Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

John Stanley Chick, (22 December 1897 – 21 January 1960), was a Welsh officer of the Royal Air Force, who began his aviation career as 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 ...

credited with 16 aerial victories.

World War I service

John Stanley Chick began his military career as a pioneer in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

in 1914. He transferred 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 ...

in February 1917 as a Cadet at Denham. He was commissioned a probationary second lieutenant on 3 May 1917. Chick was granted his pilots certificate, No. 4735, on 27 May 1917. In November 1917, he was assigned to No. 11 Squadron. Piloting a two-seater Bristol F.2 Fighter, he scored all his triumphs in the first four and half months of 1918. On 12 March 1918, he drove down out of control a German observation plane and four Fokker Dr.I fighters. All five triumphs were scored on a single sortie. On 1 April 1918, he was promoted to lieutenant. On 15 May, he ended his victory string by setting a German observation plane afire, destroying one Fokker Dr.I and driving another one down, and destroying a

Pfalz D.III The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to co ...

fighter. That same day, he was appointed

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 ...

, with the temporary rank of captain.

Service between the wars

On 13 April 1919, as part of the postwar downsizing of the Royal Air Force, Chick gave up his rank of acting-captain. 1 August 1919 saw him appointed

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

. On 8 October 1919, he was assigned pilot's duties with No. 100 Squadron RAF. Sixteen days later, he received a permanent commission as a flying officer. On 28 June 1920, he was posted to

No. 24 Squadron RAF No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AM OCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on Airbus A400M Atlas, A ...

; later that year, on 7 December, he transferred to

No. 60 Squadron RAF No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at HMS Sultan (shore establishment), Gosport. It is currently part of No. 1 Flying Training School RAF, No. 1 Flying Training School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire flying the Eurocop ...

. After a couple of test piloting assignments, which included a stint on an aerobatics team that flew

RAF SE.5a The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the World War I, First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and ...

s. It was during this time, on 30 June 1923, that he was promoted to flight lieutenant. Chick then attended the Instructors Course at the Central Flying School and was rated A1. A tour of duty at the Central Flying School followed, beginning 22 June 1927. He rounded out the decade by leading the Central Flying School aerobatics team in 1929. Beginning 19 January 1931, he attended the Royal Air Force Staff College. From there he was appointed a flight commander in No. 203 Squadron RAF on 23 January 1932, with the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) 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 countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

following closely on 1 February 1932. On 15 January 1934, he received his first command, Station Flight of

Cambridge University Air Squadron Cambridge University Air Squadron, abbreviated CUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Cambridge and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. It is the oldest of 15 University Air Squad ...

RAF Duxford Duxford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, about south of Cambridge. It is part of the Hundred Parishes area. History The village formed on the banks of the River Cam, a little below its emergence from the hills of north Essex. One of t ...

. On 1 April 1937, he was promoted once again, to

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/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 countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

. Just before the start of World War II, in February 1939, Chick was appointed Officer Commanding No. 49 Squadron RAF.

World War II service

He became a temporary

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 ...

as of 1 June 1940. In 1941, Chick was selected to be Officer Commanding

RAF Luqa Royal Air Force Luqa (or more simply RAF Luqa) is a former Royal Air Force station located on the island of Malta, now developed into the Malta International Airport. It hosted aircraft of Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta) during the Seco ...

. On 23 April 1942, he was assigned to

Middle East Command Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

. A promotion to acting

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

followed on about 16 November 1942. The following year, on 21 February 1943, he was seconded for Special Duty.

After World War II

John Stanley Chick retired effective 27 December 1947. In his retirement years, he became Civil Defence Officer for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

from 1951 through 1957.

Honours and awards

;Military Cross (MC) :T./2nd Lt. John Stanley Chick, Gen. List and R.F.C. :For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. While leading a patrol of four machines over the enemy's lines he attacked an enemy two-seater machine, which his observer drove down completely out of control. Shortly afterwards the patrol engaged nineteen enemy machines; he dived on to the uppermost machine, and drove it down in a series of spins and side-slips completely out of control. He then attacked two others and brought them down in the same manner, while his observer drove down another out of control. On another occasion his formation, consisting of five machines, attacked twenty-five enemy aeroplanes. He destroyed one of the enemy, and drove down another out of control. He set a magnificent example of courage and skill.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chick, John Stanley 1897 births 1960 deaths British World War I flying aces People from Pontardawe Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Flying Corps officers Welsh aviators Royal Air Force air commodores Royal Engineers soldiers Military personnel from Neath Port Talbot British Army personnel of World War I