Ernest John Elton, (25 December 1893 – 8 March 1958) was the highest scoring British non-commissioned

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 ...

during the First World War. He was credited with 17 aerial victories.

Early life

He was born in Wimborne

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...

, the son of Edith Jane Frampton, an unmarried

domestic servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

from Mannington, and was fostered by local midwife Hannah Elton and her husband Henry, subsequently adopting their surname as his own. As a boy he sang in the choir of

Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Poole ...

, and after leaving school was apprenticed at a local Cycle and Carriage Works.

Military service

Elton enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps on 11 August 1914, serving as an

air mechanic The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

. While serving with No. 6 Squadron in France in June 1915, he assisted Captain

Lanoe Hawker Lanoe George Hawker, (30 December 1890 – 23 November 1916) was a British flying ace of the First World War. Having seven credited victories, he was the third pilot to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry awar ...

in developing a machine gun mount for the

Bristol Scout The Bristol Scout was a single-seat rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a "scout", or fast reconnaissance type. It was one of t ...

. In late 1916, he returned to England to train as a pilot, and was later assigned to No. 22 Squadron. On 26 February 1918, Elton piloted a

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

to his first victory, when he destroyed two

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

s near

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...

. Following the engagement his engine failed, and Elton glided the six miles back to the Allied lines, but crash-landed in

no man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...

. His observer/gunner Sergeant Hagen had been wounded in the leg, so Elton dragged him out of the aircraft and into a shell hole, then crawled and ran 200 yards to the Allied lines to fetch help. He returned with a first aid man to dress Hagen's wounds, then sat with him until dark, when he was stretchered back to safety. The aircraft was later recovered and was found to be riddled with bullet holes, including in the fuel tank under the pilot's seat. In the next 31 days, Elton would be credited with destroying twelve more enemy aircraft and driving two down out of control. He scored ten of his wins himself, and his gunner in the rear seat scored six times. His string culminated in a triple victory on 29 March 1918, when he destroyed three German two-seater reconnaissance planes in ten minutes. They were the only two-seaters he ever destroyed; the remainder of his wins were over enemy fighters, principally Albatros D.Vs. Elton was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

"for bravery in the Field" in April 1918, and in June 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 reading: In September 1918 he was awarded the

Bronze Medal of Military Valour The Bronze Medal of Military Valor ( it, Medaglia di bronzo al valor militare) is an Italian medal for gallantry. It was established by Charles Albert of Sardinia on 26 March 1833, along with the higher ranking Gold and Silver Medals for Military ...

by Italy. Elton was discharged from the Royal Air Force in 1922.

Notes

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elton, Ernest 1893 births 1958 deaths English aviators Royal Air Force airmen Royal Flying Corps soldiers British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Recipients of the Military Medal Recipients of the Bronze Medal of Military Valor People from Wimborne Minster