Sous-Lieutenant Pierre Gustave Gaudermen (20 October 1882 – 20 December 1948) was a French World War I

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 five aerial victories.

Early life and background

Pierre Gaudermen was born in Paris. In 1904 he enlisted in the '.

World War I

On 5 March 1915, Gaudermen was posted to ''Escadrille MF 55'' as an observer, but on 10 August 1915 was sent to the military flying school at Pau to train as a pilot. He was awarded his military pilot's certificate on 10 November, and on 20 January 1916 was promoted to corporal and appointed a flying instructor at Buc, and later at

Avord Avord () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography A farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the river Yèvre, some east of Bourges at the junction of ...

. On 20 September 1916, he was posted to ''Escadrille N 68'' and was promoted to sergeant on 21 November. Detached for a while to ''Escadrille V 110'', he was then seconded to ''Escadrille V 114'' from 1 January to 1 April 1917, before returning to ''N 68''. He was promoted to ''

adjudant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commissioned ...

'' on 25 June. He gained his first victory on 4 September 1917, he and ''Adjudant'' Gaudry shot down an enemy two-seater north of Bois-le-Prêtre. He had to wait until 5 February 1918 until he scored again, when he claimed two Albatros D fighters shot down over Thiaucourt, but was credited with only one, again shared with Gaudry. He was subsequently awarded the ''

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

'' on 29 April 1918. On 31 May he was commissioned as a ''sous-lieutenant''. On 17 June he and Lieutenant R. Sinclaire shot down an enemy aircraft, and the two men accounted for another on 26 September, west of

Ville-sur-Tourbe Ville-sur-Tourbe () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 613 communes in the French department of Marne. The communes cooperate in the fol ...

. His fifth and final victory came on 18 October when he shot down an enemy

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north-east of Grandpré. After the armistice he was made a ''Chevalier'' of the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'' and also received the ''

Croix de guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

'' with five Palms.

Sporting career

Before the war Gaudermen played

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, appearing for the club ''

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

'' when they became

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1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having been ...

and finalists in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

, and later for ''

Racing Club de France Racing Club de France, also known as RCF, is a French Sports club, omnisport club that was founded on 20 April 1882 under the name Racing Club. Racing Club changed its name to Racing Club de France (RCF) on 21 November 1885. The club is located a ...

''. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

once for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in a game against

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at ''

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

'', Paris, on 22 March 1906. Gaudermen also took part in the

1907 French Grand Prix The 1907 French Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix motor race held at Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, Dieppe on 2 July 1907. The Race Thirty-eight cars set off at one-minute intervals to complete 10 laps of a circuit on a triangular ci ...

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

Albert Clément Albert Clément (July 7, 1883 – died 17 May 1907, Dieppe, Seine-Maritime) was a French motor racing driver. In 1904 he won the ''II Ardennes Cup'' race and finished third in the ''III Ardennes Cup'' race at Bastogne. He also finished second i ...

. On 17 May, during a practice lap, their car overshot a bend and hit a pile of sand near

Saint-Martin-en-Campagne Saint-Martin-en-Campagne is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Petit-Caux.French Rugby Federation The French Rugby Federation (french: Fédération Française de Rugby (''FFR'')) is the governing body for rugby union in France. It is responsible for the France national rugby union team, French national team and the National Rugby League (Franc ...

, and also returned to motor racing, coming third in the 1922

Automobile Club de France The Automobile Club of France (french: Automobile Club de France, links=no) (ACF) is a men's club founded on November 12, 1895 by Albert de Dion, Paul Meyan, and its first president, the Dutch-born Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt. The Aut ...

Touring Car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...

Grand Prix at

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. At the age of 53, he represented France in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

, serving as a crewman in the 8 metre sailing event. Gaudermen died on 20 December 1948 in Paris. The French Rugby Federation created the ''Challenge Pierre Gaudermen'', an annual competition for Rugby players under the age of 17, in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaudermen, Pierre 1882 births 1948 deaths French World War I flying aces France international rugby union players French racing drivers Olympic sailors for France Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Sailors at the 1936 Summer Olympics – 8 Metre French male sailors (sport) Racing drivers from Paris