Lieutenant Edwin Claude Bromley (18 August 1888 – 14 April 1928) was a Canadian

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 twelve aerial victories. Bromley piloted a two-seater Bristol F.2b Fighter for No. 22 Squadron. The observers that manned the rear guns for Bromley were John Howard Umney, for ten victories, and Charles George Gass, for two.

World War I

Bromley enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force while in Montreal on 17 September 1915. His enlistment papers denote his father, living in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, as his next of kin. He was five feet seven inches tall, with dark hair and complexion, and gray eyes. He joined the 4th Overseas University Company. His first overseas assignment was as a

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

in the Canadian engineers. Bromley joined the Royal Flying Corps as a cadet, and was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant (on probation) on 17 May 1917. He flew solo on 16 July 1917, and was confirmed in his rank and appointed a flying officer on 16 October. He was subsequently assigned to No. 22 Squadron RFC. On 8 November 1917, he and his observer were badly shot about in a dogfight and forced to land. Bromley's first success in aerial warfare took place on 6 May 1918, when he drove a German

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service ('' Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). ...

down out of control. He ran off a string of a dozen victories in little less than a month, with his last wins coming on 5 June. His final total included five enemy planes destroyed, and seven driven down out of control. Bromley was transferred to the unemployed list on 20 May 1919.

Post-war life

Bromley returned to North America aboard the SS ''Scandinavian'', disembarking in New York on 20 July 1919. After family visits, he returned to employment managing the Simmons mattress factory in Calgary. He married his fiancée, Elizabeth Ayling, in October 1920. They had a daughter together three years later. In April 1928, Bromley went missing for two weeks. His body was eventually found on the Simmons factory roof in a crouched position. The cause of death was unknown. His death date was determined to be 14 April 1928. Edwin Claude Bromley was buried in Burnsland Cemetery in Calgary.

Footnotes

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * 1888 births 1928 deaths Canadian military personnel from Manitoba Canadian military personnel of World War I People from Winnipeg Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Canadian World War I flying aces {{wwi-air