Wing Commander John William Rayner (born 19 May 1897, date of death unknown) was a British military officer who began his career in the Army during World War I. He became a

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 ...

during the closing months of the war, being credited with five aerial victories. He resumed his military career on 21 September 1929, when he joined the Reserve of Air Force Officers. He continued his service into World War II, joining the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, until he was medically discharged as a wing commander on 21 December 1944. He was then made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

Early life

Rayner was born on 19 May 1897 in Gateshead, County Durham, England. He was working as a legal

articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...

before enlisting.

World War I

After training as a cadet in the

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 ...

, Rayner was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) on 14 April 1915, serving in the 1st Battalion,

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution ...

. He was confirmed in his rank, and promoted to lieutenant on 3 November 1915. Rayner relinquished his acting rank of captain in the Fusiliers on 16 January 1917, and on 22 February was appointed a flying officer (

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

) in the Royal Flying Corps with the rank of lieutenant, with seniority from 18 January 1917. He first served as an observer in No. 52 Squadron RFC, before training as a pilot, receiving

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

Aviator's Certificate No. 5535 on 10 September 1917, and being appointed a flying officer the same day. Rayner was posted to No. 89 Squadron RFC, a recently formed training unit based at Catterick, Yorkshire, which was eventually disbanded in July 1918 without becoming operational. With the Army's Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service having merged to form the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918, Rayner then joined No. 60 Squadron RAF, based in France, to fly the S.E.5a single-seat fighter, being appointed flight commander of 'A' Flight on 1 August 1918, with the temporary rank of captain. He gained his first aerial victories on the evening on 5 September when he set one German

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 ...

aflame and drove another down out of control over

Avesnes-le-Sec Avesnes-le-Sec () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also * Chemin de fer du Cambrésis *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of ...

. On the afternoon of 23 October he drove another one down out of control over

Salesches Salesches () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located 6 km south of Le Quesnoy. History The village dates back to 1131, when it was recorded as part of the property of the Abbey of Maroilles, later passing to t ...

, and on the morning of 25 October he set a D.VII afire and drove another one down out of control over

Berlaimont Berlaimont () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The commu ...

to become an ace.

Inter-war career

On 17 January 1919, Rayner was transferred to the unemployed list of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

. In July 1919 he received a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

from Field-Marshal Sir

Douglas Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War, he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until ...

, former Commander-in-Chief of the British Armies in France, for "distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty" during the period 16 September 1918 to 15 March 1919. He finally resigned his commission in the Northumberland Fusiliers on 1 April 1920, retaining the rank of lieutenant. Rayner then returned to his legal studies, and qualified as a solicitor. On 10 September 1929, he returned to his military career, being commissioned as a probationary flying officer in Class A of the Reserve of Air Force Officers. Six years later, on 10 September 1935, he transferred to the Class C reserves.

World War II

He returned to active service during World War II, still serving in the Reserves, in which he was granted the

war substantive Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

rank of flight lieutenant on 6 August 1940, and received his second mention in despatches from the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief on 24 September 1941, by which time he had been appointed an acting-squadron leader. He relinquished his commission in the RAFO on 15 September 1943, on joining the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve with the rank of flight lieutenant. He was again appointed an acting-squadron leader, and this was made war substantive on 6 March 1944. Two days later, on 8 March, he received his third mention in despatches. Rayner relinquished his commission on the grounds of ill-health on 21 December 1944, but was permitted to retain the rank of wing commander. Shortly afterwards, in the

1945 New Year Honours The 1945 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1945 for the Britis ...

, Rayner was made a

. After the war returned to the law, and by the time of his retirement was also a Justice of the Peace.

References

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, John William 1897 births Year of death missing People from Gateshead Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Members of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force wing commanders British Army personnel of World War I