Major Victor Henry Huston (13 October 1890 – 10 April 1941) was a
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 ...
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 six aerial victories. He was the only ace in his squadron.
Biography
Background and early life
Huston was born in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, one of nine children of William Wentworth Huston and Elizabeth Victoria (''née'' Simpson). His parents had lived for some time in
Cape Town
Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, South Africa, but had returned to
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
in 1889.
Huston served in the
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...
,
before emigrating to Canada, where he married Sarah Bailie in Vancouver in November 1912.
His attestation papers describe him as a motor engineer, tall, and a member of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
.
First World War service
Huston enlisted into the
Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...
in September 1914 and was assigned to the
Canadian Army Service Corps
The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC) was an administrative and transport corps of the Canadian Army.
The Canadian Army Service Corps was established in the Non-Permanent Active Militia in 1901 and in the Permanent Active Militia in 190 ...
. He was commissioned as a lieutenant on 13 September 1915. He was seconded for service in the British Army's
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 ...
on 8 December 1916, and was appointed a flying officer the same day. On 17 December Huston was posted to
No. 18 Squadron RFC to fly the
FE.2b.
He gained his first victory on 15 February 1917, when he and
observer
An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment.
Observer may also refer to:
Fiction
* ''Observer'' (novel), a 2023 science fiction novel by Robert Lanza and Nancy Kress
* ''Observer'' (video game), a cyberpunk horr ...
Second Lieutenant P. S. Taylor destroyed a Type C reconnaissance aircraft over
Grévillers
Grévillers () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. west of Bapaume and south of Arras.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department
The following is a list of the 887 ...
. On 5 April he and his observer Second Lieutenant
Giles Blennerhasset
Flying Officer Giles Noble Blennerhassett (16 April 1895 – 4 December 1978) was an Irish World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories while serving as an observer/gunner in No. 18 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.
Early life and ...
were credited with two
Albatros D.II
The Albatros D.II was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I. After a successful combat career in the early '' Jagdstaffeln'', it was gradually superseded by the Albatros D.III.
Design and development
Albatros designers Robert Thel ...
s driven down out of control over
Inchy
Inchy () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Jean-Gérard Fleury (1905–2002), French businessman, aviator, journalist and writer, was born in Inchy.
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following i ...
. Huston was then paired with observer Lieutenant E. A. Foord for his remaining three victories, destroying an
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service () during World War I. A modified licensed version was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (''Luftfahrtruppen''). The D.III was flown ...
on 24 April, then a Halberstadt D north-west of
Cambrai
Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river.
A sub-pref ...
on 13 May. Huston shared his sixth and final victory with Flight Sub-Lieutenant
Harold Spencer Kerby
Air Vice Marshal Harold Spencer Kerby, (14 May 1893 – 8 June 1963) was a Canadian-born air officer of the Royal Air Force. He served in the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War, where he became a flying ace with nine confirmed a ...
, both pilots being credited with destroying an
Albatros D.V
The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft of the German aircraft manufacturer ''Albatros Flugzeugwerke''. It was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service with the (Imperial German A ...
north-west of
Havrincourt
Havrincourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in Hauts-de-France in France. The inhabitants are called ''Havrincourtois''.
Situation
The village lies about 14 kilometres south-west of Cambrai near the Havrincourt service area on ...
on 27 May.
On 18 June 1917 Huston was awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
. His citation read:
:Lieutenant Victor Henry Huston, Canadian Army Service Corps and Royal Flying Corps.
::"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has rendered valuable service when on photographic reconnaissance. He has always shown the greatest skill and courage in leading attacks on hostile machines, and thus enabling valuable photographs to be secured behind the lines."
Huston left No. 18 Squadron on 8 July 1917. He was promoted to captain in the Canadian Army Service Corps on 5 August 1917, but remained seconded to the RFC. He received a special appointment as a
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 ...
on 20 March 1918.
On 1 April 1918, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) were merged to form the Royal Air Force. In August 1918, Huston, now a temporary major in the RAF, sailed for
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. The
Chilean Army
The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade.
In recent years, and after sever ...
had founded a School of Military Aeronautics in 1913 to train pilots, but the war in Europe meant that they had difficulties in obtaining modern aircraft, and had to use obsolete pre-war machines. However, in 1918 the British, as part of their compensation for the requestioning in 1914 of the two s that were being built for Chile in England, supplied them with a number of aircraft, and Huston was sent to serve as Chief Instructor to the ''Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile'' ("Chilean Military Aviation Service").
While there Huston was also instrumental in Lieutenant
Dagoberto Godoy
Dagoberto Godoy Fuentealba (22 July 1893 – 8 September 1960) was a Chilean military pilot and the first person to fly over the Andes.
Biography
Godoy was born in Temuco, the son of Abraham Godoy and Clotilde Fuentealba. He was orphaned at the ...
's first flight over the Andes in a
Bristol M.1c on 12 December 1918, and he also made the first flight of a seaplane in Chile, piloting a naval
Sopwith Baby
The Sopwith Baby is a British single-seat floatplane that was operated by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from 1915.
Development and design
The Baby (also known as the Admiralty 8200 Type) was a development of the two-seat Sopwith Tabloid, ...
at
Talcahuano
Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile.
...
on 3 July 1919. Huston also contributed to the creation of an independent
Chilean Air Force
The Chilean Air Force () is the air force of Chile and branch of the Chilean military.
History
The first step towards the current FACh is taken by Lieutenant Colonel, Teniente Coronel training as a pilot in France. Although a local academy was c ...
, stating in a letter to the military authorities that: "The air service in Chile must be a single branch dependent only on the Ministry of War and Navy." Huston was subsequently awarded the Chilean
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...
.
Huston's secondment to the Royal Air Force ended on 30 September 1919, and he relinquished his RAF commission as a
flight lieutenant to return to the Canadian Army as a captain.
Post war life
Huston returned to England and lived in London, but was fatally injured during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in an
air raid on Coventry, where he died at Gulson Road Hospital on 10 April 1941.
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huston, Victor
1890 births
1941 deaths
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps soldiers
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps officers
Military personnel from Belfast
11th Hussars soldiers
Canadian Expeditionary Force officers
Emigrants from Northern Ireland to Canada
Royal Flying Corps officers
British World War I flying aces
Recipients of the Military Cross
British civilians killed in World War II
Deaths by German airstrikes during The Blitz
British Army personnel of World War I