No. 48 Squadron Royal Flying Corps

   No. 48 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps was formed at Netheravon on 15th of April 1916 and proceeded to France in March 1917 as a fighter unit. It was redesignated No. 48 Squadron, Royal Air Force in April 1918.

15th April 1916   No 48 Squadron was formed at Netheravon on the 15th of April 1916. On the 8th June they relocated to Rendcomb aerodrome near Cirencester for training, flying BE12s.

8th March 1917

5th April 1917

16th April 1917 Photo reconnaissance

23rd of April 1917 Dogfight

May 1917

7th July 1917 Air forces redeployed

22nd July 1917 Daylight Raids
Sound bombs to alert to public in a raid, showing the rockets (1), inserting the time fuse (2), loading the rocket into the mortar (3), firing the rocket (4) and cleaning out the mortar (5).
Felixstowe and Harwich were bombed on 22 July 1917. Just after 8am a bomb fell into the sea near Bawdsey Manor and about 16 enemy Gothas crossed the British coast at Hollesley Bay, Suffolk, crossing the River Debden as they turned towards Felixstowe. Two further bombs fell in the fields north-east of St. Peter & St. Paul’s Church, the next hit a smithy near Highrow Farm, demolishing the building and injuring a blacksmith at work. Extensive damage was inflicted by two bombs falling in Highrow. 350 yards west of the Town railway station a bomb smashed a conservatory of Uplees House, injuring two female occupants. Another bomb fell near the railway about 200 yards north of Goyfield House but failed to explode. Close to St. John’s Church another destroyed the cook house near the Parish Room. Wanstead Cottage in Garrison Lane was badly damaged by another bomb as were neighbouring homes on either side. Another bomb then struck the rear of the Ordnance Hotel, Garrison Lane, the barman lost his life, a sergeant and private of the 3rd Suffolk Regiment were injured along with two other soldiers who were in the property at the time. Another exploded at the corner of Garfield Road and Victoria Road without causing damage. Three more bombs fell in Langer Road, close to the Army Service Corps headquarters, the blasts shattered windows and brought down telephone wires, two soldiers were injured, one of them fatally.
At the junction of Landguard and Manor roads a bomb brought down more telephone wires but the next, falling on the beach 100 yards south of Manor Terrace, killed an officer and seven men of 3rd Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, and injured an officer and 15 men of the same battalion. The men were sheltering in a trench but instead of keeping down, those killed had stood up to watch the raid. A cellar of Landguard House was damaged, close to the 3rd Bedfordshire Regiment's camp. Three bombs which exploded as they fell on Landguard Common injured a soldier of the Royal Defence Corps and demolished two huts of the camp. Four bombs fell close by on the A Rifle Range creating craters. Another bomb landed at the RNAS station demolishing an engineers shed and injuring two naval ratings, one of whom later died. Another bomb droped 50 yards west of Landguard lighthouse and destroyed a shed, whilst another three landed Landguard Point, all exploded without damage.
Around 13 bombs fell in the River Stour and Harwich harbour damaging the minesweeper HMT Touchstone and injuring two of her crew.
At Parkeston a bomb landed harmlessly in allotments, another two bomb dropped in fields at Ray Farm between Parkeston and Dovercourt without causing damage. A bomb landed in a field on Tollgate Farm, Upper Dovercourt, a second fell in St. Nicholas’ Cemetery and three on New Hall Farm, all without causing damage. Three bombs landed close together in Dovercourt, two lightly damaged houses in Lee Road but fortunately failed to explode, the third damaged a slaughterhouse near Old Vicarage Farm.
Anti-Aircraft guns had opened fire as soon as the aircraft crossed the coast and at 13 minutes past the first aircraft took to the sky to pursue the raiders. By 8.17am the Gothas had turned for home and escaped unscathed. A Bristol Fighter patrol of No. 48 Squadron, which went up from the frontier aerodrome near Bray Dunes, met five of the returning Gothas and one pilot forced a Gotha down on the sea north of Ostend.
The Harwich AA guns had fired off 273 rounds but the defence aircraft were unable to climb up to operational height before the raiders had headed out over the North Sea. Flying in formation for the first time in action two flights from No.37 Squadron were presumed to be German by the spotters of the Mobile AA Brigade and the 3-inch gun at Canvey opened fire at them when they were 30 miles south-east of Harwich.
The Illustrated London News reported on the 28th:
"Our readers will be interested to see from these photographs exactly how the warning by sound-signals was given to London at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, July 22, when 237 one-pound sound-bombs were fired 300 ft. into the air from 79 London Fire Brigade stations. An official notice that such a warning would be given, in case of an expected raid on London, had been issued by the Home Office only the previous evening. "Take Cover" notices were shown at the same time by the police in the streets, and at 9.45 they displayed the "All Clear" notice. The authorities were satisfied with the results of this system of warning, though the Home Secretary, Sir George Cave, thought that the number of signals might well be reduced, and that the warning might be delayed until enemy aircraft were nearer to London. Later, it was stated that only two, instead of three, rockets would in future be sent up from each station and that signals that could be seen as well as heard were considered."

John Doran

14th February 1918

November 1918

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Humphrey Ernest Graham. 2nd.Lt. (d.29th March 1918)

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2nd.Lt. Ernest Graham Humphrey 48 Squadron (d.29th March 1918)

Ernest Humphrey was born 27th October 1896 in Northampton, son of Rev William John and Ellen Humphrey. The 1911 census shows him living with his widowed mother in Bedford and he attended Bedford Modern school, where he was a Corporal with the Officer Training Corps. In October 1914 he entered the City and Guilds (Engineering) College, South Kensington and passed the intermediate B.Sc (Engineering) Examination of London University in 1915. He was a Cadet in the Officer Training Corps whilst at College transferring to the Senior Division at Kensington. He was employed as a Temporary Clerk at the Ministry of Munitions.
In July 1915 he obtained a commission with the 3rd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment serving in France. At his own request he was attached to the Royal Flying Corps as Second Lieutenant (Pilot) he was in action on 22nd July 1917, when he received gunshot wounds to the chest and a fractured humorous, he recuperated in the New Zealand Stationary Hospital, Hazebrouck and No. 8 General Hospital, Rouen.
He returned to service in January 1918 and was flying Bristol F2b's with 48 (Fighter) Squadron, Royal Flying Corp, Bertangles, France. On 28 March 1918 whilst flying low and defending the road near Amiens, he received gunshot wounds and was admitted to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Doullens but died of his wounds the following day on 29 March 1918, aged 21 years. He is buried in Doullens Communal Cemetery, Somme, France. He is remembered on the War Memorial, St Mary's Church, Acton, London.
A pupil of Bedford Modern School 1907-14, he is commemorated on the SchoolWar Memorial, which was unveiled in 1923 and in the Roll of Honour, published in The Eagle, December 1923.Information courtesy of www.roll-of-honour.com
Caroline Hunt

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Those known to have served with
No. 48 Squadron Royal Flying Corps
during the Great War 1914-1918.