Captain Herbert Andrew Patey (25 September 1898 – 18 February 1919) was an English 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 ...

credited with 11 aerial victories.

World War I

Patey began his military career by joining the Royal Naval Division early in World War I. He served with them in both Egypt and

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

, and was invalided back to England in September 1915. Two months later, the authorities realized he was underage, and discharged him. Nothing daunted, Patey rejoined the Royal Navy in March 1917, this time choosing 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 ...

. Having completed his training, he was commissioned as a temporary flight sub-lieutenant on 13 November, and joined No. 10 (Naval) Squadron in January 1918, which became No. 210 Squadron RAF in April. He began his victory string with No. 210 Squadron on 17 May, sharing in the shooting down of a Rumpler reconnaissance aircraft. On 11 June he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain. By 3 September, his tally stood at 11, and he had been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Two days later, he was shot down by Ludwig Beckmann of '' Jasta 56''. He survived the resultant crashlanding, his

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 ...

relatively intact, to become 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 ...

. On 21 September 1918, while Patey was a prisoner, his Distinguished Flying Cross was gazetted. The citation read: : Lieutenant (Temporary Captain) Herbert Andrew Patey (Sea Patrol). ::"Whilst leading his flight on an offensive patrol eight enemy machines were encountered. Captain Patey was cut off from his patrol by two of the enemy who got on his tail and continued in that position until within 2,000 feet of the ground, at which point his machine was hit in the petrol tank. Notwithstanding his serious handicap, he turned four times on his pursuers, destroying one, and driving the remainder away. On previous occasions this officer has destroyed two enemy machines and brought down two more out of control, and, in company with other pilots, he has assisted in destroying or bringing down out of control five additional enemy aircraft."

Post World War I

Patey was repatriated after the armistice at the end of World War I; he arrived home on Christmas Eve, 1918. He became a victim of the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1, H1N1 subtype of the influenz ...

, dying of double pneumonia in

West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden. Neighbouring areas includes Childs Hill to the north, Frognal to the east, Swiss Cottage to the south-east, South Hampstead to the south and Kilburn to the south-west. The neighbourh ...

on 18 February 1919. Herbert Andrew Patey was buried in Plot P. 2. 38 of Hampstead Cemetery, Hampstead, England.

Legacy

Herbert Patey's Sopwith Camel survived him. After being repaired and flown by the Germans until the end of the war, it was taken to Berlin for exhibit in an aviation museum. The advent of World War II saw it moved to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland, and stored to escape bombing raids. The

Polish Aviation Museum The Polish Aviation Museum () is a large museum of historic aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport. This airfield, established by Austr ...

recently restored it; restoration was basically complete by mid-2010.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patey, Herbert A. 1919 deaths 1898 births Military personnel from London Royal Naval Air Service personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces British World War I prisoners of war World War I prisoners of war held by Germany Burials at Hampstead Cemetery Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in England Deaths from pneumonia in England Royal Navy personnel of World War I 63rd (Royal Naval) Division soldiers Child soldiers in World War I