Harold Francis Beamish, (7 July 1896 – 16 October 1986) was a New Zealand

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 ...

. Born in 1896 at

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, Beamish joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916. His training was completed by early 1917 and he was posted to No. 3 Squadron RNAS. In the course of his service with the squadron, he secured 11 victories in aerial

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

s. He was on leave in New Zealand when the war ended. In his later life he was a farmer. He retired to

Havelock North Havelock North ( mi, Te Hemo-a-Te Atonga) is a town in the Hawke's Bay region of the North Island of New Zealand, situated less than 2 km south-east of the city of Hastings. It was a borough for many years until the 1989 reorganisation of loca ...

where he died in 1986.

Early life

Beamish was born on 7 July 1896 in

, New Zealand, to a farmer and his wife. Raised on the family farm, Whanawhana, he attended a boarding school in Marton before going on to

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...

. In 1915 Beamish left school to train as a pilot. However, a bad heart meant that he failed the medical examination required to enter the New Zealand Flying School. He decided to travel to England to seek specialist medical advice for his heart. On arriving in London in July 1916, no issues were found with his heart so he promptly joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). An uncle had served 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 had provided him with a referral to a contact in the service.

First World War

Beamish was commissioned in the RNAS as a flight sub-lieutenant and after a two-week induction period, Beamish received flight training at the RNAS training school at Cranwell. He soloed on 10 August 1916, and before the end of the year, had completed his training with qualification on four types of aircraft. In January 1917 he was posted to No. 3 Squadron RNAS, which was operating on the Western Front. Most of the pilots of the squadron were Canadian and Beamish was soon nicknamed ''Kiwi''. At the time of his arrival, No. 3 Squadron operated

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying character ...

s from Dunkirk but it soon moved to Verte Gallant. Beamish suffered frostbite on one of his early missions in February 1917 and he had to force-land on another occasion. The following month he was nearly shot down while on a bomber escort mission; three German aircraft attacked his Sopwith Pup, damaging it and slightly wounding Beamish. On 22 April 1917, while on patrol, he shot down an Albatross DIII and destroyed another enemy aircraft the next month. In July 1917, the squadron returned to Dunkirk where it was re-equipped with

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...

s, which were much more powerful than the Sopwith Pups. They also had twin machine-guns rather the single weapon of the Pup. From Dunkirk, Beamish and his squadron flew patrols protecting naval vessels. They also intercepted German Gotha bombers making their way to England on bombing raids. Beamish was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

(DSC) in November 1917, for his service with the squadron over the period from January to September 1917, during which he had shot down or assisted in destroying several enemy aircraft. He was presented with the DSC the following February by

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

at a ceremony in London. Returning to duty, he shot down three German aircraft during the period of April to May and contributed to the destruction of three more. By this time Beamish was a flight captain in 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 ...

(RAF); in April 1918, the RNAS had merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the RAF and No 3 Squadron RNAs squadron was renamed No. 203 Squadron. Having flown nearly every day since his return to duty, on 21 July 1918, Beamish's aircraft was badly damaged by ground fire during a mission. On returning to his base, he applied for six months leave to return to New Zealand. His request granted, he departed the squadron two days later. Arriving safely in New Zealand despite U-boats sinking other ships in the convoy in which he was travelling, the war ended while he was still on leave. This left him with a tally of eleven enemy aircraft destroyed.

Later life

Post-war, Beamish resumed farming at Whanawhana, which remains in family hands to this day. A panel, decorated with a green fernleaf, that he had removed from the fuselage of his Sopwith Camel before his departure to New Zealand, was mounted on the wall of his home. In June 1920, Beamish married Marjorie at St Matthew's Church in Hastings. In 1937, he and his brothers took legal action in respect of debts owed to the estate of their father. When he retired, he moved to

, in the

Hawkes Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

, where he died on 26 October 1986 at the age of 90. A replica of the Sopwith Pup flown by Beamish during his service with No. 3 Squadron is on display at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Wigram, Christchurch.

Notes

References

* *

External links

''Harold Beamish'' at The Aerodrome website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beamish, Harold 1896 births 1986 deaths People from Hastings, New Zealand New Zealand farmers New Zealand military personnel of World War I Royal Air Force officers Royal Naval Air Service aviators Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) New Zealand World War I flying aces Royal Air Force personnel of World War I People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School