Captain Wilfred Beaver (10 May 1897 – 19 August 1986) was a World War I flying ace credited with 19 aerial victories.

Early life and Army service

After passing his childhood in his native England, Beaver sailed for Canada. His parents separated in 1911, and he was shipped off to Montreal, Canada. He was supposed to live with his uncle and study dentistry. He enlisted in the 1st Canadian Heavy Battery of the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

on 7 August 1914. He served with the Field Artillery for the next two and a half years, including duty in France.

Aerial success

He transferred to the

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

on 28 February 1917. He trained at the RAF Training School at Oxford, England. He was posted to 20 Squadron to fly two-seater Bristol Fighters. He scored his first victory on 13 November 1917. On 6 January 1918, he became an ace. He continued collecting victories, with a double on 5 February 1918 and three wins on 27 May 1918. His final victory came on 13 June 1918. In the final analysis, Beaver and his observers (including fellow aces M. B. Mather and

Ernest Deighton Sergeant Ernest Arthur Deighton (28 May 1889 – 5 December 1957) was an English World War I observer/gunner flying ace credited with 15 confirmed aerial victories; all but one of them was against enemy fighters. Military career World War I Dei ...

) were credited 11 enemy airplanes destroyed and eight driven down out of control.

Between the wars

Beaver was transferred the unemployed list effective 13 April 1919. He returned to Canada, then emigrated to the United States on 23 April. He lived in Greenville, Mississippi in 1920. He became a naturalized citizen on 21 September 1926. His 1930 residence was

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

World War II and beyond

He returned to service in World War II as a major, and was the executive officer of the 447th Bombardment Group,

3rd Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in Eu ...

, from 25 June 1943, and was awarded a Bronze Star. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and moved up to command the group from 1 July 1945 through August. He then continued on active duty until 15 January 1946. He later served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until 1957, retiring with the rank of colonel.

Honours and awards

;Military Cross :T./2nd Lt. Wilfred Beaver, Gen. List, and R.F.C. :For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During the last five months he has destroyed five hostile machines, and has brought down completely out of control six others. During the recent operations he has performed exceptionally good work in bombing and firing upon hostile troops from very low altitudes. He has displayed marked gallantry and resource, and has proved himself a patrol leader of great dash and ability.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaver, Wilfred 1897 births 1986 deaths Military personnel from Bristol Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery personnel Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers People from Kingswood, South Gloucestershire British emigrants to the United States British World War I flying aces Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II