Oliver Campbell Bryson (18 August 1896 – 27 March 1977) was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer who served in both World Wars. He was a

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 12 aerial victories during 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 ...

Early life

Bryson was born in

Lickey Lickey is a 'Linear Development', as opposed to a village, in the north of Worcestershire, England approximately south west from the centre of Birmingham. It lies in Bromsgrove District and is situated on the Lickey Ridge, amongst the Lickey Hil ...

, a village in the Bromsgrove district of Worcestershire in England, the son of George and Edith Bryson. His father was a hardware merchant. In the 1911 Census of Uppingham in Rutland he is listed as a student at the Uppingham School.

First World War service

Bryson was educated at Bromsgrove School, and joined the

Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry The Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army founded in 1794 as the Dorsetshire Regiment of Volunteer Yeomanry Cavalry in response to the growing threat of invasion during the Napoleonic wars. It gained its first ro ...

in 1914. Shortly thereafter, he was wounded in action. While serving in Egypt, he transferred to the

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

.Shores et al, p. 91 On 15 March 1917, after a flaming crash, he rescued his fellow aircrew member. In July 1917, he was posted to fly a SPAD for 19 Squadron in France. His first aerial victory followed shortly; he drove down a German observation plane down out of control on 25 August. By the end of the year, Bryson's victory total had increased to 11. In January 1918, the King presented him with the Albert Medal for his heroism in rescuing his fellow airman following a crash at Wye Aerodrome. On 8 March, having upgraded to a

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...

fighter plane, Bryson scored his final victory of the war, destroying a German

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 ...

over

Gheluvelt Zonnebeke (; vls, Zunnebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population of ...

, Belgium. His final summary showed he had destroyed four enemy aircraft; two of these were shared victories, including one with

Arthur Bradfield Fairclough Arthur Bradfield Fairclough (25 July 1896 – 9 December 1968) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 19 aerial victories. Early life and background Fairclough was born in Toronto, the son of Leonard and Ettie ( ...

. Bryson's other eight wins were of the out of control variety; three of them were shared with such other aces as Albert Desbrisay Carter.

Interbellum and later career

Oliver Bryson was one of the British aviators ordered to Russia in 1919 to support the

White Army The White Army (russian: Белая армия, Belaya armiya) or White Guard (russian: Бѣлая гвардія/Белая гвардия, Belaya gvardiya, label=none), also referred to as the Whites or White Guardsmen (russian: Бѣлогв� ...

in its counter-revolution against the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

. He commanded a bomber squadron, and also flew operations in a Snipe. His gallantry earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross. Bryson was also granted a permanent commission as

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 ...

, effective 1 August 1919. Bryson was stationed in India from 1928 to 1931; he won a Bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts. In 1933, Bryson was assigned to the Central Flying School and put in charge of engines. He also 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 November 1938, Bryson was promoted from wing commander to

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

. Oliver Campbell Bryson retired from the Royal Air Force in 1943, having served for almost three decades.

Honours and awards

Award proclamation for the Albert Medal for lifesaving: Citation accompanying award of the Military Cross: Citation accompanying award of the Distinguished Flying Cross: Bryson also won a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to the Distinguished Flying Cross. It was granted for his service on the North–West Frontier of India in 1930.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryson, Oliver 1896 births 1977 deaths People educated at Bromsgrove School Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving) Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British World War I flying aces Royal Air Force personnel of the Russian Civil War Military personnel from Worcestershire