Robert Bilcliffe Loraine (14 January 1876 – 23 December 1935) was a successful London and Broadway British stage actor, actor-manager, and soldier who later enjoyed a side career as a pioneer aviator. Born in New Brighton, his father was Henry Loraine and mother Edith Kingsley (born Mary Ellen Bayliss). Robert made his first stage appearance in the English provinces in 1889, prior to serving in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. He introduced the

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

play ''

Man and Superman ''Man and Superman'' is a four-act drama written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to a call for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. ''Man and Superman'' opened at the Royal Court Theatre in London ...

'' to Broadway in 1905.

Theatrical career

Loraine was a versatile actor and was successful both in serious plays and in popular works of light entertainment. He was particularly associated with the works of

, taking over the role of John Tanner from

Harley Granville Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directi ...

in the fourth run of ''

'' at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, Englan ...

. He also won critical acclaim for performances in plays by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...

Aviation

In 1909 Loraine took up the new technology of aviation, learning first to fly at the Bleriot school at Pau, France. He then switched to the easier to fly

Farman Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French national ...

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

, on which he achieved great fame. In September 1910 he made what is credited as being the first aeroplane flight from England to Ireland, although he actually came down in the sea about 200 feet (60 metres) from the shore. The same month he piloted one of the two

Bristol Boxkite The Boxkite (officially the Bristol Biplane) was the first aircraft produced by the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company (later known as the Bristol Aeroplane Company). A pusher biplane based on the successful Farman III, it was one of the ...

s which took part in the British Army manoeuvres on

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

, during which he sent the first radio signals to be sent from an aeroplane in Britain. His diary is cited by the Oxford English Dictionary as the first written example of the word ''

joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal cont ...

'' to describe aircraft stick controls.

Military career

Loraine served as a volunteer in the

between 1899 and 1901. 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 ...

he flew with the

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

(RFC). Formerly a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the Haldane Reforms, military reforms im ...

serving as a flying officer RFC, he was appointed to be a flight commander with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 15 September 1915. 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 ...

for his "conspicuous gallantry and skill" in shooting down an

Albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

biplane on 26 October 1915. On 24 April 1916 he was promoted to command a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

, with the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, and on 13 February 1917 he was appointed a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

commander, with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

; he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

the same year "for distinguished service in the field". He was twice seriously wounded, and commanded No. 40 Squadron. During his service he did not entirely abandon the theatre, running a drama society in his squadron, which performed the premiere performance of Shaw's play ''

O'Flaherty V.C. ''O'Flaherty V.C., A Recruiting Pamphlet'' (1915) is a comic one-act play written during World War I by George Bernard Shaw. The plot is about an Irish soldier in the British army returning home after winning the Victoria Cross. The play was writt ...

'' at Treizeenes in Belgium. On 11 December 1918 he relinquished his commission in the

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 ...

due to ill-health brought on by his wounds, and was granted the honorary rank of major. Loraine had a great deal in common with Reginald Denny a younger actor / airman. They had been in a West End production together in 1902 in London,"The Dawn of the Drone"" Steve Mills 2019 Casemate Publishers. they were both veterans of the RFC (and its successor, the

) and were both flying and making films in Hollywood in the 1930s when Denny became interested in

radio controlled aircraft A radio-controlled aircraft (often called RC aircraft or RC plane) is a small flying machine that is controlled remotely by an operator on the ground using a hand-held radio transmitter. The transmitter continuously communicates with a receiver ( ...

Personal life

On 7 November 1897 Loraine married

Julie Opp Julie Opp (January 28, 1871 – April 9, 1921) was an American stage actress who was for a number of years popular on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. She was the wife of the Anglo-American actor William Faversham, whom she married shortly aft ...

. After their divorce he married Winifred Lydia, daughter of

Sir Thomas Strangman Sir Thomas Joseph Strangman QC (7 January 1873 – 8 October 1971) was a British barrister who spent much of his career in India. Strangman was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge and was called to the bar by the Middle T ...

in 1921. Loraine’s best man was an old RFC colleague

Duncan Pitcher Air Commodore Duncan le Geyt Pitcher, (31 August 1877 – 1 September 1944) was an infantry and cavalry officer in the British Indian Army. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps and in his later years became a senior c ...

"The Life of Robert Loraine: The Stage, the Sky, and George Bernard Shaw" Lanayre D. Liggera page 172 They had three daughters. Robert returned from New York on the new luxury liner

SS Normandie The SS ''Normandie'' was a French ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line ''Compagnie Générale Transatlantique'' (CGT). She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat, transatlantic crossi ...

and arrived in Plymouth on the 14 October 1935. He was due to play

Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge () is the protagonist of Charles Dickens's 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. At the beginning of the novella, Scrooge is a cold-hearted miser who despises Christmas. The tale of his redemption by three spirits (the Ghost of ...

in a broadcast that Christmas"Robert Loriane Actor Soldier Airman" Winifred Loraine 1938 Collins. but died quite suddenly after being admitted to hospital on 23 December in London.

Biography

Loraine's life is the subject of Lanayre D. Liggera's biography ''The Life of Robert Loraine:The Stage, the Sky, and George Bernard Shaw'' c.2013. and in 'The Dawn of the Drone'.

Selected filmography

* ''

Bentley's Conscience ''Bentley's Conscience'' is a 1922 British silent drama film directed by Denison Clift and starring Robert Loraine, Betty Faire and Henry Victor. Cast * Robert Loraine - Clive Bentley * Betty Faire - Diane carson * Henry Victor - Fletcer * ...

'' (1922) * '' S.O.S.'' (1928) * ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...

'' (1930) * ''

Outcast Lady ''Outcast Lady'' is a 1934 sound film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced and distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer. The film stars Constance Bennett, Herbert Marshall and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. It is a sound version of Michael Arlen's 1924 n ...

'' (1934) * ''

Marie Galante Marie-Galante ( gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Mawigalant) is one of the islands that form Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Marie-Galante has a land area of . It had 11,528 inhabitants at the start of 2013, but by the start of 2018 th ...

'' (1934) * ''

Father Brown, Detective ''Father Brown, Detective '' is a 1934 American mystery film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Walter Connolly, Paul Lukas and Gertrude Michael. It is based on the 1910 Father Brown story "The Blue Cross" by G. K. Chesterton. Plot When ...

'' (1934)

References

External links

* *
Earlyaviators.com website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loraine, Robert 1876 births 1935 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors 20th-century English male actors British Army personnel of the Second Boer War 1899 in South Africa Royal Flying Corps officers Military personnel from Cheshire English aviators People from Wallasey Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross