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Captain Adrian James Boswell Tonks (10 May 1898 – 14 July 1919) was a British
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
. He was officially credited with twelve aerial victories, and was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.


Early life and background

Tonks was born in
Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...
, Warwickshire, the son of Arthur George Tonks, a
mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...
, and his wife Alice.


World War I

Tonks entered the
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...
as a probationary flight sub-lieutenant with seniority from 13 August 1916. He received
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. 4206 after soloing a Maurice Farman biplane at the Royal Naval Air Service Training Establishment Cranwell on 28 December 1916. In August 1917 Tonks was posted to No. 4 (Naval) Squadron to fly the
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 b ...
single-seat fighter, gaining his first aerial victories during his first combat mission on 22 August, when he sent down two German Albatros D.V fighters out of control south-east of
Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...
. On 9 November, it was a DFW reconnaissance two-seater that he put down out of control north of Pervijze, Belgium. On 23 November 1917, he scored another "out of control" victory east of Keiem, over another Albatros D.V. Tonks was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 January 1918. On 1 April 1918, the Royal Naval Air Service was merged with the Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, and No. 4 (Naval) became No. 204 Squadron RAF, and Tonks became a lieutenant with the honorary rank of captain in the new service. He resumed scoring on 30 June 1918, driving down a Fokker D.VII out of control over
Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...
. On 8 July he was appointed a temporary captain. On both 10 and 13 August, he drove down another Fokker D.VII, the latter being flown by ''Leutnant'' Dieter Collin, the ''Staffelführer'' of '' Jasta 56''. On 15 August, he sent down three Fokker D.VIIs out of control east of
Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...
. On 28 September 1918, he destroyed a Fokker D.VII over
Werken Werken is a small rural village in the centre of the Belgian province of West Flanders with around a thousand inhabitants. It is a district of Kortemark. Origins of the name The first mentions (Weretha) were found in texts from the Abbey of ...
, and sent another down out of control. He then turned to low-altitude ground attack missions. until October 1918 when he was rested from combat. Tonks won two Distinguished Flying Crosses in quick succession. The first one, awarded on 2 November 1918, was granted for his valour in aerial combat. His citation read: He received a Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross in lieu of a second award on 3 December 1918. His citation read:


List of aerial victories


Post-war career

On 3 January 1919, Tonks was confirmed in his rank of captain. He was posted to No. 80 Squadron RAF in the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...
, based at RAF Aboukir,
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, but on 13 July 1919 he crashed his
Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristi ...
at
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, and died from his injuries the following day. He is buried in plot B.158 in the Hadra War Memorial Cemetery in Alexandria.


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonks, Adrian 1898 births 1919 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Egypt British World War I flying aces People from Solihull Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1919