Lieutenant John Mitchell, (11 March 1888 – 2 January 1964) was an Royal Air Force (RAF) officer who served in

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 ...

and the Allies'

North Russia Intervention The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought ...

Early life

He was born in

Wilton, Scottish Borders Wilton is a parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, comprising the part of Hawick north of the Teviot. Formerly a separate burgh, it was merged with the burgh of Hawick in the 19th century. It stretches from Wilton Dean in the south-west ...

to Charles & Mary Ann. He was the fourth of seven children. Before the war he was a Police Constable in the English county of Durham.

Military career

John Mitchell disembarked from

Novorossisk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

, Russia on 25 June 1919 as part of a Royal Air Force air support group. On 30 July 1919 he was part of a reconnaissance mission of three

de Havilland DH.9A The Airco DH.9A was a British single-engined light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, repla ...

planes of the RAF's No. 47 Squadron over southern Russia. While on their mission, ground fire punched holes in the fuel tank of the DH.9A of Flight Lieutenant Walter Anderson and observer officer Mitchell. Mitchell climbed onto the wing and plugged the holes with his fingers. When another DH.9A was forced down by anti-aircraft fire, Anderson and Mitchell landed to pick up its crew, Captain Eliot (Future Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot) and Lieutenant Laidlaw. Mitchell was still on the wing so Laidlaw took over the plane's Lewis machine gun in the rear cockpit and was able to hold off charging Bolshevik

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

. Anderson was able to get their plane to take off again with Mitchell holding onto the wing to plug the fuel tank's hole with his fingers. Despite being burned by the aircraft's exhaust, they returned safely to base with the rescued crew. Mitchell was only dressed in shorts and a drill tunic but was still able to hold onto the plane against a slipstream. His fingers were not totally able to plug the holes in the fuel tank and it leaked all over his body. If a fire had sparked his fuel-soaked clothes on the plane, he would have been covered in flame. While burned from the exhaust, he still went flying the next day. Anderson and Mitchell were to be nominated for the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, but supporting documentation was lost during the evacuation from Russia. Instead of the Victoria Cross, the two received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and later the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions. On 6 August 1919 Mitchell was shot from the ground and hospitalized while flying as an observer to Captain Anderson in DH9 D2942. He embarked to the United Kingdom on 28 March 1920. In June 1923 he transferred to the

RAF Reserve The Regular Reserve is the component of the military reserve of the British Armed Forces whose members have formerly served in the " Regular" (full-time professional) forces. (Other components of the Reserve are the Volunteer Reserves and the Spon ...

and completed his service on 5 June 1929.

Later life and death

He left his wife after the wife and moved to Canada where he worked as a mechanic at

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

Halifax, Canada Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

before meeting his second wife, Minnie LaRue who was from the Isle of Guernsey. The two married and returned to Guernsey. During

World War II 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 opposin ...

the islands were occupied by Nazi troops. The occupying German forces deported over 1,000 Guernsey residents, including Mitchell, to camps in southern Germany, notably to the ''Lager Lindele'' (Lindele Camp) near

Biberach an der Riß Biberach an der Riß ( Swabian: ''Bibra''), often referred to as simply Biberach (), is a town in southern Germany. It is the capital of Biberach district, in the Upper Swabia region of the German state (Land) of Baden-Württemberg. It is called ...

and to Laufen. He returned after the war. John Mitchell died on 2 January 1964 on the Isle of Guernsey of coronary thrombosis and arteriosclerosis.

Bibliography

Notes References * - Total pages: 288 * - Total pages: 208 * * * - Total pages: 224 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John 1888 births 1964 deaths Scottish military personnel Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of the Russian Civil War Royal Air Force officers