Great War>The War in the Air

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No. 56 Squadron Royal Flying Corps    No 56 Squadron formed at Gosport on the 8th of June 1916 from a nucleus from No 28 Squadron. In July they moved to London Colney in July. They became the first squadron to be equipped with the SE5 in March 1917 just before they proceeded to France in April.    No. 56 Squadron formed on the 8th of June 1916 and proceeded to France in a fighter role in April 1917. It was redesignated No. 56 Squadron, Royal Air Force in April 1918. 8th June 1916  8th June 1916 New Squadron formed 14th July 1916 On the Move 7th April 1917 Orders 20th April 1917 On the Move 22nd April 1917 In Action 23rd April 1917 Mass formation 29th April 1917 Mass dogfights 31st May 1917 On the Move 1st June 1917 Superior numbers 4th June 1917 Dogfight 21st June 1917 Bombs 4th July 1917 Failed to intercept bombers 31st July 1917 In Action 2nd Aug 1917 Message of Congratulation   23rd Sept 1917 In Action   18th October 1917 Dogfight 18th November 1917 On the Move 21st March 1918 In Action 1st August 1918 In Action 10th August 1918 Railway targets 11th November 1918 Victory If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Want to know more about No. 56 Squadron Royal Flying Corps? There are:23 items tagged No. 56 Squadron Royal Flying Corps available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Great War. Those known to have served with No. 56 Squadron Royal Flying Corps during the Great War 1914-1918. Ball VC, DSO, MC.. Albert. Cpt. (d.7th May 1917) Barlow MC and 2 Bars.. Leonard Monteagle. Lt. (d.5th Feb 1918) Maxwell MC, DFC, AFC.. Gerald Constable. McCudden VC, DSO and Bar, MC and Bar, MM.. James Thomas Byford. Mjr. (d.9th Jul 1918) Messervy Ernest Dyce. Capt. (d.20th Jul 1917) All names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of No. 56 Squadron Royal Flying Corps from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the Great War? Our Library contains many many diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Looking for help with Family History Research?    Please see Family History FAQ's Please note: We are unable to provide individual research. Can you help? The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Announcements 19th Nov 2024     Please note we currently have a massive backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 264989 your submission is still in the queue, please do not resubmit. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to the Great War. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII greatwar great battalion regiment artillery Did you know? We also have a section on World War Two. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. 1206376 Cpt. Albert Ball VC, DSO, MC. 56 Sqd. (d.7th May 1917) Albert Ball formerly served with the 7th (Robin Hood) Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment), He was killed in action on the 7th of May 1917, aged 20 and buried in the Annoeullin Communal Cemetery and German Extension in France. He had been awarded yhe Legion d'Honneur (France) and Order of St. George, 4th Class (Russia) and was the son of Sir Albert Ball, J.P., of Stansted House, Wollaton Park, Nottingham. An extract from the London Gazette dated 8th June 1917, records the following:- "For most conspicuous and consistent bravery from the 25th of April to the 6th of May, 1917, during which period Capt. Ball took part in twenty-six combats in the air and destroyed eleven hostile aeroplanes, drove down two out of control, and forced several others to land. In these combats Capt. Ball, flying alone, on one occasion fought six hostile machines, twice he fought five and once four. When leading two other British aeroplanes he attacked an enemy formation of eight. On each of these occasions he brought down at least one enemy. Several times his aeroplane was badly damaged, once so seriously that but for the most delicate handling his machine would have collapsed, as nearly all the control wires had been shot away. On returning with a damaged machine he had always to be restrained from immediately going out on another. In all, Capt. Ball has destroyed forty-three German aeroplanes and one balloon, and has always displayed most exceptional courage, determination and skill." s flynn Add to this record. 1206334 Capt. Ernest Dyce Messervy 56 Sqd. (d.20th Jul 1917) Ernest Messervy of the London Regiment and R.F.C. is one of 30 soldiers commemorated on a Memorial Plaque in the Moray Golf Club, Lossiemouth, Morayshire - To the honoured memory of the members of the Moray Golf Club who gave their lives in the Great War 1914 - 1919. Captain Ernest Dyce Messervy served with the 21st Battalion (First Surrey Rifles), the London Regiment and the 56th Squadron, Royal Flying Corps during WW1 and died on the 20th July 1917. He is commemorated at the above Golf Club and at the Arras Flying Services Memorial. On the 4th April 1918, Flight & The Aircraft Engineer published the following obituary: Captain Ernest Dyce Messervy, London Regt, attached RFC, who was missing on July 20th 1917, and is now believed to have been killed that day, was the youngest son of the late Ernest and Margaret Dyce Messervy, Telawakelle, Ceylon, and nephew of Mrs Thorne, Highfield Park, Heckfield. His age was 23. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission adds the additional information that he was serving with 56th Squadron at the time of his death. He is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial. A 28-year-old Major Gerald Messervy MC of the RFA also died during the First World War (8th October 1918). The Commonwealth War Graves Commission adds that he was the "Son of Ernest Francis and Margaret Dyce Messervy" and this being the case it looks likely that he was Captain Ernest Dyce's older brother. John Ellwood Add to this record. 1205523 Lt. Leonard Monteagle Barlow MC and 2 Bars. 56th Sqd. (d.5th Feb 1918) Leonard Barlow was commissioned into the RFC on his 18th Birthday. The eldest of six children he had been studying engineering at Finsbury Technical College and had gained a scholarship from the Institute of Electrical Engineers. He went to France with 56th Sqd and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on the first day of the Battle of Messines. At daybreak he had volunteered to fly alone, below 150 feet, 30 miles behind the German front line, to prevent enemy observation machines taking off from two airfield. The first Bar to his MC was awarded when he was credited with his tenth enemy aircraft. The second Bar was awarded for his actions in rescuing a comrade who was facing great odds in an aerial combat. In total he was credited with destroying 17 enemy aircraft in combat. Leonard returned to England to become a Scout Pilot Instructor and Test Pilot to an experimental station. He lost his life during a test flight near Ipswich, being killed instantaneously as his aircraft crashed from 150 feet when the engine failed. He was 19 years old and was laid to rest with full military honours at Bandon Hill. Add to this record. 221892 Mjr. James Thomas Byford "Mac" McCudden VC, DSO and Bar, MC and Bar, MM. 60th Sqd. Royal Air Force (d.9th Jul 1918) James McCudden was born on 28th March 1895, the son of the late Sergeant-Major William McCudden, and Amelia E. McCudden, of Pitlochry, 37 Burton Road, Kingston-on-Thames. He was aged 23 when he died of a fractured skull in Auxi-le-Château following a crash, and he is buried in the Wavans British Cemetery in Calais. His brothers William T. J. and John Anthony McCudden also died as fighter pilots during the war. An extract from The London Gazette No. 30604, dated 29th March 1918, records the following:- "For most conspicuous bravery, exceptional perseverance, keenness and very high devotion to duty. Captain McCudden has at the present time accounted for 54 enemy aeroplanes. Of these 42 have been definitely destroyed, 19 of them on our side of the lines. Only 12 out of the 54 have been driven out of control. On two occasions he has totally destroyed four two-seater enemy aeroplanes on the same day, and on the last occasion all four machines were destroyed in the space of 1 hour and 30 minutes. While in his present squadron he has participated in 78 offensive patrols, and in nearly every case has been the leader. On at least 30 other occasions, whilst with the same squadron, he has crossed the lines alone, either in pursuit or in quest of enemy aeroplanes. The following incidents are examples of the work he has done recently:- On the 23rd December 1917, when leading his patrol, eight enemy aeroplanes were attacked between 2.30 p.m. and 3.50 p.m. Of these, two were shot down by Captain McCudden in our lines. On the morning of the same day he left the ground at 10.50 and encountered four enemy aeroplanes; of these he shot two down. On the 30th January 1918, he, single-handed, attacked five enemy scouts, as a result of which two were destroyed. On this occasion he only returned home when the enemy scouts had been driven far east: his Lewis gun ammunition was all finished and the belt of his Vickers gun had broken. As a patrol leader he has at all times shown the utmost gallantry and skill, not only in the manner in which he has attacked and destroyed the enemy, but in the way he has during several aerial flights protected the newer members of his flight, thus keeping down their casualties to a minimum. This officer is considered, by the record which he has made, by his fearlessness, and by the great service which he has rendered to his country, deserving of the very highest honour." James McCudden was also awarded the Croix de Guerre on January 21st 1916. S Flynn Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices. SEPTEMBER EVENING: The Life and Final Combat of the German World War One Ace Werner Voss Barry Diggens This is the first full-length biography ever written on the life and death of the nineteen-year-old Werner Voss, who was a legend in his own lifetime and the youngest recipient of the Pour le Me'rite, Germany's highest award for bravery in WWI. At the time of his death he was considered by many, friend and foe alike, to be Germany's greatest ace and, had he lived, he would almost certainly have overtaken Manfred von Richthofen's victory total by early spring 1918. Voss is perhaps best remembered for his outstanding courage, his audacity in the air and the prodigious number of victories he achieved before being killed in one of the most swash-buckling and famous dogfights of the Great War; a fight involving James McCudden and 56 Squadron RFC, the most successful Allied scout squadron. Yet the life of Voss and the events of that fateful day in September are surrounded by mystery and uncertainty and even now aviation enthusiasts continue to ask questions about him almost on a daily basi More information on: SEPTEMBER EVENING: The Life and Final Combat of the German World War One Ace Werner Voss No 56 Sqn RAF/RFC (Aviation Elite Units) Alex Revell By the autumn of 1916, with the formation of the new Jagdstaffeln, the pendulum of aerial supremacy had once again swung in favor of the German Air Force. The battle of the Somme in 1916 saw the RFC suffer losses of nearly 400 aircrew between September and November, and British casualties were to reach a zenith in the 'Bloody April' of 1917 when 319 aircrew were lost, killed or taken prisoner of war. This was the situation when No 56 Squadron arrived in France at the end of April 1917. Equipped with the superb new SE 5, it was the first fighter squadron of the RFC to be able to meet the Albatros and Halberstadt fighters of the Jagdstaffeln on equal terms. The squadron's pilots won an incredible tally of decorations, and by the end of the hostilities many famous fighter pilots had passed through its ranks - Albert Ball VC, Canadian Hank Burden and American Robert Caldwell to name but a few. In this fascinating study, Alex Revell uncovers the early days and development of No 56 Squadron, More information on: No 56 Sqn RAF/RFC (Aviation Elite Units) BRIEF GLORY: The Life of Arthur Rhys Davids DSO MC Alex Revell Arthur Rhys Davids was shot down and killed in October 1917. He was just twenty and had been flying over the Western Front with 56 Squadron for six months. He had entered the Royal Flying Corps direct from Eton College. In his brief operational career he was awarded the Military Cross twice and the Distinguished Service Order once. In the opinion of the commanding officer of his squadron he deserved the Victoria Cross. He came to public fame through shooting down the German ace Werner Voss. Rhys Davids was more than an outstanding fighter pilot, he was a man of thought as well as a man of action. Coming from an intellectual family, he was a brilliant classicist and popular with his fellow pilots in the RFC including James McCudden. Alex Revell has written a sensitive and deeply moving biography. It is based on letters from Rhys Davids early boyhood days at Eton to his last letter written on the night before he died.returncharacterreturncharacter returncharacterreturncharacter REVIEWS r More information on: BRIEF GLORY: The Life of Arthur Rhys Davids DSO MC Links Suggest a link

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