Second Lieutenant Arthur Rex Hurden Noss (22 January 1897 – 15 September 1917) 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. He won a Military Cross as

Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the Luftwaffe's defe ...

's gunner, and was killed in a flying accident shortly thereafter.

Early life

Arthur Rex Hurden Noss was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Alfred Noss of

Crouch End Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villa ...

. He was educated at Kent Coast College,

Herne Bay Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

, winning eight athletic prizes in his final year.

World War I

Noss began his military service as a gunner (regimental number 625052) in the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. On 4 April 1917, Noss was commissioned as a temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

on probation. Noss was on the

General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

of the

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

when he was appointed as a flying officer (observer) on 20 June 1917. His seniority date of appointment was set at 16 May 1917, indicating he began actual duties as an observer/gunner then. Noss was assigned to No. 48 Squadron as an observer/gunner in Bristol F.2 two-seater fighters in March 1917.Franks ''et.al.'' (1997), p.40. He scored his first aerial victory on 27 May 1917, and would score one more before pairing up with

. On 19 July, this aircrew suffered a magneto failure and a crash-landing that injured Noss. On 2 August 1917, ''Flight'' magazine reported Noss had been wounded. Noss and Park would go on to score seven victories in August 1917, with an outstanding performance on the 17th. That was the day that Park went to the rescue of a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the be ...

being attacked by three German

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (''Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). ...

s. In the process of driving the three Germans away, Noss and Park were assailed by two more of the enemy. Noss fired at the attacking pair; when they overran his fighter, Park took his turn and shot them both down. At that point, another trio of Germans attacked; Noss spun one of them out with machine gun fire. Park chased after the falling German; still another three Germans attacked, but they also overran the British crew. Park then saw a second Sopwith Camel under attack from a German, and pumped 100 rounds of machine gun ammunition into the German from 50 yards range. The German spun out, for the British crew's fourth win of the day. They would win the Military Cross for this action; the award was announced on 26 September 1917. Noss family grave in Highgate Cemetery

Second Lieutenant Arthur Rex Noss was injured in a crash on 15 September 1917, died as a result of his injuries that evening or the following day. He is buried in plot I. E. 1, Zuydcoote Military Cemetery, Nord, France. Noss's Military Cross was gazetted posthumously on 9 January 1918. His citation read: :Temporary Second Lieutenant Arthur Rex Hurden Noss, General List & R.F.C. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During an engagement with several large hostile formations the two machines with which he was patrolling were put out of action. In spite, however, of being left alone he continued to attack, and engaged the enemy in so determined a manner that he and his pilot between them destroyed one and drove three others down completely out of control. He has performed several other fine feats and has at all times set a most inspiring example by his dash and tenacity." He is also commemorated on the family grave of his grandparents on the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

List of aerial victories

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Noss, Arthur 1897 births 1917 deaths People from Hornsey Honourable Artillery Company soldiers Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France British military personnel killed in World War I