John Lightfoot Trollope, (30 May 1897 – 21 October 1958) was a British

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 ...

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 18 aerial victories, including seven in one day, the first British pilot to do so.

Early life and background

Trollope was born in Wallington, Surrey, the seventh of nine children, and the second surviving son of Howard Woollright Trollope and his wife Caroline Lydia (née Hodgson). The Trollopes moved to Greenhayes, Banstead, when John was young and he was educated at Banstead Hall, a prep school close to the family's new home. He was attending Malvern College when the

broke out.

First World War

Trollope enlisted in early 1915, before his 18th birthday, to serve as a

despatch rider A despatch rider (or dispatch) is a military messenger, mounted on horse or motorcycle (and occasionally in Egypt during World War I, on camels). In the UK 'despatch rider' is also a term used for a motorcycle courier. Despatch riders were use ...

in the

Royal Engineers Signal Service The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communi ...

. He served in France from June, but was invalided back to England in September. He was serving as a

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in the Royal Engineers when, on 17 June 1916, he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on the General List to serve in the Royal Flying Corps. He trained as a pilot, being granted Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 3772 after soloing a Maurice Farman biplane at Shoreham on 1 August, and was appointed a flying officer on 2 September. Trollope served in France from September 1916, flying a Sopwith 1½ Strutter reconnaissance aircraft in No. 70 Squadron. He returned to England in March 1917 to serve as a flying instructor and in a Home Defence squadron. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July, and was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 28 July, to serve in No. 43 Squadron in France. Soon after his arrival No. 43 Squadron replaced its 1½ Strutters 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, and was converted from a reconnaissance to a ground attack unit. Trollope gained his first aerial victory on 19 January 1918, destroying a DFW two-seater over Vitry. Two further victories followed on 16 and 17 February, and two more on 5 and 11 March to bring his total to five, making him an ace. He accounted for two Albatros D.V fighters on 17 March, and forced a DFW two-seater down to be captured at Mercatel on 23 March.

Seven in a day

Around 11 a.m. on 24 March Trollope's flight observed four German fighters attacking British reconnaissance aircraft. Trollope promptly attacked, firing at one aircraft from close range, causing it to break up in mid-air. Spotting two more enemy aircraft below he dived and shot them both down before rejoining his flight to engage another group of enemy aircraft, until his ammunition was exhausted. Later the same day, around 3.20 p.m, Trollope's flight encountered three enemy aircraft over the battle line. He attacked one, but his gun jammed and he was forced to withdraw and clear it. He then attacked another at point-blank range, sending it down spinning until it broke up. He then pursued a third aircraft, setting it on fire. On the return home he saw an enemy fighter and a British aircraft dogfighting. Trollope attacked, shooting the enemy down in a spin, and the other pilot saw it crash.Contemporary accounts (including Trollope himself) and his Military Cross citation credit with Trollope with six aircraft, though in fact he shot down seven.

Capture and return

Only days later, on the morning of 28 March, Trollope led a patrol of nine aircraft across the German lines. East of

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he attacked and destroyed an observation balloon, but was attacked by a formation of German Albatros D.V fighters. In the ensuing dogfight, Trollope shot down two of the enemy, but five British aircraft were shot down, including Trollope, who fell victim to ''Leutnant''

Paul Billik Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, commander of ''

Jasta 52 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 52, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 52, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score over 42 aerial victo ...

''. Trollope was captured, having his left hand and wrist amputated as a result of his injuries. He was soon repatriated, but due to complications his left arm was eventually amputated at the shoulder.

Awards and citations

While in captivity Trollope 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 ...

and a

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to the award. The first was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

on 13 May 1918, his citation reading: The Bar was gazetted on 22 June 1918, reading:

List of aerial victories

Post-war

Trollope relinquished his RAF commission on 10 February 1920, on account of ill-health caused by wounds, and was permitted to retain his rank. Trollope married Molly Field on 30 January 1926, and had two children. Following their divorce, he married Rosina Victoria Vinter in 1934. Their daughter, Angela, was born in 1938. Trollope died in

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Hospital in 1958.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trollope, John 1897 births 1958 deaths People from Wallington, London People educated at Malvern College British Army personnel of World War I Royal Engineers soldiers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross British World War I prisoners of war World War I prisoners of war held by Germany