Captain Gordon Budd Irving was a Canadian 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 twelve aerial victories.The Aerodrome websit

Retrieved on 7 March 2010.Shores et al (1990), p. 208

Early life

Gordon Budd Irving was the sole son of attorney William Henry Irving and Mary Maude Smith(Inscription on tombstone at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Canada) Irving. His childhood home was at 76 Spadina Street, Toronto; he attended church nearby at Trinity Methodist Church (present-day Trinity-Saint Paul's United). After education at the Huron Street Public School and University of Toronto Schools, he was briefly employed by National Trust Company.Retrieved on 7 March 2010.
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World War I service

Irving then joined the

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

in May, 1917 and sent to Camp Borden for training. He shipped out for England in July 1917. By November of that year, he had been trained and posted to No. 19 Squadron RFC. He was assigned a

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...

to fly.Franks, p. 24. Dolp4

Irving scored his first aerial victory on 24 March 1918; by 2 July, his count was up to three enemy planes destroyed and eight driven down out of control. During five of these victories, he had teamed with other aces, including

Cecil Gardner Captain Cecil Vernon Gardner (14 September 1889 – 30 September 1918) was an English World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. Biography Early life Gardner was born in Broughton, Oxfordshire, the son of James and Hannah Eliza ...

Finlay McQuistan Captain Finlay McQuistanHis first name his sometimes given as Finley and his last as McQuiston in various sources. (4 October 1896 – 4 September 1950) was a Scottish World War I flying ace who was credited with 11 aerial victories. Early life ...

, John Aldridge, James Hardman, and fellow Canadian Albert Desbrisay Carter. Irving had also risen to the position of Flight Commander in May.

Decoration and death

On 3 August, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.(Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 August 1918) http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/30827/supplements/9200 Retrieved on 7 March 2010. Eight days later, in a dogfight during a patrol, he drove down a Pfalz D.III fighter for his ninth out of control victory. Irving was reported as missing in action, as three Dolphins went down that day, one of them on fire. Irving's body was not recovered. His Officer Commanding, Major D. J. Pretyman, wrote "...he is a great loss to my squadron as he was loved by all the officers and men, besides being a very gallant gentleman and always ready to do his best." The Prince of Wales posthumously awarded the DFC to Irving's sister, Mrs. Kathleen Purves.(Trinity War Book, Trinity Methodist Church, Toronto, Canada) Retrieved on 7 March 2010. The most likely claimants for victory over Irving were either

Justus Grassmann Leutnant Justus Grassmann ( – 2 November 1961) was a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories—seven enemy airplanes and three observation balloons. Aerial service Grassmann originally served with ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier D ...

or Alois Heldmann.

Honours and awards

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) Lt. (T./Capt.) Gordon Irving. He has carried out numerous offensive patrols, and under his able leadership many enemy formations have been successfully engaged. He has personally accounted for six enemy aircraft, and by his consistent keenness and fearlessness he sets a fine example to the pilots in his squadron.

Sources of information

References

* Franks, Norman. ''Dolphin and Snipe Aces of World War 1''. Osprey Publishing, 2002. , . * Shores, Christopher F. et al. ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920''. Grub Street, 1990. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Gordon Budd 1898 births 1918 deaths Canadian aviators Canadian flying aces Canadian military personnel killed in World War I People from Old Toronto Military personnel from Toronto Royal Flying Corps officers