Captain Walter Alexander Tyrrell (23 August 1898 – 9 June 1918) was a British

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 ...

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 seventeen aerial victories.

Early life and background

Tyrrell was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, one of three sons of John Tyrrell, a merchant,

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, who was the

High Sheriff of Belfast The High Sheriff of Belfast is a title and position which was created in 1900 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, with Sir James Henderson the first holder. Like other high sheriff positions, it is largely a ceremonial post today. The ...

in 1914, and his wife Jeanie (née Todd). The family resided at Fairview Buildings,

Crumlin Road The Crumlin Road is a main road in north-west Belfast, Northern Ireland. The road runs from north of Belfast City Centre for about four miles to the outskirts of the city. It also forms part of the longer A52 road which leads out of Belfast to t ...

. He was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and the Belfast Municipal Technical Institute.

World War I

Tyrrell joined the Royal Navy, serving in the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

's Armoured Car Division as a

petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotation OR-5 or OR-6. In many nations, they are typically equal to a sergeant in comparison to other military branches. Often they may be superior ...

from 26 December 1914 until 24 November 1915, under Commander

Oliver Locker-Lampson Commander Oliver Stillingfleet Locker-Lampson, CMG, DSO (25 September 1880 (Belgravia, London) – 8 October 1954 (Kensington, London)) was a British politician and naval reserve officer. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Ramsey, Huntingdon ...

. He spent eight months in Belgium and France, but was discharged after an accident, when an armoured car crushed his foot. He returned to Belfast where he was a member of the

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Officers' Training Corps The Officers' Training Corps (OTC), more fully called the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), are military leadership training units operated by the British Army. Their focus is to develop the leadership abilities of their members whilst ...

and worked as an apprentice motor engineer. Tyrrell joined the

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

as an officer cadet at Farnborough on 4 April 1917, and was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant (on probation) on 21 June. On 30 August 1917 he was appointed a flying officer and confirmed in his rank. He was posted to No. 32 Squadron RFC to fly the

Airco DH.5 The Airco DH.5 was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. It was designed and manufactured at British aviation company Airco. Development was led by aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland as a replacement for the obs ...

single-seat fighter, and scored five victories (four shared) between 30 October and 5 December 1917. In early 1918 Tyrrell's squadron was re-equipped with the S.E.5a fighter. On 21 March the Germans launched their Spring Offensive on the Somme Front, and on 7 April Tyrrell claimed three enemy fighters shot down over Lamotte. On 10 April No. 32 Squadron RAFThe Army's Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) were merged to form the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. was assigned to operations further north over the Lys Front, where Tyrrell gained two more victories, on 11 and 12 April. No. 32 Squadron was then tasked with flying as bomber escorts, and on 3 May Tyrrell 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 ...

's over Frelinghien, and forced down and captured an LVG reconnaissance aircraft near

Poperinghe Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge pr ...

.This action featured prominently in his citation for the Military Cross. Early on 8 May the squadron encountered a large formation of Pfalz D.III fighters, shooting down six, of which Tyrrell claimed one. On 18 May 1918 Tyrrell was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain, and commanded "B"

flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

. On 29 May, following a request from the French for air reinforcements, No. 32 Squadron moved south to Fouquerolles. Early on 6 June Tyrrell and Lieutenant J. W. Trusler shared in sending a Pfalz D.III down in flames, and later the same day Tyrrell accounted for two Fokker D.VII fighters, bringing his total to seventeen, making him the highest scoring ace in his squadron, and the fourth highest Irish-born ace. On 9 June the Germans launched their offensive along the Matz River, and No. 32 Squadron was engaged in ground attack missions. During one of these Tyrrell was killed when his aircraft was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. He is buried in the Communal Cemetery at

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

. On 20 June 1918, only 11 days later, his older brother John Marcus Tyrrell, of the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

, attached Royal Air Force, was also killed in action. Both men are commemorated on the Queen's University War Memorial in Belfast, and on the Bangor War Memorial, County Down. The settlement of the two brothers' estates prompted a question in Parliament. His oldest brother

William Tyrrell (RAF officer) Air Vice Marshal Sir William Tyrrell, (20 November 1885 – 29 April 1968) was a rugby union international who played for Ireland and was part of the British & Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1910. He went on to have a successful ...

was a rugby player and also served as an army doctor, becoming highly decorated with the Distinguished Service Order and Bar, the Military Cross and the Belgian Croix de Guerre. He would later join the same service in 1920 in which his two brothers were killed in action, and served through the Second World War.

Awards and citation

Tyrrell's award of 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 ...

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 ...

posthumously on 13 September 1918. His citation read: :Temporary Second Lieutenant Walter Alexander Tyrrell, General List, attached Royal Air Force. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On one day this officer attacked two enemy triplanes, destroying one and driving down the other out of control. After this he was attacked by two other machines, one of which he forced to land, taking the occupants prisoners. On various other occasions he has destroyed or driven down out of control enemy machines."

List of aerial victories

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrrell, Walter 1898 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Belfast People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Aviators killed by being shot down British military personnel killed in World War I