Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Gilbert Stuart Martin Insall, VC, MC (14 May 1894 – 17 February 1972) was a British aviator and recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

subjects.

First World War

Insall 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 ...

(on probation) in the

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

on 14 March 1915, during the First World War. He was appointed a Flying Officer in the RFC on 16 July, and was confirmed in his rank from the same date. Insall was 21 years old, and a second lieutenant in the 11 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps when he won the

(VC). On 7 November 1915 near

Achiet-le-Grand Achiet-le-Grand () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography A farming village located 12 miles (19 km) south of Arras, at the D7 and D9 road junction. The SNCF railway has a station here. History The commun ...

, France, Second Lieutenant Insall, on patrol in

Vickers F.B.5 Gunbus The Vickers F.B.5 (Fighting Biplane 5) (known as the "Gunbus") was a British two-seat pusher military biplane of the First World War. Armed with a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun operated by the observer in the front of the ...

No. 5074 with 1st Class Air Mechanic T. H. Donald, engaged an

Aviatik Automobil und Aviatik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. The company was established at Mülhausen (today in France) in 1909 and soon became one of the country's leading producers of aircraft. It relocated to Freiburg in 1 ...

two-seater and forced the German pilot to make a rough landing in a ploughed field. Seeing the air crew scramble out and prepare to fire, Insall dived to 500 ft and his gunner opened fire, whereupon the Germans fled. After dropping an incendiary bomb on the downed German aircraft, Insall flew through heavy fire at 2000 ft over enemy trenches. The Vickers' petrol tank was hit, but Insall brought the plane 500 yards back inside Allied lines for an emergency landing. Insall and Donald stayed by the Gunbus through a bombardment of about 150 shells while awaiting nightfall. After dark, they then set to work by torch light to salvage their plane. After they repaired the machine overnight, Insall flew them back to base at dawn. The announcement and accompanying citation for Insall's VC was published in a supplement to the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' on 23 December 1915, reading: Insall could not personally receive his VC in 1915, however; he and Donald had fallen wounded into captivity on 14 December 1915 after engaging

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

Martin Zander ''Hauptmann'' Martin Zander was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.The Aerodrome website page on ZandeRetrieved 13 September 2020 He was appointed to command one of the original German fighter squadrons, '' Jagdstaffel 1' ...

and his gunner. While in captivity, he was promoted to lieutenant, on 1 April 1916. Insall escaped on his third try, on 28 August 1917, and made it home over the Dutch border on 6 September. His VC was presented by the King on 27 September 1917. He returned to duty as the Flight Commander of "A" Flight, 50 Squadron, with the temporary rank of captain, on 11 January 1918.

Royal Air Force career

After the war, Insall remained in the service, receiving a permanent commission as a captain in the newly formed Royal Air Force on 1 August 1919; his rank was regraded to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

from the same date. He was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

on 1 November. On 16 December, he 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 ...

(MC) for gallantry in escaping from captivity as a POW during the war. On a clear day in 1925, he spotted a strange formation of pits in the ground below him. He took a photograph, and from this one photograph came the rediscovery of the Bronze Age site now known as

Woodhenge Woodhenge is a Neolithic Class II henge and timber circle monument within the Stonehenge World Heritage Site in Wiltshire, England. It is north-east of Stonehenge, in Durrington parish, just north of the town of Amesbury. Discovery Woodheng ...

two miles from Stonehenge (Crawford, Air-Photography for Archaeologists 1929). In 1929 he similarly discovered Arminghall Henge. Insall served in Southern Mesopotamia (Iraq) against the Akhwan in 1927–1928, for which he was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and awarded the

General Service Medal (1918) __NOTOC__ The General Service Medal (1918 GSM) was instituted to recognise service in minor Army and Royal Air Force operations for which no separate medal was intended. Local forces, including police, qualified for many of the clasps, as could ...

. He was promoted to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

on 1 July 1929, and to

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

on 1 July 1935. Continuing to serve 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 ...

, he retired from the RAF on 30 July 1945. Insall's headstone is in

Nocton Nocton is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1202 road, south-east from Lincoln city centre. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 819. To the east o ...

Churchyard,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Royal Air Force Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * Ro ...

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

Footnotes

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(South Yorkshire)''

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Insall, Gilbert 1894 births 1972 deaths Military personnel from Paris British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Flying Corps recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force officers Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Aerial photographers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Escapees from German detention British World War I prisoners of war World War I prisoners of war held by Germany