Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) 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.
Squadron leader is immediatel ...
Edwin Rowland Moon
DSO* (8 June 1886 – 29 April 1920)
was an English
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
pioneer who served 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 ...
and
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 ...
during the First World War. He was a prisoner of war and he was twice awarded a DSO.
Family
Moon was one of four children of Edwin George Wade Moon and Catherine Esther Butt,
who lived in Cranbury Avenue in Southampton. He was educated at
Cranleigh School in Surrey.
Moon married Isabel Madeline Waldron in 1911
General Register Office
General Register Office or General Registry Office (GRO) is the name given to the civil registry in the United Kingdom, many other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The GRO is the government agency r ...
index of marriages registered in April, May, June 1911 – Name:Moon, Edwin R, Spouse: Waldron, Isabel M, District:New Forest, Volume:2b Page:1558 and had a daughter named Mary in 1913.
The aviation dream
The Moon family owned a boat-building business based at
the Wool House. The Moonbeam Engineering Company Limited built motor launches and later expanded to include the sale of wrought iron propellers and marine engines for export around the world. Edwin Moon, possibly inspired by the 1903
Wright brothers
The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...
flight, took a corner of the workshop to realise his dream of constructing and flying an aircraft of his own design.
He tested his first plane, ''Moonbeam I'', in the
Fawley area, near the home of his future bride. His first short "hop" took place on Websters Field at Ower Farm, near
Calshot and at Moulands Field, Regents Park. Following these test flights on the prototype plane, he built a second plane, ''Moonbeam II''.
[ pp.199-200]
''Moonbeam II'' was a
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
, weighing 260 lbs, of which 160 lbs was engine and propeller. A V-4 cylinder, 20 h.p. J.A.P engine was fitted, and it had a 6 ft wooden propeller.
''Moonbeam II'' was first tested at Beaulieu Heath (close to the Royal Oak public house at Hill Top) on 3 February 1910. The ''Hampshire Independent'' reported on Saturday 5 February:
::''The first Southampton-built aeroplane was tried on Beaulieu Heath on Thursday. The machine is an all-British made, and was built and designed by Mr Edwin Moon, of Southampton. It is a small monoplane, and contains several original ideas, one of which is in the steering arrangements, the machine being entirely controlled by one wheel. ... The aeroplane, which has been christened ‘Moonbeam’, was taken to Beaulieu on Tuesday night, but owing to the strong wind prevailing on Wednesday the trials were postponed till Thursday. Considering that the trials are only initial ones, they were quite as good as could be expected, though owing to the bumpy state of the ground, which was like a quagmire, the machine did not rise. The bumping broke the scag, which supports the hind part of the machine, and the tail striking the ground was broken, making further trials that day impossible. Mr. Moon hopes, however, to have another try on Monday''.
Later in 1910, the plane was conveyed by horse-drawn cart to the meadows belonging to
North Stoneham
North Stoneham is a settlement between Eastleigh and Southampton in south Hampshire, England. Formerly an ancient estate, manor, and civil parish, it is currently part of the Borough of Eastleigh. Until the nineteenth century, it was a rural c ...
farm from where he made the first successful flight;
the precise date of the first flight is not known, although researchers believe that it was between 12 April 1910 and 11 June 1910.
The following year, on 2 April 1911, a French pilot,
Maurice Tétard, flying from
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...
to
Larkhill
Larkhill is a garrison town in the civil parish of Durrington, Wiltshire, England. It lies about west of the centre of Durrington village and north of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge. It is about north of Salisbury.
The settlement ...
, called at North Stoneham to make some adjustments; although he only stayed for about half an hour, a large inquisitive crowd rapidly gathered to admire the plane.
In 1917, the field at North Stoneham was requisitioned by the War Office as an Aircraft Acceptance Park, but before completion, the base was given to the US Navy to develop an assembly area; this subsequently evolved into
Southampton International Airport.
Moon later regularly flew his plane from Stoneham, as well as from
Paultons Park
Paultons Park is an amusement park located in the New Forest National Park, near the village of Ower, in Hampshire, England, with over 70 rides and attractions. The park is situated on the former Paultons Estate, and covers 140 acres of land a ...
.
He gained his
aviator's certificate in 1914.
Military career
Following the start of
World War I
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 ...
, Moon soon enlisted 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 ...
with the rank of flight
sub-lieutenant. His military service took him to East Africa, based on , from where on 6 January 1917 he was on a reconnaissance flight with Cdr.
Richard Bridgeman as observer.
They were forced to land with engine trouble and came down in a creek of the
Rufiji River
The Rufiji River lies entirely within Tanzania. It is also the largest and longest river in the country. The river is formed by the confluence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately long, with its source in southwestern Tanzani ...
delta where they destroyed the seaplane to avoid the possibility of its being captured by the enemy.
They then spent three days wandering in the delta trying to avoid capture and to rejoin their ship. During this time they had little or nothing to eat, and were continually obliged to swim across the creeks, the bush on the banks being impenetrable.
On 7 January, they constructed a raft from the window frame of a house; after two days of drifting on the raft they were swept out to sea on the morning of 9 January, where Cdr. Bridgeman, who was not a strong swimmer, died of exhaustion and exposure.
Moon tried to keep Bridgeman on the raft but he slipped off into the sea. After Moon had been on the raft for some thirteen hours the tide turned and the raft was thrown onto the shore. Moon was rescued by natives who handed him over to the Germans, who interred him in a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
camp.
He was released from captivity on 21 November 1917.
In June 1917, Moon 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 ...
; the citation read:
Since April 1916, has carried out constant flights over the enemy's coast, including reconnaissances, bomb-dropping and spotting for gun fire in all weathers. Has shown great coolness and resource on all occasions.
Following his release from captivity, Moon received a
bar to his DSO, for the display of "the greatest gallantry in attempting to save the life of his companion".
Bridgeman's body was recovered from the sea and is buried in
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...
CWGC
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
Cemetery.
As well as the DSO, Moon was awarded the
Royal Humane Society
The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near drowning.
Hi ...
's silver medal for his attempts to save Bridgeman's life and
The Legion of Honour – Croix de Chevalier.
He was also recommended for the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
, but this was not awarded.
His other military awards were:
*
1914–15 Star
*
British War Medal
*
Victory Medal with
oak palm
Later career and death

After the war, Moon was in command of the
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy.
Though ...
station at
Felixstowe
Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
with the rank of Squadron Leader in the newly formed
RAF.
On 11 August 1919, Moon survived the crash of the
Felixstowe Fury flying boat
which killed one of the crew. The Fury was a large five-engined flying boat which had just left Felixstowe on a test flight to Plymouth; she was due the next day to attempt a long-distance 8,000-mile (12,875 km) flight from England to South Africa and return.
In December 1919, Moon represented
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
,
Secretary of State for War
The secretary of state for war, commonly called the war secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The secretary of state for war headed the War Offic ...
at the funeral of
Sir John Alcock the transatlantic pioneer.
On 29 April 1920, Moon was at the controls of a flying boat on an instructional cruise when it crashed into the sea.
Moon and three other crew members were killed, while two were rescued, slightly injured.
At the inquest a survivor, Observer-Officer L. H. Pakenham Walsh, D.F.C. gave evidence saying that "the flying boat started off all right, and it had made several practice landings on the water". Squadron-Leader Moon took control to do a glide. At about "the machine received a bump on the tail which threw the machine out of control and developed into a spin". Although Squadron-Leader Moon tried to regain control, they were too close to the water to complete the recovery. The aircraft collapsed upon hitting the water. Pakenham Walsh "went under, and when he came up he did not see anybody else".
The Coroner said, so far as he could make out, there was nothing wrong with the machine or the piloting. It appeared to be a pure accident. He recorded a verdict of "Death from injuries received through the sudden accidental fall of a flying boat."
Moon was buried at
Southampton Old Cemetery with a wooden marker which is believed to be part of the propeller of the plane in which he died,
which was erected by his comrades of
230 Squadron, Royal Air Force.
References
External links
Photo of gravePhoto of Edwin Moon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Edwin
1886 births
1920 deaths
Military personnel from Southampton
People educated at Cranleigh School
English aviators
British World War I pilots
Royal Air Force personnel of World War I
Royal Air Force squadron leaders
Royal Naval Air Service aviators
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England
World War I prisoners of war held by Germany
Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I
British aviation pioneers
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
British World War I prisoners of war
People from North Stoneham
Burials at Southampton Old Cemetery
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1920