Captain Ernest Morrow (189701949) was a Canadian

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 World War I. He was credited with seven aerial victories while flying 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 ...

. His military career was cut short by a severe wounding that cost him his left lower leg, while earning him a Distinguished Flying Cross for valour.

Early life

Ernest Morrow was born on 21 January 1897 in

Waubaushene Tay is a township in Central Ontario, Canada, located in Simcoe County in the southern Georgian Bay region. The township was named in 1822 after a pet dog of Lady Sarah Maitland (1792–1873), wife of Sir Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant Governor o ...

, Canada. the son of Elizabeth Ward and Joseph Morrow. Note: Various sources give his middle name as either Thomas or Theophilus. He was living in Toronto and working as an accountant at the time of his enlistment into military service.

World War I

Morrow enlisted during May 1917. He 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 ...

in the

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

on 22 September 1917. He was then posted to No. 62 Squadron RFC on 30 October 1917, and shipped out to France with this unit. The haste with which he was commissioned and posted indicates that he took at least some of his aviation training during the Summer of 1917. He scored his first aerial victory on 26 March 1918.''Above the Trenches'', p. 286. After scoring three wins, he was hospitalized for a short while beginning 29 June 1918. He returned to winning form on 10 August 1918, driving down two German Pfalz D.III fighters to become an ace. Morrow's final sortie is vividly described in the award citation for his Distinguished Flying Cross: :"On the 22nd August, whilst leading an offensive patrol, this officer attacked ten Fokker biplanes and Pfalz scouts, driving down one in flames. In the engagement he was wounded and became unconscious; regaining consciousness, he found that his machine had got into a spin and was on fire. With a supreme effort, although very weak, he succeeded in landing within our lines, where he was with great difficulty extricated from the burning machine." Having crashlanded near

Ficheux Ficheux () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated south of Arras, at the junction of the D34 and D36 roads. Population The inhabitants are called ''Ficheusoi ...

, France, with bullet wounds to the leg, Morrow was dragged from the flaming wreckage by his observer, Louis Mark Thompson. Morrow's left lower leg was subsequently amputated. Both Thompson and Morrow were recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross. The latter's award was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on 2 November 1918, well after his 5 September

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

to England.

List of aerial victories

Post World War I

Ernest Morrow gave up his commission because of ill health caused by wounds, retaining the honorary rank of captain, on 8 January 1919.''The London Gazette'', 7 January 1919, p. 366. He would live until 20 July 1949, dying in his hometown of Waubaushene.

References

* ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920''. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , 9780948817199.

Endnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrow, Ernest 1897 births 1949 deaths People from Simcoe County Canadian flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Canadian amputees