241308 Sgt. Charles Lloyd MM.British Army 2nd Btn. Royal Welch Fusiliers from:Swansea "On recovering from his wound, Lieut Bernard S Marshall MC S.W.B. applied for transfer to the Royal Flying Corps and was gazetted in December 1916. After about 6 months training, he took his Wings and was immediately ordered to France again on the 1st of June 1917. His career as a Flying Officer was a short one for on 7th June while on his second flight that day he failed to return and was reported missing. Some months later his observer was found to be a prisoner in Germany and he reported that while on an offensive patrol they attacked a flight of enemy machines and an anti aircraft shell bursting near them hit Lt Marshall in the head and killed him instantaneously, the machine, a FE2B, was also extensively hit and crashed into a canal near Lille, the machine sank and Lt. Marshall's body was not recovered."
The observer, my grandfather, Charles Lloyd, although injured by the crash, managed to reach the bank with the help of two Germans and was immediately taken prisoner. He then received extensive surgery for his injuries. My grandfather told my aunt that a part of the AA shell had passed through the Lieutenant and wounded him. However, he amended the above account, which he had told Lt. Marshall's family by saying that though mortally wounded the pilot came round and recovered control of the aircraft to crash land it in the canal. After his release from the German hospital, he eventually finished the war as a POW working on a farm and became fairly fluent in German. They were both Swansea men.
In the 2nd Royal Welsh Fusiliers which granddad had joined in 1913, he was part of one of the battalion's Vickers MG crews.
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