Henry John Lawrence Botterell (November 7, 1896 – January 3, 2003) was a Canadian fighter

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

who served in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and then 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) during

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 ...

. When he died at the age of 106, the Canadian Department of Veterans' Affairs, among others, believed he was the last surviving pilot in the world to have seen action in the Great War.

Pre-war life and career

Henry Botterell was born in Ottawa to Henry and Annie Botterell. His father, a civil servant, died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

when Botterell was still a young boy. He attended

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students ...

before beginning a career in banking. Prior to his war service, Botterell worked as a clerk at the Bank of North America (now the Bank of Montreal).

World War I service

Entry and training

In 1916, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) as a civilian flying trainee. His entry was facilitated by his sister Edith, who worked in the office of Admiral

Charles Kingsmill Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill, (7 July 1855 – 15 July 1935) was a Canadian-born naval officer and the first director of the Department of the Naval Service of Canada. After retiring from a career in the Royal Navy, he played a prominen ...

. Botterell was sent to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for training. Around this time, his older brother Edward, who had played football for the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

, was killed in action in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

while serving with the

48th Highlanders of Canada , colors = , march = " 48th Highlanders Slow March"; Quick – "Highland Laddie" , mascot = , battles = Second Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World ...

. On May 16, 1917, Botterell became a Probationary Flight Officer with the RNAS, where he was given the nickname "Nap" because of his supposed resemblance to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. He received his wings on August 15, 1917, and was awarded

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 ...

certificate number 5093.

No. 8 Naval Squadron

In September, Botterell joined No. 8 Naval Squadron. The squadron, which was usually referred to as Naval 8, was soon posted to France in support of the Royal Flying Corps. Botterell's immediate superior was also a Canadian, the

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 ...

Flight Commander James White. The squadron was commanded by another ace, Squadron Commander

Christopher Draper Squadron Commander Christopher Draper (15 April 1892 – 16 January 1979), was an English flying ace of World War I. His penchant for flying under bridges earned him the nickname "the Mad Major". After the war he became a film star through h ...

, who was later known as the "Mad Major" for his habit of flying under bridges. On September 18, 1917, Botterell's second operational flight as a pilot ended in a crash at Dunkirk when the engine of his

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 ...

failed. He sustained head injuries, a fractured leg and broken teeth. After six months in hospital, he was discharged and sent back 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 ...

. En route, Botterell ran into some of his former colleagues from Naval 8 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. They arranged for him to be sent to Manston in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

to try to re-qualify as a pilot. After 10 hours of refresher training, he was approved to start flying once more and was sent to Serny on the Western Front, where he rejoined No. 8 Naval Squadron, now renamed

No. 208 Squadron RAF No 208 (Reserve) Squadron was a reserve unit of the Royal Air Force, most recently based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operated the BAe Hawk aircraft, as a part of No. 4 Flying Training School. Due to obsolescence of its Hawk T.1 aircraft ...

. He served with them from May 11 to November 27, 1918, flying a variety of missions in different aircraft. He flew patrols and fought over Serny,

Tramecourt Tramecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Tramecourt is located 16 miles (22 km) east of Montreuil-sur-Mer on the D71 road and on the other side of the battlefield of Agin ...

, Arras, Foucaucourt and Estrées. In 60 days between June and August 1918, he flew 91 sorties. Botterell's sole air victory was a German observation balloon, which was well-defended by anti-aircraft guns, on August 29, 1918, near Arras. He was returning from dropping four bombs on the railway station at Vitry when he saw the balloon. Putting his Sopwith Camel into a dive, he fired 400 machine-gun rounds at the balloon, setting it aflame. The German observer parachuted to safety. During his service, Botterell flew a variety of planes, including several Sopwith types ( Pup, Camel and

Snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a ...

), the RE8, the SE5, the

Claude Grahame-White Claude Grahame-White (21 August 1879 – 19 August 1959) was an English pioneer of aviation, and the first to make a night flight, during the ''Daily Mail''-sponsored 1910 London to Manchester air race. Early life Claude Grahame-White was born ...

and the

Maurice Farman Maurice Alain Farman (21 March 1877 – 25 February 1964) was a British-French Grand Prix motor racing champion, an aviator, and an aircraft manufacturer and designer. Biography Born in Paris to English parents, he and his brothers Richard and ...

. He logged 251 combat hours. At the end of the war, Botterell was a flight lieutenant with the Royal Air Force (the Royal Flying Corps and RNAS had been combined on April 1, 1918, to form the RAF). After his return to Canada, Botterell never flew again except on commercial flights.

Post-war life and honours

Botterell returned to work at the Bank of Montreal as Assistant Chief Accountant, initially in rural

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and then in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, eventually retiring in 1970. In 1929, he married Maud Goater (died 1983). They had two children, Edward and Frances. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, he was an Air Cadet Squadron Commander, in Lachine (now Montreal). In 1998, Botterell celebrated his 102nd birthday at a hotel in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

, where he and 16 other Canadian veterans marked the 80th anniversary of the war's end. In 1999, he was guest of honour at a dinner to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. In 2001, he received a visit from members of the present-day 208 Squadron. The

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in ad ...

in Ottawa now houses a fence post that was caught in the wing of Botterell's Sopwith Camel during a low-level sortie. During an interview about his wartime exploits Botterell once said: "I had good hands. I didn't have the fighting acumen of some, like Billy Bishop. I was just a bank clerk. I wasn't one of the very best, but I had my share of action." Botterell died in a Toronto nursing home of causes associated with aging. He was 106. His portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

References