Flying Officer Walter Beales (1893–1962) was a 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 nine official victories during World War I, who also served during and after World War II.

World War I

Beales was the son of Alderman W. S. Beales. The younger Beales joined the

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

as a despatch rider in December 1914 and earned the 1914–1915 Star. Beales then switched roles to that of observer/gunner 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 ''"Biff"'' ...

s of 48 Squadron, which was operating on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. He scored his first aerial victory on 21 March 1918, destroying a German Pfalz D.III while piloted by William Lewis Wells. Two days later, the crew of Beales and Wells destroyed an

LVG Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H. (L.V.G. or LVG) was a German aircraft manufacturer based in Berlin- Johannisthal, which began constructing aircraft in 1912, building Farman-type aircraft. The company constructed many reconnaissance and light bombe ...

reconnaissance plane in the morning, and another LVG and a Pfalz D.III in the evening. On 28 March, Corporal Beales was wounded in the hand while in a dogfight with a German fighter; though Beales claimed he drove down the fighter out of control, the win went unverified. Beales brought down his fifth victim, an

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 ...

, out of control on 1 April. On the 25th, flying with Charles Napier as his pilot, Beales destroyed a Rumpler. On 9 May, in a ten-minute dogfight, Beales and Napier drove down two

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

triplanes and a Pfalz D.III; in turn, they were brought down, probably by Germans from Jasta 46, but survived. Beales final tally was five German aeroplanes shot down and destroyed, four driven down out of control. For his efforts, Beales was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal in April; it would be gazetted on 26 June 1918.

Post World War I

Beales became a mortician at Weelsby Grove,

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

postwar. A Walter Beales was the licensee of the Victoria Arms public house in

North Creake North Creake is a village and civil parish in the north west of the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 414 in 184 households at the 2001 census, reducing to 386 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local ...

, Norfolk from 1922 to 1937. In World War II, he would accept a commission in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

and command a gliding school. He would later command his local Air Training Corps unit. He gave up his commission as a flying officer in the RAFVR on 1 May 1951.

Honours and awards

;Distinguished Conduct Medal :2565 Corporal W. Beales, RAF. (Grimsby). :For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Whilst returning alone from a reconnaissance he was attacked by three enemy machines. Though he was wounded in the hand he drove down one of them out of control, and drove off the others in a running fight lasting ten minutes. On a later occasion he ably assisted his pilot in bringing down two enemy machines, one of which went down in flames. He performed excellent work during recent operations in engaging ground targets, often flying at very low altitudes under heavy fire. His keenness and determination have been a great incentive to the other N.C.O.s in his squadron.

References

External links

The Aerodrome
gives a detailed list of his victories. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beales, Walter British World War I flying aces 1893 births 1962 deaths People from Grimsby Royal Flying Corps soldiers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers