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Arthur Wellesley Bigsworth & Bar, AFC was an
aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...
who had a distinguished military career in the service of the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
armed forces.


Career

Bigsworth received training as a Mercantile Marine officer, later joining the
Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...
as a sub-lieutenant, being promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
on 19 January 1913. He attended the first course at the
Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school in the world. The sch ...
, gaining his Aviator's Certificate no. 396 on 21 January 1913. He transferred to the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
at this rank with effect from 1 April 1913, achieving the rank of
wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior 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. Wing commander is immediately se ...
in 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 ...
on 31 December 1916. On 1 April 1918 he was appointed Officer Commanding No. 10 Group RAF; a year later he was awarded a permanent commission as a lieutenant colonel and was appointed Staff Officer First Class (Air) in Headquarters, Mediterranean District. At this point Bigsworth was awarded a Permanent Commission with the RAF and was removed from the Navy Lists while remaining in his post with HQ Mediterranean District, later HQ Mediterranean Group in 1920. After almost three years as Officer Commanding, Armament and Gunnery School at
Eastchurch Eastchurch is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Sheppey, in the English county of Kent, two miles east of Minster, Swale, Minster. The village website claims the area has "a history steeped in stories of piracy and smugglers". Aviation ...
, he returned to the Mediterranean as Air Officer Commanding (AOC), HQ RAF Mediterranean, in which capacity he was appointed as a member of the Nominated Council of Malta. In 1925 he returned to the UK, first to
RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...
(1925), then as Senior Air Staff Office (SASO), HQ Coastal Area (1928), AOC No. 10 Group and finally, until his retirement in September 1935, as Director of Equipment at the Air Ministry. Immediately following his retirement from active service, Bigsworth was appointed to the Directorate of Aeronautical Production and in 1939 was for a short time AOC No 42 (Maintenance) Group.RAFweb Biographical details
/ref> It has been claimed that
W. E. Johns William Earl Johns (5 February 189321 June 1968) was an English First World War pilot, and writer of adventure stories, usually written under the pen name Capt. W. E. Johns: best known for creating the fictional air-adventurer ''Biggles''. Earl ...
based some aspects of his fictional hero
Biggles James Charles Bigglesworth, nicknamed "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer, the Title role#Title character, title character and Protagonist, hero of the ''Biggles'' series of adventure books, written for young readers by W. E. Johns ...
(surname Bigglesworth) on the real-life Bigsworth, with whom he had worked at the Air Ministry.


Medals and honours

Bigsworth had already experimented with night flying, using two 4V lamps attached to his aircraft and no doubt called on this experience on 17 May 1915, when he managed to climb his
Avro 504 The Avro 504 is a single-engine biplane bomber made by the Avro, Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during World War I totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind ...
above
Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...
LZ39 over
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 ...
and drop four 20 lb bombs on its envelope, causing considerable damage. LZ39 managed to return to its base, despite damage to five of its gasbags. For this feat Bigsworth was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...
(DSO). This was the first night-time attack on a Zeppelin. On 26 August 1915, Bigsworth was reconnoitering the sea off Ostend in his
Farman Farman Aviation Works () was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rational ...
F.27 when he spotted a German submarine thought to be '' U-14'' on the surface and attacked it, claiming that he saw his target sink. The citation for the Bar to his DSO stated: "Squadron-Commander Bigsworth was under heavy fire from the shore batteries and from the submarine whilst manoeuvring for position. Nevertheless, displaying great coolness, he descended to 500 feet, and after several attempts was able to get a good line for dropping the bombs with full effect." However, the U-boat these reports identified was actually sunk by trawlers before the date of this aerial attack. Major Bigsworth was further "
Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...
and Reports for Distinguished Services" on 3 June 1918. Lieutenant Colonel (Acting Colonel) Bigsworth was appointed a
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...
, followed on 5 June 1919 by the award of the Air Force Cross.


Bigsworth chart board

Bigsworth developed his Bigsworth Protractor, Parallels and Chart Board, commonly known as the Bigsworth chart board, around 1918, to aid in the use of charts for aerial navigation. It consisted of a wooden board upon which a navigational chart could be placed. The board was square and available in two sizes, 14 inches or 17 inches. A pivoted double parallel linking arm could be adjusted up and down the side of the board. Mounted on its other end was a protractor which could be positioned over any point on the chart and at any angle. The Bigsworth chart board became "one of the most convenient available outfits ... for plotting and determining courses, finding position, etc." It "was produced in substantial quantities and it remained in service well into WWII when it was still providing a portable and self-contained navigation station in aeroplanes ... in which adequate facilities for the observer were still lacking." The Bigsworth board was used by the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. It helped pioneer carrier-borne fighter control when adopted by Lieutenant Commander Charles Coke, Air Signals Officer on the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
Ark Royal during the Norwegian Campaign. The ship was not fitted with radar, relying on reports from the accompanying radar-equipped cruisers, and Coke plotted the reported positions on a ''Bigsworth Board'.'' The Board gets a mention in the
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
's Song Book's parody of
Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...
's If: :''If you can keep control of your dividers'' ::''And Bigsworth board and Gosport tube and pad;'' :''Or listen to the wireless and pilot'' ::''Talking in unison – and not go mad''.''The Fleet Air Arm Songbook''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigsworth, Arthur English aviators Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air commodores Royal Navy officers Royal Naval Air Service aviators Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Aircraft instruments Military personnel from Kent Royal Naval Reserve personnel