Major Ernest Leslie Foot (19 May 1895 – 23 June 1923) was an English

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with five aerial victories. He was the best friend of

Albert Ball Albert Ball, (14 August 1896 – 7 May 1917) was a British fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer b ...

Military career

Foot was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the infantry on 27 October 1914, and was promoted to lieutenant in the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

on 28 December 1914. He was transferred from the OBLI to the

General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

and appointed a flying officer (observer) in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

on 21 October 1915. On 20 December 1915 he was granted Aviators' Certificate No. 2257 after flying a Maurice Farman biplane at the Military Flying School at

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a rail ...

, and was appointed a flying officer on 10 February 1916. Foot was assigned to No. 11 Squadron RFC, where he befriended Ball. On 23 July 1916 he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain. Between 9 September and 15 September 1916, flying

Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2 Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 (Farman Experimental 2) designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout. The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day and n ...

b No. 7016, Foot destroyed three enemy aircraft. The day after his third win, he transferred to No. 60 Squadron. There was a

SPAD S.VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and ru ...

on trial with the unit; Foot used it to destroy an Albatros two-seater on 28 September. He then used a

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier Ni ...

to drive down a

Roland C.II The LFG Roland C.II, usually known as the ''Walfisch'' (Whale), was an advanced German reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was manufactured by Luft-Fahrzeug-Gesellschaft G.m.b.H. Characteristics The C.II had much lower drag than comparab ...

on 21 October 1916. On 26 October, Foot was shot down in flames by German ace

Hans Imelmann Leutnant Hans Imelmann (14 May 1897 – 23 January 1917) was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. As a founding member of one of Germany's original fighter squadrons, he was shot down and killed before he reached his twentie ...

; somehow, Foot crash-landed unscathed. On 3 November, he was sent back to England for a rest.Shores ''et.al.'' (1990), p. 157. Shortly afterwards his award of the Military Cross was gazetted. He joined No. 56 Squadron on 10 March 1917, as it mobilized as the first squadron to operate the

Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 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 fas ...

. Once again, he was a flight commander. However, an auto accident the night before the squadron departed for France knocked Foot out of flying for the remainder of the war. However, he continued to serve, being promoted to temporary major on 30 April 1918, and was an instructor at the No. 1 School of Special Flying based at

RAF Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite th ...

. Finally, on 11 April 1919, Foot was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list, bringing his military career to an end.

Postwar career

''G-EAVP'', the Bristol M.1 in which Foot was killed After leaving the Royal Air Force Foot joined the

Handley Page Transport Handley Page Transport Ltd was an airline company founded in 1919, soon after the end of the First World War, by Frederick Handley Page. The company's first planes were Handley Page Type O/400 bombers modified for passenger use. They flew a ...

company as a

commercial pilot A commercial pilot licence (CPL) is a type of pilot licence that permits the holder to act as a pilot of an aircraft and be paid for their work. Different licenses are issued for the major aircraft categories: airplanes, airships, balloons, glid ...

flying the London to Paris passenger route, finally leaving the company in April 1923 to take a position with the

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...

as a test pilot and instructor with their flying school operated on behalf of the Royal Air Force Reserve. On 21 April 1923 Foot was granted a commission as a probationary flying officer (Class "A") in the General Duties Branch of the RAF Reserve. Foot was also a noted competitor in the popular

air races The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

of the day. In July 1921 he took part in the Sixth

Aerial Derby The Aerial Derby was an air race in the United Kingdom sponsored by the ''Daily Mail'' in which the competitors flew a circuit around London. It was first held in 1912, with subsequent races in 1913 and 1914. Suspended during the First World War ...

, organised by the Royal Aero Club, flying a circuit around London twice, in a Martinsyde F.4 fitted with a 300 hp

Hispano-Suiza Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft en ...

engine. Unfortunately engine problems caused his retirement during the first lap. In September 1921 he led the "White Team" in a relay team event for the Air League Challenge Cup, as part of the first Aviation Race Meeting held by the Royal Aero Club at

Croydon Aerodrome Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main airpo ...

. Again mechanical problems meant that his team had to withdraw. In June 1922, at the Third Croydon Aviation Race Meeting, Foot took 3rd place in the First Sprint Handicap flying the Martinsyde F.4. A year later, in June 1923, Foot was entered into the first

Grosvenor Challenge Cup The Grosvenor Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Grosvenor Cup, was a trophy presented by Lord Edward Grosvenor in 1923 to the winner of a light aircraft time trial competition.Dorman 1951, p. 188. Entries were initially restricted to Britis ...

. He was sponsored by Sir George Stanley White, the Managing Director of the Bristol Company, and flew the

Bristol M.1 The Bristol M.1 Monoplane Scout was a British monoplane fighter of the First World War. It holds the distinction of being the only British monoplane fighter to reach production during the conflict. During mid-1916, work commenced at Bristol o ...

D monoplane,

registered Registered may refer to: * Registered mail, letters, packets or other postal documents considered valuable and in need of a chain of custody * Registered trademark symbol, symbol ® that provides notice that the preceding is a trademark or service ...

G-EAVP, fitted with a 100 hp

Bristol Lucifer The Bristol Lucifer was a British three-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine for aircraft. Built in the UK in the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, it produced 100 horsepower (75 kW). The Lucifer was originally a Cosmos Engineering e ...

engine. The race took place in stages, beginning at

Lympne Lympne (), formerly also Lymne, is a village on the former shallow-gradient sea cliffs above the expansive agricultural plain of Romney Marsh in Kent. The settlement forms an L shape stretching from Port Lympne Zoo via Lympne Castle facing Lympn ...

, Kent, with stops at Croydon, Birmingham, and Bristol, before returning to Croydon, and ending at Lympne. When Foot landed at

Filton Aerodrome Filton Airport or Filton Aerodrome was a private airport in Filton and Patchway, within South Gloucestershire, north of Bristol, England. Description The airfield was bounded by the A38 road to the east, and the former London to Avonmouth r ...

, Bristol, his aircraft had developed a fuel leak, and Foot appeared affected by petrol fumes. However, after repairs he set off again, but his aircraft crashed on the Stonehill Road between

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in ...

and

Chobham Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England. The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne and its northern tributary, the Hale, ...

, and burst into flames. Foot was killed instantly. He had been married only a few months before.

Honours and awards

;Military Cross :Temporary Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Ernest Leslie Foot, General List and R.F.C. :For conspicuous skill and gallantry. When flying a single-seater scout, he dived on to five hostile machines, which were flying at about 2,500 feet, and drove one to the ground as a wreck. On many other occasions he has shown great determination when fighting enemy machines.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

External links

Ernest Foot at The Aerodrome Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foot, Ernest 1895 births 1923 deaths People from Pulborough Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England Commercial aviators British Army personnel of World War I