Frederic Ives Lord (April 18, 1897 – July 21, 1967) or sometimes Frederick Ives Lord, was a captain, a World War I

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 ...

, and a soldier of fortune who fought in five wars.

Early years

He was born on April 18, 1897 in

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...

, to Alma Mueller (1876-?) and Alman Ivory Lord (1859-?). Some sources list his birth as April 8, 1900. He had two siblings: Lucia Lord (1902-?); and Zayda Lord (1905-?). By 1910 he was living with his maternal grandparents: Lena (1856-?) and Fred Mueller (1847-?).California Death Index; Social Security Number 105209061; Mother's maiden name is "Miller"; died on July 21, 1967 By 1917 Fred and his mother and siblings were living in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and by 1920 his mother was a widow.

World War I

According to one story, Lord enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in 1917, but was discharged from the 3rd Texas Infantry when it was learned that he was only 17 years old. However, in 1917, he would have been 20. Whatever his reason, he went to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada where he joined 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 ...

. He had to renounce his American citizenship on May 25, 1917:

I was born in the town of Manitowoc in the state of Wisconsin, one of the United States of America ... I have come to the city of Toronto from
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, for the express purpose of enlisting and entering the Royal Flying Corps of the Canadian Army for service overseas. And I do hereby solemnly declare my purpose and intention to become a British subject and I do hereby renounce my citizenship as a Citizen of the United States of America. ...

After completing his training in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he joined 79 Squadron in France. Flying a

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the First World War. The Dolphin entered service on the ...

, Lord became an ace along with four other pilots in the squadron:

Francis W. Gillet Francis Warrington Gillet (November 28, 1895 – December 21, 1969) was an American flying ace who served in both the American and British armed forces as a pilot during World War I. With 20 credited aerial victories he was the highest scoring ...

, Ronald Bannerman, John McNeaney, and Edgar Taylor. On June 27, 1918, Lord shot down an Albatros D.V as his third kill. On his return to the airfield, he saw an allied formation engaged with several

Pfalz Pfalz, Pfälzer, or Pfälzisch are German words referring to Palatinate (disambiguation), Palatinate. They may refer to: Places *Pfalz, the Palatinate (region) of Germany **Nordpfalz, the North Palatinate **Vorderpfalz, the Anterior Palatinat ...

scouts. He joined in and shot down a Fokker Dr.I, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He rose to the position of

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 ...

before being wounded in October. His final score in World War I was an observation balloon and eight aircraft claimed destroyed, three 'out of control'.

Russian Civil War

He served with RAF forces during the Allied Intervention in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1919, earning a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross when on June 27, 1919, he was piloting an RE.8 and found the position of the enemy on the Pinega River, four

verst A verst (; ) is an obsolete Russian unit of length, defined as 500 sazhen. This makes a verst equal to . Plurals and variants In the English language, ''verst'' is singular with the normal plural ''versts''. In Russian, the nominative singul ...

s from Pilegori, and "attacked the moving columns from a height of 200 feet with such effect that their transport was stampeded and their expected attack broke down, without any casualties being sustained by our forces."

Mexican Revolution

Leaving the RAF in November 1919, between the wars, he was a barnstormer and an aide to the Mexican air force during the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

. By 1927, he was living in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and was using the

Chrysler Building The Chrysler Building is a , Art Deco skyscraper in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, it is the tallest brick building in the world wit ...

as his address. Traveling with him was Constance E. (1901- ) who was listed as his wife. By July 1937, he was married to a woman named Mildred.

Spanish Civil War

He flew on the Republican side in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

with

Bert Acosta Bertrand Blanchard Acosta (January 1, 1895 – September 1, 1954) was a record-setting aviator and test pilot. He and Clarence D. Chamberlin set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Span ...

and

Eddie August Schneider Eddie August Henry Schneider (October 20, 1911 – December 23, 1940) was an American aviator who set three transcontinental airspeed records for pilots under the age of twenty-one in 1930. His plane was a Cessna Model AW with a Warner-Sc ...

in the

Yankee Squadron The Yankee Squadron was a group of mercenary American military aviators who flew for the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. History In November 1936, representatives of the Second Spanish Republic (Spanish Republican ...

, flying Breguet two-seaters through 1936.

I've had a wing fold up at a thousand feet while sitting on a dud parachute. I've been backed up against a wall looking down the rifle barrels of a firing squad. I've felt the automatic of my own commanding officer poked in my ribs. While being smuggled from Spain into France to visit my wife, I've had a speed boat pilot killed by Fascist bullets in the Bay of Biscay. I've fought half a dozen German pursuit planes in the air with an orchestra leader as a gunner. And of all places to be during a bomb raid I was there - locked up in jail - and with my wife. And these events have not been an accumulation of my war service in France, or Russia, or Mexico, but happened during the past few months while serving as a pilot with the Government forces in Spain. ... A Spanish pilot, Jose Galarza, bailed out from a crippled ship, during a fight, and landed safely in Franco's line. But the next day a Junker bomber droned over our field and dropped a box. It contained the chopped up cadaver of Jose ... Lafayette! Pulaski! Rochambeau! Who were they? Glorious foreign volunteers who aided us in time of need. We name bridges, boats, and towns after them now. Our kids read about them in our histories. ... And over in Spain foreign volunteers are fighting that a friendly democratic nation may survive. In most instances those volunteers came from the army of unemployed in their countries where they were without hope. In all cases they are highly skilled technical men. Their hope is a new lease on life; but the usual reward has been a nameless grave. ...Raab Collection: Frederic Ives Lord auction of Spring 2006
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World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he tried to join the RAF again; it is said he got so far as to be assigned to his old squadron before the authorities caught up with him. Instead, he joined the

Air Transport Auxiliary The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between fac ...

(ATA) that transported aircraft around Britain. On January 3, 1941, he wrote his sister Lucia discussing his upcoming eye surgery:

... and in less than a week now, I get the eye sliced up. And I know it'll be a success. Pray for me at 4pm on the tenth, will you. So here's hoping that when they take the bandages off on about the 20th, my eye will function… Ah just ain't got the dough for the hospital on the tenth. If can't get it - well, then no operation as can't ask the doctor to actually fork out money for me in addition. So, sister, please see what you can do in addition to the usual ten-spot, will you please? And let me have it by Wednesday." ord goes on to explain that he will soon be able to pay her back and will no longer be a financial burden to her becausea group of Chinese saw me today and want to take lessons from me and will even pay for a ship as soon as the eye is okay. Private flying, govt. jobs, city and state jobs - all waiting.Raab Collection: Frederic Ives Lord auction catalog 53

He served as a Pilot First Officer in the ATA from 21 April 1941 until 20 April 1943.

Death

In 1967, he was murdered by a vagrant in

Apple Valley, California Apple Valley is an incorporated town in the Victor Valley of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Its population was 75,791 as of the 2020 United States census. The town is east of and adjoining to the neighboring cities of Victor ...

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

; Social Security Number 105209061; Frederic Lord; b. 18 April 1897; d. July 1967 92307 (Apple Valley, San Bernardino, CA)

Publications

*More Close Calls in Russia, Flying Aces magazine, March 1937. Describes his exploits in Russia before the Armistice. *I Dabbled With Death in Russia, Flying Aces magazine, December 1936. *I Faced Death in Spanish Skies, Flying Aces magazine, July 1937 *Spain HAS Witnessed a Modern Air War! Flying Aces magazine, August 1938

References

Bibliography

''American Aces of World War 1'' Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Frederic Ives American World War I flying aces American mercenaries Aviators from Ohio Air Transport Auxiliary pilots People murdered in California Royal Canadian Air Force officers Spanish Civil War pilots United States Army soldiers Yankee Squadron 1897 births 1967 deaths People murdered in 1967