Captain Guy Wilbraham Wareing (23 July 1899 – 27 October 1918) was a British World War I

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 aerial victories.

Biography

Wareing was born in Latchford,

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, Lancashire, the son of Frederick William Wareing, an engineer, and his wife Jessie Mary. On 30 August 1917 he was commissioned from cadet to temporary second lieutenant (on probation) on the General List to serve in the Royal Flying Corps, being confirmed in his rank and appointed a flying officer on 14 February 1918. Wareing was posted to

No. 29 Squadron RAF No. 29 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was first raised as a unit of the Royal Flying Corps in 1915, and is one of the world's oldest fighter squadrons. The second British squadron to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon, it is currently the Operat ...

in June 1918 to fly the S.E.5a single-seat fighter. He gained his first victory on 12 August, destroying a Pfalz D.III fighter over

Ploegsteert Ploegsteert ( pcd, Ploster) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Comines-Warneton, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is the most westerly settlement of Wallonia. It is approximately north of the French bo ...

, Belgium. After destroying two reconnaissance aircraft and driving another down out of control, Wareing became both an ace and a balloon buster by destroying an observation balloon over

Gheluvelt Zonnebeke (; vls, Zunnebeke) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of , , Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006, Zonnebeke had a total population of ...

on 7 September 1918. He then sent a

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qui ...

down in flames, and destroyed three more balloons, two of them on two separate sorties on 29 September. He was appointed a temporary captain on 7 October 1918. Rumillies Churchyard -5

On 27 October 1918 Wareing was killed when he was shot down by a Fokker D.VII flown by ''Leutnant'' Josef Raesch of '' Jasta 43''. He is buried in the churchyard of Église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Rumillies, Tournai, Hainaut, Belgium, where his is the only Commonwealth War Grave. Wareing's award of the Distinguished Flying Cross 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 3 December 1918. His citation read: :Lieutenant Guy Wilbraham Wareing. ::"A bold and courageous airman who has destroyed four enemy aeroplanes and shot down in flames a hostile balloon. He is conspicuous for zeal and devotion to duty."

List of aerial victories

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wareing, Guy 1899 births 1918 deaths People from Warrington Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces British military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)