Lieutenant Henry Eric Dolan (20 January 1896 – 12 May 1918) was a

World War I 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 ...

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 seven aerial victories.

Biography

Henry Eric Dolan was born in England, a son of Alfred Archer Dolan, a

mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

and Violet Eliza Edgeworth ( Hanrick) Dolan. Dolan's parents later lived at Banbury,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Henry had a brother, Gerald Roberts Dolan. Educated at

Downside School Downside School is a co-educational Catholic independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 11 to 18. It is located between Bath, Frome, Wells and Bruton, and is attached to Downside Abbey. Originall ...

, he moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Soon after the outbreak of

WWI 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 ...

, he enlisted in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

. On 20 November 1914 he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, and was promoted to temporary lieutenant on 31 January 1916. 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 ...

on 1 January 1917. On 31 August 1917 he was appointed a flying officer in the Royal Flying Corps, and transferred to the General List. In early 1918 he was posted to

No. 74 Squadron Number 74 Squadron, also known as "Tiger Squadron" from its tiger-head motif, was a squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s, and then trainers until its disbandment in 2000. It w ...

, which operated Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5as on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. He was assigned to 'A' Flight, under the leadership of "Mick" Mannock. Dolan scored his first victory when he shot down an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

near Merville on 12 April 1918. He scored steadily throughout the following month, notching his seventh triumph on 11 May. The following day, Dolan fell under the guns of

Raven Freiherr von Barnekow Leutnant Raven Erik Freiherr von Barnekow (10 March 1897 – 8 December 1941) was a German World War I flying ace credited with eleven aerial victories. Postwar, he emigrated to the United States and became romantically involved with movie star ...

. He is buried in plot II, row D, grave 8 at La Laiterie Military Cemetery,

Heuvelland Heuvelland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populated rur ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

, Belgium.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Henry Eric 1896 births 1918 deaths People from Hastings People educated at Downside School Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Royal Field Artillery officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross British military personnel killed in World War I