Squadron Leader Standish Conn O'Grady''The London Gazette'' lists him as Conn Standish O'Grady from 1916 to 1919, then as Standish Conn O'Grady, his birth name, thereafter. In his personal life he was known as "Conn". (4 January 1888 – 7 May 1968) was an Irish

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 ...

of the

First World War 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 ...

, credited with nine aerial victories. He returned to military service, serving as an instructor, during 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 ...

. A civil engineer by profession, he later became a lecturer at

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

Early life

O'Grady was born in Ireland on 4 January 1888, the third and youngest son of the journalist, historian and writer

Standish James O'Grady Standish James O'Grady ( ga, Anéislis Séamus Ó Grádaigh; 18 September 1846 – 18 May 1928) was an Irish author, journalist, and historian. O'Grady was inspired by Sylvester O'Halloran and played a formative role in the Celtic Revival, publ ...

(1846–1928) and his wife Margaret (née Fisher). He graduated from

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, in 1910 with Bachelor of Arts and

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university. In the UK, a Bache ...

degrees, and worked as a

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the mov ...

for the

Congested Districts Board for Ireland The Congested Districts Board for Ireland was established by The Rt. Hon. A.J. Balfour, P.C., M.P., the Chief Secretary, in 1891 to alleviate poverty and congested living conditions in the west and parts of the northwest of Ireland. William ...

before moving to Canada to work for the Department of the Interior's Dominion Water Power and Reclamation Service.

World War I

O'Grady was in Canada on the outbreak of war, eventually returning to England, where on 25 July 1916 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) to serve in the

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

. He did his basic flight training with No. 7 Reserve Squadron in September and October 1916, and was appointed a flying officer on 31 October. His training continued as part of "C" Squadron 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 ...

, Upavon, Wiltshire, from October to December 1916, being confirmed in his rank on 17 November. He was with No. 8 Reserve Squadron from December 1916 to February 1917, then returned to "C" Squadron at the Central Flying School, in March 1917. O'Grady was then posted to No. 23 Squadron RFC based at Baizieux, France, to fly the

SPAD S.VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

single-seat fighter, gaining his first aerial victory on 30 April. Further victories followed on 13 May and 24 June, and he was promoted to lieutenant on 1 August, and appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 11 August. He gained six more victories by 26 August to bring his total to nine. He was then transferred to the Home Establishment in September 1917. O'Grady 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 i ...

on 25 September 1917. His citation, published on 9 January 1918, read: :Second Lieutenant Conn Standish O'Grady, Royal Flying Corps, Special Reserve. ::"For conspicuous gallantly and devotion to duty in leading fighting patrols against superior numbers of enemy aircraft. He has himself brought down three enemy machines completely out of control, and others were seen to be destroyed, and his dash and determination when outnumbered by the enemy have continually won the highest praise." O'Grady was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 24 May 1919.

List of aerial victories

Inter-war career

O'Grady returned to his pre-war career, initially working for Boving & Co. Ltd., before setting up as a consulting engineer. In 1931 he was appointed a lecturer in Civil Engineering at Armstrong College in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, part of

. O'Grady also retained his interest in flying, being granted a commission as a flying officer (Class "A") on probation in the General Duties Branch of the Reserve of Air Force Officers on 10 February 1925, and was confirmed in his rank on 10 August. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 31 January 1928, but was transferred from Class "A" to Class "C" on 10 February 1933.

World War II

O'Grady returned to active service in the Reserve of Air Force Officers during the

, serving as an instructor at No. 5 Air Observers Navigation School based at

RAF Weston-super-Mare Royal Air Force Weston-super-Mare or more simply RAF Weston-super-Mare is a former Royal Air Force station which was located on a civilian airfield in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England. It was set up as a municipal civilian airport in the 19 ...

from May to August 1940, then at No. 45 Air School in

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

, South Africa, from October 1941 to October 1943, also receiving promotion to the temporary rank of squadron leader on 24 July 1942. On 1 January 1944 he was awarded the Air Force Cross in the

New Year Honours list The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

. On 24 March 1944 he relinquished his commission and was permitted to retain the rank of squadron leader.

Post-war career

O'Grady returned to Durham in 1944 to become Senior Lecturer, eventually retiring in 1954. Outside of his profession O'Grady was also a keen fencer, yachtsman and mountaineer, but his primary interest was gliding. He was a member of both the Yorkshire and Newcastle Gliding Clubs, becoming chief flying instructor of the latter, and remained an active glider pilot into the 1950s. He was also an elected member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

from 1919 until 1961.

Notes

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogrady, Standish Conn 1888 births 1968 deaths O'Grady family Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Irish World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Academics of Durham University