Captain Charles George Douglas Napier, (1892 – 15 May 1918) was a British

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 nine aerial victories before being killed in action.

Biography

Napier was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, England in 1892. Before the war he was employed in the Fire Department of the Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation Ltd.

Army service

He began his military service as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the

Army Cyclist Corps The Army Cyclist Corps was a corps of the British Army active during the First World War, and controlling the Army's bicycle infantry. History Formation Volunteer cyclist units had been formed as early as the 1880s, with the first complete bicy ...

. In August 1915, while serving as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in the 47th Divisional Cyclist Company, Napier was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

. His citation read: On 24 February 1916 he received the

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

from France "in recognition of ... distinguished service during the campaign".

Royal Flying Corps service

Napier was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps, and commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on 23 September 1917. He served with No. 20 Squadron in late 1917 before transferring to 48 Squadron in early 1918. He scored his first aerial victory while with them, on 7 February. On 4 April he was promoted to acting-captain. He would run his total to nine wins,Shores ''et.al.'' (1997), p.288. rounding off his tally with a triple victory on 9 May; he and his gunner Walter Beales were also shot down during this action, though without injury.Guttman & Dempsey (2007), p.16. Six days later, he was killed in action, shot down along with his gunner of the day. On 12 June, the Germans verified Napier's death. Ten days later, his award of 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 ...

was gazetted, as follows:

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Napier, Charles 1892 births 1918 deaths People from Shepherd's Bush Military personnel from London British Army personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces British military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Recipients of the Military Cross Army Cyclist Corps soldiers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force officers