John Anthony McCudden, MC (14 June 1897 – 18 March 1918) was a British

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 ...

, credited with eight aerial victories. He survived a downing by German ace

Ulrich Neckel Ulrich Neckel (23 January 1898 – 11 May 1928) Pour le Mérite, Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 30 victories. Early life and enlistment Ulrich Neckel was born in Güstrow, part of the Grand Duch ...

on 28 February 1918, only to be killed in action, possibly by Hans Wolff. He was the younger brother of British ace

James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...

. McCudden's victor cannot be identified for certain since more than one German pilot made a claim in that combat. Wolff died in action only two months later, and his log book disappeared after the end of the war, and with it, details of the battle from his perspective.

Military service

John entered the British Army in 1912 with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. In 1916 he was a dispatch rider when he transferred to the

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

. Initially John served at the Engine Repair Shops before beginning his flight training in March 1917. His first posting was to 25 Squadron flying on DH4 bombers before moving to 84 Squadron, operating S.E.5a aeroplanes. He achieved two victories with 25 Squadron and a further six with 84 Squadron. Fellow air ace

Hugh Saunders Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh William Lumsden Saunders, (24 August 1894 – 8 May 1987) was a South African aviator who rose through the ranks to become a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Saunders enlisted with the Witwatersrand Rifle ...

recalled of McCudden -

Military Cross

The award of 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 ...

to McCudden was reported in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

of 23 April 1918 - The award was made posthumously to his mother at Kingston Barracks in September 1918.

Burial

McCudden's body was initially recorded by the Graves Registration Unit as unknown. He was exhumed on 25 February 1921 and the Special Exhumation Report notes that he was 5 feet 8 inches and had brown hair. The report also notes that his uniform bore double wing badges with three blue chevrons and he wore a scarf of red, black and white stripes. He is buried at St. Souplet British Cemetery (III. D. 4.) under the care of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

Brothers

John was the brother of Flight-Sergeant Pilot Instructor William T.J. McCudden who was killed in England at

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

, Major

VC who fell in France and Maurice Victor McCudden who also served in the air force. Maurice died in 1934 at Putney Hospital where he had been a patient for over a year with 'internal trouble'.

References

1897 births 1918 deaths Aviators killed by being shot down British military personnel killed in World War I People from Chatham, Kent Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Flying Corps officers {{RAF-bio-stub