Lieutenant James Victor Gascoyne (25 May 1892 – 1976) was an English World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.

Biography

Gascoyne was born in

Royston Royston may refer to: Places Australia *Royston, Queensland, a rural locality Canada *Royston, British Columbia, a small hamlet England *Royston, Hertfordshire, a town and civil parish, formerly partly in Cambridgeshire *Royston, South Yorkshi ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, and joined the

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

in 1913, before the start of the First World War, as one of its earliest recruits. In August 1914, he was assigned to

No. 3 Squadron RFC Number 3 Squadron, also known as No. 3 (Fighter) Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2006. It was first formed on 13 May 1912 as one of the first squ ...

in France as a member of the ground crew. After learning to fly in late 1917 at

Lilbourne Lilbourne is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the M1 motorway which runs east of the village, and the A5 road, west of the village which marks the boundary with Warwickshire, slightly to the north i ...

, Northamptonshire, he was granted a temporary commission as a second lieutenant on 19 July 1918, and joined No. 92 Squadron, based at

Serny Enquin-les-Mines (; vls, Enken; pcd, Inquin-les-Mines) is a town and former commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Since January 2017, it is a delegated commune of Enquin-lez-Guinegatte. The inhabi ...

, in early August 1918. The squadron was commanded by Arthur Coningham, and equipped with

S.E.5a The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fast ...

fighters. In October and November 1918 Gascoyne accounted for five enemy aircraft, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On 1 August 1919 Gascoyne was granted a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force with the rank of lieutenant, but resigned from the RAF on 25 October 1921.

World War II

Gascoyne returned to military service during the Second World War, being granted a commission "for the duration of hostilities" in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

as a pilot officer on probation on 4 September 1940. He was confirmed in his appointment and promoted to the

war substantive Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

rank of flying officer on 4 September 1941. On 1 January 1943 he was promoted to flight lieutenant, and on 1 January 1944 received a mention in despatches. Gascoyne died in

Taunton Deane Taunton Deane was a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council was based in Taunton. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Ta ...

, Somerset, in 1976.

Citation for Distinguished Flying Cross

2nd Lieut. James Victor Gascoyne.
During the months of October and November this officer has accounted for five enemy machines, and during recent operations he has displayed splendid daring and great skill in attacking enemy troops, etc. On 9 November, although he was wounded in the head early in the attack and his machine was badly shot about, 2nd Lieut. Gascoyne made a most successful attack on the enemy from a height of 100 feet, obtaining three direct hits and inflicting heavy casualties.

List of aerial victories

Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gascoyne, James Victor 1892 births 1976 deaths People from Royston, Hertfordshire Royal Air Force officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Military personnel from Hertfordshire British Army personnel of World War I