Second Lieutenant Thomas Elliott (17 March 1898 – unknown) was a First World War British

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 eleven aerial victories, all while flying as an observer in the

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Bif ...

. The observer ace of

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 ...

No. 62 Squadron scored the majority of his victories with George Everard Gibbons as pilot. Elliott later served as an instructor at an air gunnery school.

Background

Thomas Elliott, son of Thomas Herbert Elliott and his wife Elizabeth, was born on 17 March 1898 in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...

in the north-east of England. At the time of the 1901 census, he resided at 9 Affleck Street in Gateshead with his parents, and the family continued to live there ten years later. Elliott was one of two children, and the only one to survive childhood. His father's occupation was recorded as lead manufacturer's agent. Prior to the war, Elliott was employed as a clerk with the firm of Raine and Company in Newcastle.

Military career

Elliott enlisted with the military in April 1916, and received his commission to the No. 62 Squadron of the

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

on 12 March 1918. The Squadron has recently deployed to France and Elliott arrived not long after his new unit began operations from the aerodrome at Serny. Elliott was credited with eleven aerial victories while he was with No. 62 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, all of them from the Bristol F.2b Fighter, and nine of them with George Everard Gibbons as pilot. Gibbons was a 17-victory ace who 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 ...

, Distinguished Flying Cross, and French

Legion of Honour 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, ...

. Gibbons had scored his first eight victories with Sidney Arthur William Knights as observer. However, Knights was hospitalised on 10 July 1918 and then was posted to the School of Aviation. Later, he was transferred to the Royal Air Force Armament School at

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

at the estate of

Hillingdon House Hillingdon House is a Grade II listed mansion in Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that inclu ...

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

in Greater London. Elliott, therefore, was the replacement for Knights. In September 1918, Elliott was transferred to No. 1 School of Air Gunnery, where he served as an instructor. He relinquished his commission on 21 February 1919.

List of aerial victories

Elliott's aerial victories were achieved while flying as an observer and are detailed below.

References

External links

Aerodrome – Thomas Elliott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Thomas 1898 births Royal Air Force officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces People from Gateshead Year of death missing Recipients of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from County Durham