Evelyn Walter Copland Perry (4 December 1890 – 16 August 1914) was a pioneer British aviator and one of the first flying instructors in England. He was killed on 16 August 1914 in a flying accident while serving with 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 ...

in France, making him the first

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer to die in France during

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 ...

. Evelyn Walter Copland Perry was born on 4 December 1890, the son of Walter Copland Perry, the noted author and barrister and his wife Evelyn née Stopford. On 12 September 1911, Perry gained his

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 ...

certificate on the Barber "Valkyrie" and became the 130th person in the United Kingdom to learn to fly. He was then employed as a

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

pilot and carried out a considerable amount of flying at

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, ...

on a Burgess-Wright. In 1912, he worked with

Thomas Sopwith Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Hon FRAeS (18 January 1888 – 27 January 1989) was a British aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman. Early life Sopwith was born in Kensington, London, on 18 ...

at his flying school at Brooklands, where amongst others he trained

Hugh Trenchard Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, (3 February 1873 – 10 February 1956) was a British military officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force. He has been described as the "Fat ...

. With the outbreak of

, Copland Perry was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He flew to France with the

and was killed in a flying accident on 16 August 1914, making him possibly the first officer to die in the Great War. Copland Perry was buried in the St. Acheul Cemetery in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

References

External links

thePeerage.com – Evelyn Walter Copland Perry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Evelyn 1890 births 1914 deaths Royal Flying Corps officers British military personnel killed in World War I