Captain Roy Manzer, was a Canadian World War I

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 ...

credited with 12 official aerial victories. After his aerial military service, he returned to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and a long and distinguished legal and civic career.

Early life

There is dispute about where Roy Manzer was born. One report insists on

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada on 31 August 1896.Shores, et al, pp. 258–259. Another unattributed report says

Maple Creek, Saskatchewan Maple Creek is a town in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Maple Creek No. 111. The population was 2,084 at the 2016 Census. The town is southeast of Medicine Hat, Alberta, and n ...

and gives the same birthdate.

World War I

On 24 October 1917, Manzer was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

in the

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

. He scored his first aerial victory as a pilot of

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

a serial number D259 with

No. 84 Squadron RAF No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is at present a Search and Rescue Squadron based at RAF Akrotiri, using the Bell Griffin HAR.2 helicopter. It is currently one of the two operational parts of the RAF Search and Rescue Force left in serv ...

. On 25 April 1918, he destroyed a German

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 ...

east of Abancourt. Next to fall in ruins was a

Fokker triplane The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

, on 16 May 1918. On the 28th, he doubled up, driving one Albatros D.V down out of control over Warfusée and destroying another. Manzer knocked down the latter in a midair collision that smashed his opponent's top wing with the SE.5s landing gear in an unusual maneuver. On 18 June, he switched to SE.5a number C8171 and destroyed another Triplane to become an ace. Manzer would switch to SE.5a serial number C8732 for the remainder of his wins. He would drive down a new

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qu ...

on 29 June 1918. On 19 July, he would join the ranks of the

balloon busters Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven ...

, burning a German

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...

near

Le Quesnel Le Quesnel () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated at the D161 and D41 crossroads, some southeast of Amiens. Population Places of interest * Church of Saint Leger, kn ...

. On 28 and 29 July, he would share victories with George Vaughn, as they destroyed

Rumpler Rumpler-Luftfahrzeugbau GmbH, Rumpler-Werke, usually known simply as Rumpler was a German aircraft and automobile manufacturer founded in Berlin by Austrian engineer Edmund Rumpler in 1909 as Rumpler Luftfahrzeugbau.Gunston 1993, p.259 The fi ...

s both days. Manzer set another Fokker D.VII afire on 3 August 1918. The next day, he destroyed another Albatros D.V. He also scored his final victory that day, 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 c ...

. The following day, he would be brought down by ground fire while on a trench strafing mission. He sat out the remaining months of the war in captivity.

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Manzer was promoted to the rank of temporary

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 ...

on 7 August 1918.

Post World War I

Manzer was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force on 12 March 1919. Manzer went on to serve in the

Royal Canadian Artillery , colors = The guns of the RCA themselves , colors_label = Colours , march = * Slow march: "Royal Artillery Slow March" * Quick march (dismounted parades): "British Grenadiers/ The ...

.''The Advocate: Volume 40'', p. 544. After education at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

, he articled with the law firm of Blackstock and Clow in

, Canada.''Chitty's Law Journal'', p. 260. By 1923, he had become one of the principal solicitors in the firm, which became Blackstock, Clow, and Manzer. He joined the bar in 1924, and became one of the partners of the legal firm of Manzer and Wooton in Victoria, British Columbia. By 1940, he was also active in mining, as a director of Slade Placers Ltd. In 1944, he served as Registrar to the Diocese of British Columbia. From 1947 to 1949, he served as the unpaid

Reeve Reeve may refer to: Titles *Reeve (Canada), an elected chief executive of some counties, townships, and equivalents *Reeve (England), an official elected annually by the serfs to supervise lands for a lord *High-reeve, a title taken by some Englis ...

to the District of

Oak Bay, British Columbia Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordered ...

. At the time of his death, Roy Manzer had been honored with an appointment as a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

Honours and awards

;Distinguished Flying Cross :Lieutenant Roy Manzer ::"While carrying out a solitary patrol he observed a two-seater below him; diving on it he opened fire, and following it down to 1,000 feet, caused it to land outside the aerodrome. During his return to our lines he saw a hostile kite balloon; attacking it as it was being hauled down he closed to point blank range at 300 feet altitude; on reaching the ground, the balloon burst into flames. In addition to the above, this officer has accounted for seven enemy machines, four of which were destroyed and three driven down out of control."

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * --, ''The Advocate, Volume 40'', 1982. Original from the University of California. Digitized 5 June 2008. No ISBN known. * --, ''Chitty's Law Journal, Volume 6.'' Publisher: Chitty's Law Journal, 1959. No ISBN known. * --, ''Canadian Almanac & Directory.'' Publisher: Scobie & Balfour, 1923. No ISBN known. * --, ''Mines Register, Volume 20.'' Publisher unknown, 1940. Original from the University of California. Digitized 1 September 2009. No ISBN known. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manzer, Roy Businesspeople from Saskatchewan 1896 births 1956 deaths Canadian World War I flying aces British World War I flying aces Canadian King's Counsel