Captain John Todd (1899–1980) was a Scottish

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.

Military service

Todd was a medical student at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

before he joined the Royal Flying Corps as a cadet. He was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant (on probation) on the General List on 2 August 1917, and was confirmed in his rank on 3 November. He was posted to No. 70 Squadron RFC to fly the

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 ...

single-seat fighter, and scored his first victory on 22 January 1918. Further victories followed, and Todd had brought his score up to five by the end of March, to make him an ace. On 1 April 1918, the Royal Flying Corps was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force, and his unit became No. 70 Squadron RAF. He gained three more victories by the end of the month, and on 7 May he was appointed a flight commander with the

acting rank An acting rank is a designation that allows a soldier to assume a military rank—usually higher and usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the nature of t ...

of captain. As such he gained six more victories in May, three in June, and his 18th and last on 1 July 1918. His final total was ten enemy aircraft destroyed (two shared), seven driven down out of control (one shared), and one captured. Fourteen of them were fighters and four were reconnaissance aircraft. Todd was posted back to the Home Establishment in Britain to serve as an instructor in July 1918. On 3 August his award of the Distinguished Flying Cross 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 ...

, followed by his

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 ...

on 16 September. On 5 January 1919 he was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list. A replica of the F.1 Sopwith Camel B7320 flown by Todd is on permanent display at

Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre The Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre is located to the North of Montrose, Angus, Scotland. Montrose has the distinction of having the first operational military airfield in Great Britain and the Heritage Centre is located on the former ...

Montrose, Angus Montrose ( , gd, Monadh Rois) is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Situated north of Dundee and south of Aberdeen, Montrose lies between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers. It is the northernmost coastal town in Angus ...

List of aerial victories

Post-war career

After the war Todd returned to his medical studies. After graduating in 1922, he went to Livingstonia,

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

, as a medical missionary. His work was rewarded by being made a Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 1955 Birthday Honours "for medical and missionary services in Northern Rhodesia."

Awards and citations

;Distinguished Flying Cross :Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) John Todd, MC. (formerly No. 70 Squadron). ::"With four other officers he engaged ten enemy scouts, shooting down one; later, on the same day, he shot down another in flames. In addition to these, during the last two months he has shot down seven enemy machines. His gallantry in leading his flight into action against enemy patrols of superior numbers has been an inspiring example. ;Military Cross :Second Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) John Todd, R.A.F. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During recent operations he destroyed three enemy aircraft, forced one to land in our lines, and drove four down out of control. He did very fine work."

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Todd, John 1899 births 1980 deaths People from Falkirk Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Scottish flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Military Cross Medical missionaries Members of the Order of the British Empire Nyasaland people