Austin Lloyd Fleming, MC (7 August 1894 – 26 January 1969) was a Canadian

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 ...

of the

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 ...

. He was credited with eight aerial victories.

Early life

Austin Lloyd Fleming was born on 7 August 1894 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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. His parents were Lydia Jane Orford and Robert John Fleming. He was a

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before the First World War.

First World War

After joining military service on 10 November 1916, Fleming transferred from the

Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1959. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, by the merger of the 32nd ( ...

to the

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of the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

on 13 May 1917. He was appointed as a

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

, with the rank of second lieutenant on probation on 16 May 1917, signifying that he had completed pilot's training. On 8 June 1917, he was assigned to No. 46 Squadron RFC. He was reassigned to No. 111 Squadron RFC in

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later that year, following a "friendly fire" incident in which an aircraft from

No. 1 Squadron RFC Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth. The squadron motto, '' ...

was shot down and the pilot, Second Lieutenant Tom Littler, was killed. Between 17 January and 12 April 1918, Fleming scored eight aerial victories (listed below). His exploits gained him the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

, although the award citation did not recognize all his feats. The award was

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on 13 May 1918, reading: On 11 September 1918, Fleming was injured.

List of aerial victories

Second World War, retirement and death

On 1 June 1919, Fleming was transferred to the unemployed list of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, ending his service. He subsequently spent some years in the United States before moving to Britain. With the advent of the Second World War, Fleming returned to military service in the Royal Air Force. On 1 September 1939, he appointed as a flight lieutenant. He served until 1 August 1942, when he once again gave up his

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and left the RAF. In 1959, Fleming presented No. 111 Squadron a souvenir machine gun taken from the reconnaissance craft he captured on 29 January 1918. Fleming died in

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, Spain, on 26 January 1969. He was buried in

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries. It was opened in November 1876 and is located north of Moore Park, a neighbourhood of Toronto. The cemetery has k ...

, and survived by his wife, Helen Hyde Fleming, and twin children, Bob and Louis.

Notes

References

* ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920''. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , . * ''Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War I: Volume 79 of Aircraft of the Aces: Volume 79 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces''. Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2007. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Austin Lloyd 1894 births 1969 deaths Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto British Army personnel of World War I Canadian stockbrokers Canadian World War I flying aces Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry officers People from Old Toronto Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Military personnel from Toronto