Flight Lieutenant Edmund Roger Tempest (30 October 1894 – 17 December 1921) 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 ...
Edmund Tempest was born at the family estate of Ackworth Grange, in Ackworth, Yorkshire, the son of Wilfrid Francis Tempest, a member of the notable
recusant
Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...
Tempest family
The Tempest family was an English Recusancy, recusant family that originated in western Yorkshire (part of which is now eastern Lancashire) in the 12th century.
Tempest baronets of Stella and Stanley, County Durham
A branch of the Tempest family ...
, and his second wife Florence Helen O'Rourke. (Wilfrid had a total of 15 children from two marriages). Tempest was educated at
The Oratory School
The Oratory School () is an HMC co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Catholic Church, Catholic boarding and day school for pupils aged 11–18 located in Woodcote, north-west of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, England. F ...
in
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is a suburb of Birmingham, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies immediately south-west of Birmingham city centre, and was historically in Warwickshire. The Ward (electoral subdivision), wards of Edgbaston and Nort ...
. In 1912 he and his brother, Wulstan Joseph Tempest, moved to
Perdue, Saskatchewan
Perdue (; 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Perdue No. 346 and Census Division No. 12. Perdue is approximately west of Saskatoon on Highway 14.
History
Perdue inc ...
, to farm, but returned to England to enlist on the outbreak of the war.
World War I
Tempest was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on 30 November 1914, to serve in the
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somers ...
. On 18 August 1915 he was granted
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 ...
Aviators' Certificate No. 1604 after soloing a Maurice Farman biplane at the Military School in Birmingham, and on 3 November he was appointed a flying officer in 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 ...
, transferred to the General List.
He served in
No. 6
''No. 6'' is a Japanese novel series written by Atsuko Asano and published by Kodansha in nine volumes between October 2003 and June 2011. A manga adaptation drawn by Hinoki Kino was serialized in Kodansha's ''Aria'' magazine from January ...
flight commander
A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...
with the acting rank of captain on the 30th.
Tempest gained his first aerial victory on 30 November 1917 flying an Airco DH.5 single-seat fighter, by driving down out of control an Albatros D.V. His squadron was re-equipped with the
S.E.5a
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the ...
fighter in early 1918, and Tempest shot down five enemy aircraft in March. On 1 April 1918, the Royal Flying Corps was merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force, and his unit became No. 64 Squadron RAF. Tempest destroyed two more aircraft that month, then two more in May, also being awarded the Military Cross on the 13th. He accounted for one enemy aircraft in June, and another in July, and finally five in August, before being posted back to England, where on 2 November he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Of his brothers, Major Wilfred Norman Tempest, 2nd Battalion (attached 9th Battalion), King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, was killed in action on 26 September 1916, and is commemorated on the
Thiepval Memorial
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the ...
, while Major Wulstan Joseph Tempest also served in the KOYLI and Royal Flying Corps, shooting down Zeppelin '' L.31'' over
Potters Bar
Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882.No. 39 (Home Defence) Squadron. He was subsequently awarded the Military Cross and 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 ...
.
List of aerial victories
Post-war career and death
Tempest remained in the RAF after the war, being granted a permanent commission with the rank of captain on 1 August 1919. He was serving as a flight lieutenant in
No. 216 Squadron RAF
Number 216 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2020 and is tasked with testing future Swarm robotics, drone swarm technology. It had previously operated Lockheed TriStar ...
, when on 17 December 1921 his
Airco DH.10 Amiens
The Airco DH.10 Amiens was a twin-engined heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airco. It performed the first nighttime air mail service in the world on 14-15 May 1919.
The DH.10 was developed in the final yea ...
crashed on takeoff at an aerodrome in West Baghdad. He died as a result of his injuries and is buried in North Gate War Cemetery, Baghdad.
Honours and awards
;Military Cross
:Temporary Captain Edmund Roger Tempest, General List and Royal Flying Corps.
::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He attacked a formation of seven enemy machines, firing on one from a distance of a few feet and destroying it. On another occasion with his patrol he engaged thirteen enemy machines. Though both his guns were out of action, he continued fighting for fifteen minutes in order to enable the rest of his patrol to keep up the fight. Having driven off the enemy, he brought his patrol back safely. He showed splendid courage and initiative."
;Distinguished Flying Cross
:Captain Edmund Roger Tempest, MC.
::"Since March last this officer has destroyed nine enemy machines. A daring and most capable officer, who never hesitates to engage the enemy. By brilliant leadership he achieves success with the minimum of loss.
Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings and nobles
*Ed ...