Lieutenant Charles Henry Arnison (13 January 1893 – 4 September 1974) 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 nine aerial victories. He won the Military Cross for valour in World War I, and returned to the RAF to serve in World War II.

Early life

Charles Henry Arnison was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne on 13 January 1893.

World War I

On 26 May 1917

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

C. H. Arnison of the

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 i ...

was commissioned as 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 ...

and transferred to the

General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

of the

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

. On 28 June 1917 he was confirmed as a second lieutenant and appointed a flying officer. By early 1918, he was assigned to 62 Squadron as a

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Bif ...

pilot; he began his victories with them with a win on 12 April 1918, and ran his string out at nine with his last victory on 15 May 1918. On both 6 and 20 June 1918 he was reported wounded in ''Flight'' magazine, although it is uncertain if this is a reference to two separate woundings. His exploits won him the Military Cross, gazetted 16 September 1918: He also won a Distinguished Flying Cross.Shores, et al, p. 53. Arnison remained in the Royal Air Force after the war. On 28 October 1919 he was appointed 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 ...

in the reorganized RAF. However, less than a year later, on 6 October 1920, he retired due to injuries, retaining his rank.

World War II

On 25 January 1941, Arnison was commissioned as a probationary flying officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and assigned to the Administrative and Special Duties Branch. On 17 July 1941 he was reported wounded or injured in action in ''Flight'' magazine. Post-war Arnison remained on the RAF List of Reserve Officers until relinquishing his commission on 11 May 1954.

List of aerial victories

Endnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arnison, Charles 1893 births 1974 deaths Military personnel from Newcastle upon Tyne British World War I flying aces Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross British Army personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers