Sergeant Thomas Frederick Stephenson (1894 – 20 November 1917) 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 ...

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.

Military service

He was born in

Eastfield, Peterborough Eastfield is a residential area of the city of Peterborough, in the Peterborough district, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. For electoral purposes it comprises part of Peterborough East ward, together with Fengate and Parnwe ...

, the son of George Frederick Stephenson and his wife Annie Georgina. He joined the

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

on 7 July 1913, and was sent to France on 12 August 1914. By 1917 Stephenson was a sergeant pilot in No. 11 Squadron RFC. He was teamed with

Air Mechanic 1st Class The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

Sydney Platel as his observer/gunner in a

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 duo garnered five victories together between 23 September and 31 October 1917, all against

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 ...

s. After destroying two enemy aircraft on 31 October, they in turn fell under the guns of ''Oberleutnant'' Hans Bethge. They survived this, though Platel lost a toe. On 20 November 1917, the first day of the Battle of Cambrai, Stephenson and his observer Lieutenant William Morse set off on a reconnaissance mission over the German lines, but their aircraft was shot down, apparently a victim of ground fire. Stephenson was listed as missing, presumed killed, but Morse survived, although wounded, and was captured. On 4 March 1918 he was posthumously awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

. His citation read: :769 Sjt. T. F. Stephenson, RFC. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While flying over the enemy's lines he was attacked by twelve hostile scouts and engaged four of them, one of which he destroyed. He was then attacked by another of the enemy machines, and, though his observer had been wounded, he succeeded in destroying it. His machine was then rendered almost uncontrollable by a shell, the right wing being almost shot off, but he succeeded in landing it in our front-line wire. He has destroyed five hostile machines and shown splendid courage and determination." As an air casualty of the Western Front with no known grave, he is commemorated at the

Arras Flying Services Memorial The Arras Flying Services Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial in the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery, Arras, France. The memorial commemorates nearly 1,000 airmen from forces of the Commonwealth who were killed on the Western Fr ...

, and also on the Peterborough War Memorial.

List of aerial victories

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Thomas Frederick 1894 births 1917 deaths People from Peterborough Royal Flying Corps soldiers British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal British military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down