Captain William Arthur Bond (27 June 1889 – 22 July 1917) was a

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 five aerial victories. Bond was woundedWilliam Bond
''The Aerodrome'' website, n.d. Retrieved 12 September 2009; 3 February 2010. while serving in the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

in the Dardanelles in 1916. After transferring to the

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

, Bond was posted to fly

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

fighters in No. 40 Squadron in early 1917. He flew Nieuport No. B1545 to five victories in a month, beginning on 10 May and ending on 9 June 1917. He was appointed flight commander in July. On the 22nd, he was killed in action over

Sallaumines Sallaumines (; pcd, Sallaumine or ''Sallau'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France. Administration Sallaumines belongs to the Lens-Liévin intercommunality which consists of 36 communes, with a total population of 25 ...

while flying Nieuport No. B1688. Cause of his death is disputed; he is said to have either fallen to the guns of a two-seater observation plane from FA 235, or to anti-aircraft fire. After his death, his wife Aimee (later Aimée Stuart) wrote ''An Airman's Wife'' about him.

Honours and awards

*24 June 1916 – Temp. 2nd Lt. William Arthur Bond, 1st Bn (attd 7th Bn.) Yorks. L.I. is 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 ...

''For conspicuous gallantry when on patrol. An enemy patrol was met and bombs were exchanged, one of which wounded both 2nd Lt. Bond and another officer, The enemy retired and opened machine-gun fire, which again wounded the other officer. 2nd Lt. Bond and Private Garnett at great risk brought him in over 200 yards under heavy machine-gun fire. *16 August 1917 – T./Lt. William Arthur Bond, MC, Yorks LI and RFC is awarded a bar to the

''For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While on patrol he attacked at close range a hostile machine, which was sent down out of control. Shortly afterwards he attacked another, which stalled and fell sideways. On another date he flew over the lines at about 50 feet and attacked a hostile balloon, bringing it down in flames.

References

''Nieuport Aces of World War 1.'' Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. , .

Source of information

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, William 1889 births 1917 deaths King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces British Army personnel of World War I People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Recipients of the Military Cross British military personnel killed in World War I Military personnel from Derbyshire

Honours and awards

References

Further reading

Source of information