Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) 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 Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

Frederic Hope Laurence, (9 March 1896 – 22 October 1982) was a British

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 ...

of the

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 ...

, credited with five aerial victories.

Early life and background

Laurence was born in

Marylebone, London Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropoli ...

, the younger son of Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Laurence, later of

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth ...

, Hertfordshire.

First World War

Laurence was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 6th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, being confirmed in his rank on 6 March 1915. He was later seconded to 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 ...

, being appointed a flying officer on 23 May 1917. He then served as a

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 ...

in No. 70 Squadron, flying a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

single-seat fighter.Shores ''et.al.'' (1990), p.234. He gained his first victory, shared with the rest of his flight, on 28 July 1917 by driving down a German two-seater over

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

. On 20 October he drove down an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft of the German aircraft manufacturer ''Albatros Flugzeugwerke''. It was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service with the (Imperial German A ...

over the

Roulers Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The name of the city is derived from two Germ ...

— Menin road, and another west of Roulers the following day. A week later, on 27 October, he scored twice, driving down two more D.Vs over Roulers, one solo and the other shared with Major Nethersole, Lieutenant Goode, and Second Lieutenants

Frank Hobson Frank Hobson, MC (8 October 1894 – 5 May 1951) was a British flying ace of the First World War, credited with 15 aerial victories. Biography Frank Hobson (note-not Frank Harold) was born in Leeds, Yorkshire on 8 October 1894, son of Walter H ...

, C. W. Primeau, and Edward Booth. On 26 November he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

Inter-war career

Laurence remained in the Royal Air Force post-war, being granted a short service commission as a flight lieutenant on 24 October 1919, relinquishing his commission in the 6th Worcesters the same day. On 13 January 1922 his short service commission was cancelled, as he was granted a permanent commission, backdated to October 1919. After serving at the Boys' Wing at

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the RAF Colleg ...

, Laurence was transferred to the RAF Depot (Inland Area) as a supernumerary officer on 14 November 1922, before being posted to the

No. 2 Flying Training School No.2 Flying Training School is a Flying Training School (FTS) of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is part of No. 22 (Training) Group that delivers glider flying training to the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. Its headquarters is located at RAF Syers ...

on 23 February 1923. From 1 to 13 September 1923 he was transferred to the half-pay list, pending embarkation overseas, then travelled to India to serve in No. 27 Squadron from 14 September 1923. In February 1924, in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, he married Marjorie Vera ("Daidie") Rawlinson of Graythwaite Old Hall,

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it lies a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park and j ...

, Lancashire. On 26 January 1926 Laurence was transferred to RAF Headquarters, India, then to the Aircraft Depot on 1 September 1927, before returning to England. On 5 March 1928 Laurence was posted to

RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hamps ...

, joining No. 480 Flight there on 15 August, flying the

Supermarine Southampton The Supermarine Southampton was a flying boat of the interwar period designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was one of the most successful flying boats of the era. The Southampton was derived from the expe ...

. On 12 December 1928 he was promoted to squadron leader, taking command of No. 204 (Flying Boat) Squadron at RAF Cattewater on 1 February 1929. On 9 December 1930 he was posted to No. 3 Flying Training School at

RAF Grantham Royal Air Force Spitalgate or more simply RAF Spitalgate formerly known as RFC Grantham and RAF Grantham was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station, located south east of the centre of Grantham, Lincolnshire, England fronting onto th ...

, then to the Armament and Gunnery School at

RAF Eastchurch Royal Air Force Eastchurch or more simply RAF Eastchurch (formerly RNAS Eastchurch) is a former Royal Air Force station near Eastchurch village, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England. The history of aviation at Eastchurch stretches back to the ...

on 29 October 1931. 1932 was a particularly active year for Laurence. On 8 February he was sent to the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school in the world. The sch ...

RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire ...

for a flying refresher course. Then, after a period on half-pay between 2 and 17 April he was posted to the RAF Depot at

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years b ...

while attending a course at

Senior Officers' School The Senior Officers' School was a British military establishment formed in 1916 by Brigadier (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General R. J. Kentish for the training of Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth senior officers of all services in inter-ser ...

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

, and was then attached to the office of the Judge Advocate General from 7 July. Laurence was on half-pay again from 23 to 30 September, before being posted to the Headquarters of RAF

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, based in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, for personnel staff duties. Laurence was promoted to wing commander on 1 July 1935, leaving his post at Jerusalem on 23 November 1935, and serving as Senior Personnel Staff Officer at the Headquarters of No. 2 (Bombing) Group at

RAF Abingdon Royal Air Force Abingdon, or more simply RAF Abingdon, is a former Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It is now known as Dalton Barracks and is used by the Royal Logistic Corps. History In 1925, a plan was approved to bui ...

from 14 July 1936. On 1 March 1937 he was appointed station commander of

RAF Southampton RNAS Eastleigh (HMS Raven) is a former Royal Naval Air Station located in Southampton, Hampshire, UK, The site was previously RAF Eastleigh and RAF Southampton. History The following units were here at some point: Current use The site is now ...

, and on 1 January 1939 was promoted to group captain.

Second World War and later

Laurence served throughout the Second World War, before finally retiring from the RAF on 31 December 1945.

References

Bibliography