Captain Frank Cecil Ransley (18 October 1897 – 31 December 1992) was a British World War I

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. He would survive the war to become one of its oldest aces before dying at 95 years of age.

Early life

Frank Cecil Ransley was born in Caversham, Berkshire, England, on 18 October 1897. He first served as a gunner (regimental number 19867) in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

from 1914.

World War I

On 10 May 1917, Ransley was a cadet appointed to the

General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

of the Royal Flying Corps as a temporary second lieutenant on probation. He was appointed a flying officer and confirmed in his rank on 29 September. Ransley was posted to No. 48 Squadron in late 1917 to fly the Bristol F.2b two-seater fighter. His gunner scored an aerial victory for them on 28 January 1918. Ransley scored his second victory personally two months later. He would gain a total of nine victories by 27 June 1918, being appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 15 May 1918. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in June, though it was not

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 ...

until 3 August 1918. The citation read: :Lieutenant (temporary Captain) Frank Cecil Ransley. ::"This officer displays conspicuous gallantry and skill. On a recent occasion, while on patrol he was attacked by seven enemy scouts; he and his observer drove down two, and by skilful manoeuvre and dash he rallied his formation, which were being driven down, and succeeded in driving off the remaining enemy scouts. He has, in all, destroyed three hostile machines and driven down three others completely out of control."

List of aerial victories

Post-war career

After the war Ransley joined the

Prison Service His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wale ...

, serving as an Assistant House-master at a

Borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

from 1924, and being appointed a House-master in January 1928. In early 1932 he was appointed a Governor (Class IV), and by 12 June 1958, when he was made an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, he was serving as governor of

HM Prison Wandsworth HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South West London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK. History The prison w ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ransley, Frank 1897 births 1992 deaths People from Caversham, Reading Royal Garrison Artillery soldiers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Officers of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire British Army personnel of World War I