Squadron Leader Maurice Michael Freehill (21 January 1899 – 3 February 1939) was a British

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 ...

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 seven aerial victories, who went on to serve in the Royal Air Force until his death in 1939.

Biography

World War I

Freehill was born in

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batter ...

, London, the son of Eugene and Lilian Freehill. On 20 January 1917, the day before his 18th birthday, he enlisted into the Hampshire Regiment as a private. He soon transferred to the

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

as a cadet, being appointed a probationary temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 21 June, and was appointed a flying officer and confirmed in his rank on 13 September. Posted to No. 46 Squadron RFC, flying 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 b ...

, he scored his first victory on 23 March 1918, destroying an enemy aircraft over

Bullecourt Bullecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. Geography Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. Thisatellite photographs ...

. On 1 April the Royal Flying Corps merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force, and Freehill's unit became

No. 46 Squadron RAF No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, formed in 1916, was disbanded and re-formed three times before its last disbandment in 1975. It served in both World War I and World War II. World War I No. 46 Squadron was ...

. His next two victories, on 3 and 20 April, were over Albatros C reconnaissance aircraft, both shared with Captain

Cecil Marchant Captain Cecil James Marchant (15 June 1895 – 30 May 1965) was an English flying ace during World War I. He was credited with nine aerial victories. Early life and military career Cecil James Marchant was born in London, and enlisted into the ...

. On 30 May he drove down a

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

over Estaires, and then accounted for three

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qu ...

s; one each on 7 and 15 August, before transferring to No. 80 Squadron for his seventh and final victory on 3 October, having been appointed temporary captain on 30 September. Freehill was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was gazetted on 7 February 1919. His citation read:

Lieutenant (Acting Captain) Maurice Michael Freehill.
A brilliant leader who has destroyed five enemy aircraft and has displayed conspicuous bravery in attacking enemy troops on the ground. On 4th November, observing that a machine-gun post was holding up the advance of our infantry, he attacked it from a very low altitude, inflicting heavy casualties on the crews and putting them to flight. Later on he carried out a reconnaissance of the Army front at a height of 50 feet in the face of intense machine-gun fire, bringing back most valuable information.

Post-war career

Freehill remained in the Royal Air Force post-war, being granted a permanent commission on 1 August 1919 with the rank of lieutenant, retaining his acting rank of captain for a time. On 23 August 1923 Freehill was sent to the Electrical and Wireless School at

RAF Flowerdown Royal Air Force Flowerdown or more simply RAF Flowerdown is a former Royal Air Force station located in Hampshire, England. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) School for Wireless Operators moved from Farnborough to Flowerdown, later RAF Flowerdown ...

for a course of instruction, before being posted to No. 25 Squadron at

RAF Hawkinge Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Ashford, north of Folkestone, Kent and west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal ...

on 5 December 1923. On 1 July 1925 Freehill was promoted from flying officer to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

, and on 22 September 1925 was posted to No. 5 Armoured Car Company, part of RAF forces in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. He remained in Iraq to serve in No. 1 Squadron from 25 June 1926, and No. 55 Squadron from 1 November 1926, before returning to the UK, being posted to the Depot at RAF Uxbridge on 16 October 1927. He then served as an instructor at the Central Flying School at

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...

from 17 January 1928, and at No. 2 Flying Training School at RAF Digby from 5 April 1928. Freehill returned to Iraq to rejoin No. 55 Squadron on 18 January 1930, before serving with No. 41 (F) Squadron at

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

from 27 April 1932. He was posted to the School of Photography at RAF South Farnborough on 24 October 1936, and was promoted to

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

on 1 April 1937. He was then posted to No. 58 (Bomber) Squadron at RAF Boscombe Down for flying duties on 22 April 1937. Squadron Leader Freehill died at York Military Hospital on 3 February 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freehill, Maurice 1899 births 1939 deaths People from Battersea Royal Hampshire Regiment soldiers 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) British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force squadron leaders Military personnel from London