Captain Noel William Ward Webb (12 December 1896 – 16 August 1917) 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 fourteen aerial victories. He also claimed the life of German ace ''Leutnant'' Otto Brauneck for his ninth victory.

Early life and education

Noel William Webb (the form of name he used) was the youngest son of

William Trego Webb William Trego Webb (24 August 1847 – 8 January 1934) was a British educationist and author who taught English Literature in various colleges in Bengal in India in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A prolific writer, he also produced a num ...

and his wife Isabel Mary, of

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London. He was educated at St. Paul's School, where he played for the first Rugby team. His older sister was the physician, costume collector and author

Phillis Emily Cunnington Phillis Emily Cunnington (1 November 1887 – 24 October 1974) was an English medical doctor and collector, writer and historian on costume and fashion. She and her husband Cecil Willett Cunnington (1878–1961) worked together not only in thei ...

Military service

Webb first served as a private in the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

before being commissioned into the

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

as a second lieutenant on 10 March 1916. After completing pilot's training he was appointed a flying officer on 3 July 1916, and was assigned to No. 25 Squadron in France on 4 July. Piloting a

Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 (Farman Experimental 2) designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout. The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day and n ...

b, he shot down one of the first fighters with a synchronized gun when he destroyed a

Fokker Eindekker The Fokker ''Eindecker'' fighters were a series of German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Netherlands, Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker.Boyne 1988 Developed in April 1915, the first ''Eindecker'' ("Monoplane") was the f ...

on 19 July. During the next two months, he became one of the few F.E.2 aces after four further victories, with his fifth, on 15 September, being the destruction of another Eindekker. Leslie Court was one of his observer gunners during these missions. Webb was invalided home in September, where he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 4 October, and then posted to a squadron in England, where he acted as instructor, and for a time as a squadron commander. He was also 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 i ...

on 1 January 1917. Royal Aircraft Factory FE-2 British First World War biplane

Webb was then reassigned to No. 70 Squadron as a

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 ...

pilot on 21 June 1917 for his return to combat. While test flying a new Camel on 12 July, he became the first pilot to score a victory in the type by wounding the crew of a German two-seater and forcing them down onto a British airfield into captivity. On 17 July, he sent down two

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

s out of control in separate actions; in one of these dogfights, he wounded German ace ''Oberflugmeister'' Karl Meyer. On 26 July, he killed ''Leutnant'' Otto Brauneck while destroying his Albatros D.V. Webb scored twice more on the 28th, and followed this with three more, his last victories, on 13 August 1917. Three days later, near Polygon Wood, he was last seen diving away from his patrol after two German aircraft. He fell under the guns of

Werner Voss Werner Voss (; 13 April 1897 – 23 September 1917) was a World War I German flying ace credited with 48 aerial victories. A dyer's son from Krefeld, he was a patriotic young man while still in school. He began his military career in Novem ...

. As a Commonwealth flier of the Western Front with no known grave he is commemorated at the

Arras Flying Services Memorial The Arras Flying Services Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras, France. The memorial commemorates nearly 1,000 airmen from forces of the Commonwealth who were killed on the Western Fr ...

, and also, alongside his brother Lieutenant Paul Frederic Hobson Webb, who was killed in action on 7 July 1918 while serving in

No. 27 Squadron RAF No. 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook from RAF Odiham. History First World War 27 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps formed at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on , being split off from 24 Squadron. Initially using air ...

, on the War Memorial at

Dunwich Dunwich is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon period, Dunwich was t ...

, Suffolk. War memorial inside St James's Church, Dunwich

List of aerial victories

Honours and awards

;Military Cross Gazetted on 1 January 1917, without citation. ;Bar to Military Cross :Temporary Captain Noel William Webb, MC, General List and Royal Flying Corps. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial combats. He has destroyed three hostile machines and driven down four others completely out of control. By his spirit and gallantry he has set a fine example which has inspired the pilots of his flight to successfully attack enemy formations many times more numerous than their own."

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Noel 1896 births 1917 deaths People from Margate People educated at St Paul's School, London Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Aviators killed by being shot down British military personnel killed in World War I