Lieutenant Herbert Whiteley Sellars (11 June 1896 – 15 May 1918) 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 eight aerial victories. On 21 March 1918, Sellars shot down and killed the German ace

Ludwig Hanstein Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein (20 January 1892 – 21 March 1918) HOH, Bavaria's MMO was a World War I flying ace credited with 16 aerial victories.The Aerodrome website's page on Hanstein http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hanstein.php Retriev ...

Biography

Sellars was born in Liverpool, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Sellars. He was educated at The Leas,

Hoylake Hoylake is a coast, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee, Wales, River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historic counties of En ...

, and the

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. L ...

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...

, and was entered for

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

. He began learning to fly at the Beatty School at

Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...

in December 1915, and on 10 May 1916 was granted

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

Aviator's Certificate No. 2852 after flying a

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

biplane. He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) in the

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

on 3 June 1916, appointed a flying officer on 20 July, and confirmed in his rank on 17 August. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1917. Sellers served in No. 25 Squadron flying the two-seater F.E.2b on fighter/reconnaissance patrols, before transitioning to the

Airco DH.4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Air ...

for long-range reconnaissance and bombing. He was eventually transferred to No. 11 Squadron to fly the

Bristol F.2 The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Biff"'' ...

two-seater fighter, with Lieutenant Charles Crichton Robson as his observer/gunner. They gained their first victory on 12 March 1918 by shooting an LVG reconnaissance aircraft down in flames over Doignes. The following day they drove down out of control 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 ...

over Oisy, another over Rumilly on the 15th, and a third north of St. Quentin on the 18th. On 21 March they destroyed two Albatros's in a dogfight over

Morchies Morchies () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Morchies is situated southeast of Arras, on the D18 road. Population Places of interest * The church of St.Vaast, rebuilt, as was a ...

, one of which was piloted by ''Leutnant''

. On 1 April 1918, the Army's Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service were merged to form the Royal Air Force. The next day, 2 April, Sellars and Robson drove down a

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

south-east of

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, and gained their eighth and final victory on 15 May, sharing in the driving down of another Dr.I over Mametz with Captain John Vincent Aspinall and Lieutenant de la Cour. Soon after this victory Sellars and Robson were reported missing. Their aircraft had been shot down and Sellars was killed, but Robson survived and was taken prisoner. They are believed to have fallen victim to ''

Vizefeldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

Josef Mai Major Josef Mai (3 March 1887 – 18 January 1982) Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter pilot credited with 30 victories. Early life Josef Mai was born in Ottorowo, Province of Posen. His original military service began on ...

. Sellars, having no known grave, is commemorated on the

Arras Flying Services Memorial The Arras Flying Services Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras, France. The memorial commemorates nearly 1,000 airmen from forces of the Commonwealth who were killed on the Western Fr ...

. Sellars 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 ...

, which was gazetted posthumously on 21 June 1918. His citation read: :Lieutenant Herbert Whiteley Sellars, Royal Flying Corps, Special Reserve. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Whilst on offensive patrol, he attacked a hostile two-seater machine, which dived vertically and eventually crashed. Having attacked another two-seater machine, which dived down over the enemy's lines, he engaged three hostile scouts, at the nearest of which his observer fired two bursts at 75 yards range, causing the enemy machine to crash down in flames. His skill and gallantry have been most marked."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellars, Herbert 1896 births 1918 deaths People from Hoylake People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Aviators killed by being shot down British military personnel killed in World War I Military personnel from Liverpool