Rothesay Nicholas Montagu Stuart Wortley, (9 January 1892 – 29 December 1926) 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 ...

soldier,

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

fighter pilot and a journalist and author.

Early life

Nicholas Rothesay Montagu Stuart-Wortley was born at

Highcliffe Castle Highcliffe Castle, situated on the cliffs at Highcliffe, Dorset, was built between 1831 and 1835 by Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay in a Gothic Revival style near the site of High Cliff House, a Georgian Mansion designed for the 3rd ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

(now in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

, on 9 January 1892, the first child and only son of Major-General the Honourable

Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley Major General The Honourable Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, (31 July 1857 – 19 March 1934) was a senior British Army officer. He saw extensive active service in many parts of world, including Afghanistan, South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Ma ...

, and his wife Violet (née Guthrie). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he read

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

. On 25 March 1912 he received a commission as a

Subaltern Subaltern may refer to: *Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power * Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer * Subalternation, going from a univer ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Hampshire Yeomanry The Hampshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry cavalry regiment formed by amalgamating older units raised between 1794 and 1803 during the French Revolutionary Wars. It served in a mounted role in the Second Boer War and World War I, and in the air defenc ...

, of the (

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

First World War

On 5 August 1914, the day after the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

declared war on Germany, Stuart-Wortley was appointed an aide-de-camp to serve on the personal staff of his father, General Officer Commanding of the

46th (North Midland) Division The 46th (North Midland) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of the Territorial Force, that saw service in the First World War. At the outbreak of the war, the 46th Division was commanded by Major-General Hon. E.J. Monta ...

. On 12 February 1917 Stuart-Wortley was transferred from the

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

, and after completing flight training was commissioned as a Flying Officer on 12 June 1917. On 30 June 1917 he was promoted to the rank of captain, with seniority from 1 June 1916. He was posted as a pilot to join No.22 Squadron R.F.C., a fighter unit flying Bristol F.2's two-seaters. He gained his first aerial victories on 6 September 1917 by driving down two German aircraft. He destroyed two enemy fighters on 22 September 1917, and captured another on 17 October 1917. His sixth and final victory came on 28 January 1918, when he sent a German fighter down in flames. He was 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 ...

, which 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 ...

on 19 April 1918, the citation reading: :Captain Rothesay Nicholas Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, Yeomanry and Royal Flying Corps. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On each of three occasions, when on offensive patrol, he has attacked and brought down in flames one enemy aeroplane, in addition to which he has sent down out of control three other hostile machines. He has displayed great courage and determination as a patrol leader." He was appointed as Squadron Commander with the temporary rank of major on 1 July 1918, with No.44 Training Depot Station at

RAF Bicester Bicester Aerodrome, formerly RAF Bicester, is an airfield on the outskirts of the English town of Bicester in Oxfordshire. Dating back to 1916, this military airfield is notable as the location of the first flight of the prototype Handley Page H ...

until September 1918. He then returned to France where he commanded No.88 Squadron, Royal Air Force until the end of the war in November 1918. On 1 May 1919 he was appointed as a Staff Officer 3rd Class at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

, and was transferred to the unemployed list on 2 July 1919.

List of aerial victories

Post-war career

In 1919 Stuart Wortley married the Canadian opera singer Marie-Louise Martin, (known professionally as Louise Edvina) and worked as an aviation journalist until his death in the south of France from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

on 29 December 1926 at the age of 34.

Publications

Along with Canada's top World War I ace, Colonel

Billy Bishop Air Marshal William Avery Bishop, (8 February 1894 – 11 September 1956) was a Canadian 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 com ...

, Stuart-Wortley co-authored an adventure novel entitled ''The Flying Squad'', which was published in 1927. His own novel ''Letters from a Flying Officer'', a fictionalised account of his own experiences, was published in 1928. A book of short stories ''Tales of the Air'', was published in 1932.

Notes

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wortley, Rothsay Stuart 1892 births 1926 deaths People from Christchurch, Dorset People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Hampshire Yeomanry officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross English male journalists English male novelists Deaths from diabetes