personnel from Kent