Captain Henry Arthur Richard Biziou, (18 September 1894 – 14 July 1919) was a British

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 ...

of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, credited with eight aerial victories. After serving successively in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

and the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, he transferred to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. After service as an observer, he trained as a fighter pilot and subsequently won his victories. He survived the war, only to die in a midair collision.

Early life

Biziou was born on 18 September 1894.Shores ''et.al.'' (1990), p.78. He would become known as "Weegee" in later life.

First World War

Biziou joined the

as a mechanic on 29 October 1914. He was later commissioned and transferred to the infantry; Petty Officer Biziou, formerly of the

Royal Naval Armoured Car Division The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

, was promoted to temporary second lieutenant in the Infantry on 24 February 1916. Biziou served in the 6th (Service) Battalion,

Yorkshire Regiment The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...

at Gallipoli, Egypt and France. He was still with the regiment when, on 31 May 1916, he was posted to the army's

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 ...

as a temporary second lieutenant to meet wartime needs. Biziou began duty as an

aerial observer Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) *Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art *Aerial silk, ...

, probably with No. 42 Squadron, on 6 October 1916, and was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps General List on 23 November 1916. On 1 April 1917, he was promoted to temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

. Biziou then trained as a pilot, including the course at the School of Special Flying at Gosport. He was then posted to No. 87 Squadron and landed in France in April 1918. He flew 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 First World War. The Dolphin entered service on th ...

, and scored the squadron's first victory on 6 May. Over time, he ran off a tally of two reconnaissance planes and five fighters destroyed, and another fighter driven down out of control by 22 September. In the midst of this string of victories, Biziou was promoted to temporary captain on 2 July. The Distinguished Flying Cross he had won for his exploits 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 3 December 1918, reading: Biziou remained in the

after the war, and was stationed at

RAF Farnborough Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Hampshire, Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport ...

. He was killed on 14 July 1919 in a flying accident at Farnborough, when his S.E.5 collided in mid-air with an

Avro 504 The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

killing him and the pilot and mechanic of the other aircraft. He is buried in

Aldershot Military Cemetery Aldershot Military Cemetery is a burial ground for military personnel, or ex-military personnel and their families, located in Aldershot Military Town, Hampshire. The cemetery was created in 1850s by the Royal Engineers during the building of A ...

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biziou, Henry 1894 births 1919 deaths Royal Air Force officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy sailors Royal Navy personnel of World War I British Army General List officers Military personnel from Hampshire British Army personnel of World War I Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Burials at Aldershot Military Cemetery British World War I flying aces Green Howards soldiers Royal Flying Corps officers