Reginald Alexander John Warneford, VC (15 October 1891 – 17 June 1915), also known as Rex Warneford, was a British aviator and

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 ...

officer who received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for air-bombing a

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

during 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 ...

. It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air

dirigible An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat ( lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding ...

Early life

Warneford was born in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

, India, the son of an engineer on the Indian Railways. He was brought to England as a small boy and educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon but after his family returned to India he continued his education at the English College,

Simla Shimla, also known as Simla (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972), is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summe ...

. Following

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

ship in the Merchant Marine, Warneford joined the

British-India Steam Navigation Company British India Steam Navigation Company ("BI") was formed in 1856 as the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company. History The ''Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company'' had been formed out of Mackinnon, Mackenzie & Co, a trading part ...

. At the outbreak of the

, he was in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

awaiting return to India. Instead, he sailed to Britain and joined the 24th (Service) Battalion (2nd Sportsman's), Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), but soon transferred to the

for pilot training.O'Connor 2005, p. 26.

Service

Warneford's initial training took place at

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

, passing then to Upavon in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

where he completed his pilot training on 25 February 1915. During the course of training, the Commander of

Naval Air Station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

s, R. M. Groves was quoted as saying: "This youngster will either do big things or kill himself." Warneford's flying instructor at the time, Warren Merriam, noted his skills as a pilot but had to make special arrangements to ensure that Warneford's perceived over-confidence did not bar him from attaining a

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

. Merriam took an opportunity whilst Commander Groves was visiting Hendon to ask Warneford to demonstrate his flying skills. Groves' favourable impression overcame the views of the Squadron Commander at the time who believed that Warneford would never make an officer because of his lack of discipline. Warneford was initially posted to 2

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the districts of England, local government district of Borough ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

but was quickly (7 May 1915) posted to an operational unit with 1 Wing at

Veurne Veurne (; , ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , ...

on the Belgian coast. Over the next few weeks, Warneford was involved in attacks on German troops and guns, as well as actions against enemy aircraft. His aggressiveness and effectiveness led to his being given his own aircraft and a roving commission.O'Connor 2005, p. 27. On 17 May 1915, Warneford encountered a ''Deutsches Heer''-flown

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

, LZ 39, setting out on a raid over the UK. He attacked LZ 39 with machine gun fire but the airship was able to ascend out of range by jettisoning ballast. The Great Aerial Exploit of Lieut Warneford

The Great Aerial Exploit of Lieut Warneford

On 7 June 1915 at

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, Belgium, Warneford, flying a Morane-Saulnier Type L, attacked another German Army airship, LZ 37. He chased the airship from the coast near

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

and, despite its defensive machine-gun fire, succeeded in dropping his six Hale bombs on it, the last of which set the airship on fire. LZ 37 subsequently crashed into a convent school in Sint-Amandsberg (),

, killing two nuns, the commander of LZ 37, Oberleutnant , and seven members of the crew. The explosion overturned Warneford's aircraft and stopped its engine, forcing Warneford to land behind enemy lines. After 35 minutes spent on repairs he managed to restart the engine just as the Germans realised what was going on, and after yelling "Give my regards to the Kaiser!", he was able to take off and returned to base. On 17 June 1915, Warneford received the award of

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

from the French Army Commander in Chief, General Joffre. Following a celebratory lunch, Warneford travelled to the aerodrome at Buc in order to ferry an aircraft for delivery to the RNAS at Veurne. Having made one short test flight, he then flew a second flight, carrying an American journalist, Henry Beach Needham, as passenger. During a climb to 200 feet, the right-hand wings collapsed, leading to a catastrophic failure of the

airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...

. Accounts suggest that neither occupant was harnessed, and both were thrown out of the aircraft, suffering fatal injuries. For Needham, death was instantaneous. Warneford died of his injuries on the way to hospital. He was buried at

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

, London on 21 June 1915 in a ceremony attended by thousands of mourners. The grave lies in front of the eastern colonnade. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintings ...

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

, Somerset, England. A street in Ghent was named ''Reginald Warnefordstreet'' on the spot where the airship crashed. In 2016 a road was named in his memory, Warneford Crescent in Longhedge,

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Wareneford was commemorated in music by Howard Ellis Carr in the final movement of his ''Three Heroes'' suite, which includes a musical depiction of a Zeppelin air raid. The suite became popular after the war, and was performed quite regularly, including at Hastings in 1921 and at

The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

in 1918, 1920 and 1924.

Legacy

In 1921, a house at his school, King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon, was named after him. However, just 3 years later the houses were changed to commemorate the 2 benefactors of the school, guild and king's . In 2000 the houses were changed once again and Warneford was represented by the colour green once again.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * Gibson, Mary. ''Warneford, VC: The First Naval Airmen to Be Awarded the VC''. Fleet Air Arm Museum for the Society of Friends of the Fleet Air Arm Museum, 1979 (republished in 1984). * Harvey, David. ''

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took ...

'': Victoria Cross Headstones and Memorials. Vol.1, 1854–1916''. Kevin & Kay Patience, 1999. * Merriam, F. W. ''First Through the Clouds: The Autobiography of a Box-kite Pioneer''. Batsford, 1954. * * *

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Brompton Cemetery)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Warneford, Reginald Alexander John 1891 births 1915 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France British World War I pilots British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Burials at Brompton Cemetery Knights of the Legion of Honour People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon Military personnel from Darjeeling Royal Naval Air Service aviators British Army personnel of World War I Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1915 British military personnel killed in World War I British people in colonial India