Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Richard Aveline Maybery (4 January 1895 – 19 December 1917) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

Biography

Maybery was born in

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, on 4 January 1895, the only son of Aveline Maybery, a solicitor, and his wife Lucy. He was educated locally and at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 and ...

, before going on to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. After his graduation he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

21st (Empress of India's) Lancers The 21st Lancers (Empress of India's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1858 and amalgamated with the 17th Lancers in 1922 to form the 17th/21st Lancers. Perhaps its most famous engagement was the Battle of Omdurman, where Win ...

on 17 September 1913. At the outbreak of the war he was serving in the

North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

where he was promoted to lieutenant on 31 October 1914. After being seriously wounded in action at

Shabqadar Shabqadar ( ps, شبقدر , ur, ) is a town in the Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It lies north of provincial capital Peshawar. Overview and history Shabqadar is a tehsil headquarter of Shabqadar Tehsil in ...

on 15 September 1915, Maybery became bored during his rehabilitation and, unable to sit on a horse, became involved in observing for a unit of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

who were based nearby. He was eventually seconded to the RFC, and appointed a flying officer (observer) on 10 October 1916, with seniority from 21 August 1916. Later he travelled to Egypt where he trained to be a pilot, being appointed a flying officer on 11 April 1917, and was posted to France to serve in No. 56 Squadron, alongside aces

James McCudden James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditi ...

Arthur Rhys Davids Arthur Percival Foley Rhys-Davids, (26 September 1897 – 27 October 1917) was a British flying ace of the First World War. Rhys-Davids was born in 1897 to a distinguished family. His father was a professional academic and his mother a prolifi ...

and Keith Muspratt. Aggressive and headstrong, Maybery quickly accumulated a high victory tally, accounting for 21 enemy aircraft between 7 July and 19 December 1917. He was awarded the Military Cross on 26 September, and on 18 November was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain. His second Military Cross was awarded on 17 December. Moments after his final victory on 19 December, shooting down an

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Alba ...

over Bourlon Wood, Maybery's SE5a was either hit by fire from a mobile anti-aircraft battery (credited to ''K-Flakbatterie 108'' commanded by ''Leutnant'' Thiel), or shot down by ''

Vizefeldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

'' Artur Weber of ''

Jasta 5 History Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 5, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 5, was created on January 21, 1916, and mobilized on 21 August 1916, as one of the first fighter units of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Arm ...

'', and crashed near the village of

Haynecourt Haynecourt () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate i ...

. His wartime tally consisted of 16 destroyed (two shared), and five driven down 'out of control'. Flesquières Hill British Cemetery

Maybery was buried in Haynecourt by the Germans, but after the war was re-interred at Flesquieres Hill British Cemetery,

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televis ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. A marble plaque dedicated to the memory of Richard Aveline Maybery, can be found in

Brecon Cathedral Brecon Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Aberhonddu), in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory ...

. The plaque includes the prayer:

Awards and citations

;Military Cross :Lieutenant Richard Aveline Maybery, Lancers and Royal Flying Corps. ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. After attacking two aerodromes in succession at very low altitudes, and inflicting considerable damage, he attacked and dispersed a number of mounted men and then attacked a goods train. He next attacked and shot down a hostile machine at 500 feet, and before returning attacked a passenger train. On numerous occasions he has attacked, single handed, large hostile formations and set a fine example by his gallantry and determination." ;Bar to the Military Cross :Lieutenant Richard Aveline Maybery, Lancers and Royal Flying Corps ::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty as leader of offensive patrols for three months, during which he personally destroyed nine enemy aeroplanes and drove down three out of control. On one occasion, having lost his patrol, he attacked a formation of eight enemy aeroplanes. One was seen to crash and two others went down, out of control, the formation being completely broken up.

Combat record

Quotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maybery, Richard 1895 births 1917 deaths People from Brecon People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst 21st Lancers officers Royal Flying Corps officers British World War I flying aces Welsh aviators Aviators killed by being shot down British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Recipients of the Military Cross