The Battle Below : Chapter 3

Training in England

During the voyage of the Squadron from Australia, arrangements were being completed in London for its final organisation. Major D. V. J. Blake was appointed Commanding Officer; Captain W. H. Anderson, Captain H. D. E. Ralfe, and Captain R. S. Brown were appointed to the command of "A," "B" and "C" Flights respectively; Lieutenant R. Ross and Lieutenant E. G. Knox were appointed Equipment Officer and Recording Officer respectively, and Second Lieutenant H. T. Berry was posted to the unit as a Flying Officer.

Major Blake, Captains Anderson, Ralfe and Brown, and Lieutenant Knox immediately proceeded to the Squadron's aerodrome at South Carlton in Lincolnshire, where they came under the 23rd Wing, Royal Flying Corps, and Lieutenants Ross and Berry proceeded to Plymouth to meet personnel arriving from Australia per H.M.A.T. Ulysses, and make the necessary arrangements for their move to South Carlton. On arrival in England the nomenclature of the Squadron was changed from No. 2 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, under which title it had sailed from Australia, to No. 69 (Australian) Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.

After a few days spent at South Carlton, practically the whole of the officers and mechanics of the Squadron were sent to various centres to continue their training, but during February, 1917, the mechanics returned and the organisation of the Squadron for service in the field was advanced a stage further by the appointment of non-commissioned officers and the allotment of personnel to flights. It was at this stage that opportunities were first made available for the rank and file of the Squadron to volunteer for flying duty. An announcement was made that there were vacancies for six air gunners, or non-commissioned officer observers as they were first called, and Such was the keenness of all ranks to undertake flying duty that over fifty per cent. of the personnel of the unit applied for selection. After careful selection 1st Class Air Mechanics L. H. Reid, L. H. Pretyman and H. F. Hughes, and 2nd Class Air Mechanics W. C. Chivers, R. Hainsworth, T. R. Barkell, and V. E. Millington were selected 'to undergo preliminary instruction.

On 13th February, 1917, the Squadron suffered its first casualty, when 2nd Class Air Mechanic (Acting Sergeant) G. E. Hansell died in Lincoln Hospital from cerebro-spinal meningitis. The beginning of March, 1917, saw the return of the first of those officers who had proceeded to other units to complete their training, and with their return the Squadron assumed the functions of a training squadron for the Royal Flying Corps. This function the Squadron continued to exercise until shortly before proceeding to France later in the year for service with the British Expeditionary Force.

It will perhaps be of interest to give here some brief description of the system of training pilots which existed in the Royal Flying Corps at this time.

Selected candidates, after passing the necessary medical examination, were despatched to either No. 1 School of Military Aeronautics at Reading or No. 2 School of Military Aero nautics at Oxford, where they underwent a month's course, including lectures on the theory of flight, aero engines and the construction and rigging of aeroplanes. Practical instruction was also received in aero engines, rigging, morse signalling, and elementary artillery observation. At the conclusion of the course candidates were subjected to a written examination and, if successful, were then sent to a squadron for flying instruction on elementary training types of aircraft.

During the early part of 1917, the types of aircraft in use in the elementary training squadrons were the Maurice Farman (Longhorn or Shorthorn) and the Grahame White. On these types the average pupil received about 3 hours' dual instruction, split up into short flights of about 15 to 30 minutes, and was then considered ready for his first solo flight. This successfully accomplished, the pupil was required to complete a total of five hours' solo on the elementary type aircraft, including as many landings as possible, and then he was considered ready to proceed to the higher training types. The solo flying on "Rumpitees," as these elementary training type aircraft were generally called, was varied at different stages in the history of the Royal Flying Corps. In 1916, for instance, pupils were only required to do two hours' solo flying before being sent on for higher training. This time was later increased to five hours, and in the latter part of 1917 was again reduced, on this occasion to four hours. The training in the elementary training squadrons afforded the instructors some opportunity of judging the capabilities of pupils and of deciding their aptitude for one or other of the types of aircraft used on service.

No. 69 Squadron was destined for service in France as a two-seater Corps Squadron and therefore, during this period, it was allotted the task of training pilots for this type of work.

On arrival at the higher training squadron, the pupil received further dual instruction, this time on a more difficult type of aircraft. At this time the Avro (80 h.p. Gnome engine) was in use for this purpose, and, after completing -five hours' solo on this type, the pupil was given a few landings on a service type aircraft, and then sent solo on it. A total Of 20 hours' solo, including the time on the elementary training type aircraft, was necessary before a pupil could graduate as a pilot, but, in addition to this total amount of flying, certain special air tests also had to be carried out successfully. These included a cross-country flight of not less than 6o miles with two landings away from the pupil's own aerodrome, an altitude test and landing from an altitude of 6,000 feet without the assistance of the engine and judged so that the aircraft first touched the ground within a marked circle 50 yards in diameter, two night landings with the aid of flares, bomb dropping, air photography, signalling, formation flying, machine gunnery, artillery observation, and air fighting practices. These tests and the 20 hours' solo flying having been successfully completed, the pupil was considered to have graduated, and was then given permission to wear the pilot's flying badge or "Wings," as it was generally called.

The B.E.2e type aircraft was, during the early months of 1917, the principal aircraft used for Corps work in France, and it was this type on which No. 69 Squadron gave pupils their training on service types. In June and July, however, in consequence of the changing over in France to the R.E.8 type, the B.E.2e's of the Squadron were replaced by this type.

Most of the original officers of the Squadron, who had been pasted to various units of the Royal Flying Corps to complete their training, returned to South Carlton during March and all of them had returned by the end of April. Meanwhile, the Squadron had entered seriously upon its work as a training squadron, in which capacity it continued until July, when preparations commenced for the move overseas to France. During the four months' training work, the Squadron had posted to it for training 50 Royal Flying Corps pupils and 20 Australian Flying Corps pupils, of whom 23 and 11 respectively graduated and the remainder were posted to other squadrons to complete their training. In the course of its training work the Squadron was particularly fortunate with regard to accidents, and only three fatal accidents occurred during this period. The first occurred on 4th April, 1917, when an Avro aircraft (Gnome engine) with 2nd Lieutenant C. P. Lowry, an R.F.C. instructor attached to the Squadron, and a pupil, Cadet H. C. Warren, Australian Flying Corps, went into a spin near the ground and crashed. Cadet Warren was killed and 2nd Lieutenant Lowry, although badly shaken, was otherwise unhurt. The only other fatal accidents during training, both occurred in June, the first on the 14th and the second two days later. The first crash again occurred with an Avro aircraft (Gnome engine), in which 2nd Lieutenant Lowry was giving dual instruction to 2nd Lieutenant L. F. Gleeson, Royal Flying Corps. The latter was severely injured and afterwards died from his injuries, and the former again received a severe shaking, 2nd Lieutenant Lowry was most unfortunate for he was a thorough and careful instructor and had done excellent work with the Squadron. The accident on the 16th involved a B.E.2e aircraft (90 h.p. R.A.F. engine) piloted by 2nd Lieutenant T. W. Bartle, Australian Flying Corps, with which an Armstrong-Whitworth aircraft (90 h.p. R.A.F. engine), from the nearby aerodrome at Scampton, collided at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The tail-skid of the Armstrong-Whitworth aircraft tore the centre section from and Lieutenant Bartle's aircraft, with the result that the wings were torn off and the aircraft crashed. 2nd Lieutenant Bartle was killed, but the Armstrong-Whitworth landed safely, and its pilot was uninjured.

The first batch of mechanics for training as pilots was selected during March, 1917, and, as in the case of the selection of N.C.O. observers, marked keenness to undertake flying duty was again manifested. After careful consideration, the Commanding Officer selected Corporal H. C. Miller and 2nd Class Air Mechanics C. E. Crooke, L. Benjamin, S. H. Harper, A. H. McL. Patterson, F. J. Scott and S. W. Ayres, all of whom proceeded to No. 1 School of Military Aeronautics at Reading on 11th March, 1917, to commence the first stage of their training.

On the last day of March the nomenclature of the Squadron was changed for the second time, a War Office memorandum of that date notifying the Unit that in future it would be known as No. 69 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps.

In June, 1916, came definite indications that the service type aircraft for No. 69 Squadron when it proceeded overseas would be the R.E.8 (140 h.p. R.A.F. engine) and, as a result of this, towards the end of the month several of our pilots who had not previously flown R.E.8's proceeded to No. 6o Training Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, for the purpose of gaining experience on this type of aircraft.

The second fatal casualty among the original personnel of the Squadron occurred on 17th June, 1917, when 2nd Lieutenant H. F. Kitson, in a Sopwith Pup aircraft, spun into the ground on South Carlton aerodrome. After graduating as a pilot, and Lieutenant Kitson had been sent to No. 45 Training Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, for training on scout aircraft, and it was while still posted to that squadron that he met his death.

The end of July saw the Squadron commence the task of mobilisation for overseas and the difficulties of this task always considerable-were accentuated by a circumstance which left the Squadron without its Commanding Officer, Flight Commanders and a number of its pilots. All those pilots who had not completed the Artillery Observation Course at the Wireless and Observers' School at Brooklands, were sent there for training in artillery work and then a number of them was sent to France for duty with Royal Flying Corps units until No. 69 Squadron was ready to proceed overseas. Those sent overseas for such duty comprised Major D. V. J. Blake, Captain R. S. Brown and Lieutenants J. L. Sandy, N. L. Petchler, H. F. Taylor, G. I. L. Murray, H. N. Wrigley, S. G. Garrett, S. G. Brearley, F. C. Baxter, and A. O. Macgillycuddy. All these returned later on to the Squadron with the exception of Lieutenant G. I. L. Murray, who was shot down and wounded while with No. 53 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, at Bailleul, Lieutenant H. F. Taylor, who crashed badly while with No. 5 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, at Acq, arid Lieutenant F. G. Baxter, who crashed while with No. 16 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, at Chamblain l'Abbe.

Pupils still with the Squadron and who had not graduated were sent away to other training squadrons. The training aircraft were transferred likewise, and the service aircraft began to arrive in their places. The observers, 2nd Lieutenants D. Ellis, J. R. Bell, K. C. Hodgson, O. Paull, F. Rae, H. E. Roughton, J. D. Hudson, E. F. Rowntree, F. Brabner, W, N. E. Scott, A. V. Barrow, W. A. J. Buckland, R. H. Taylor, E. H. James, B. L. Learmouth, J. R. Blair, O. C. Kellner, R. H. Viner, and h. J. Tarrant, who had been selected from different units of the Australian Imperial Force, arrived between the 1st and 3rd July, 1917, and the transformation from a training to a service unit was Made unostentatiously but not without considerable hard work on the part of the Squadron personnel. By the first week in August all details had been completed and the Headquarters, Training Division, Royal Flying Corps, notified.

The work of mobilization was not without its difficulties. The personnel had to be complete. All pilots and observers had to have completed the course at the Wireless and Observers' School at Brooklands, and in addition the observers had to have completed the Machine Gun Course at the School of Aerial Gunnery at Hythe. The other ranks personnel had to he up to strength in each trade and, considering the variety and multiplicity of Flying Corps trades, this in itself represented a difficult problem. To make matters harder in the case of No. 69 Squadron, the Squadron was at the last minute required to find a Flight Commander for itself in place of Captain H. D. E. Ralfe, then temporarily unfit for general service, a Flight Commander for No. 30 Training Squadron1, Australian Flying Corps, and another Flight Commander for No. 67 Squadron2, Australian Flying Corps, in Egypt. These Flight Commanders were found by the promotion to Captain of Lieutenant (Hon. Captain) H. H. Storrer, and Lieutenants J. R. Duigan and W. S. Addison respectively. In addition, instructions were received to select and send for training as pilots a total of twenty mechanics, and this circumstance considerably disorganised the various trades. The mechanics selected for this training were Sergeants A. M. Anderson, A. P. Norton, and H. G. Cornell, Acting,Sergeant W. C. Chivers, Corporals H. A. Biddle and F. T. Currie, 1st Class Air Mechanics C. Donahay, W. H. Gartner, A. H. Penhall, A. O'C. Brook, R. J. Casey, O. S. Whight, and J. S. L. Ross, and 2nd Class Air Mechanics N. Hazelwood, F. H. Sheppard, C. O. Stone, L. George, G. M. Burton, A. Adams, J. L. Smith, and H. W. Miller.

Technical difficulties caused even more worry, and the equipment personnel were deserving of great praise for the way they worked day and night in order that the Squadron might be given a clean sheet for passage overseas.

Before completing the account of the Squadron's period of duty in England, it is necessary to record one further unfortunate incident, the death of Lieutenant R. G. Trout. This officer, who was one of the original members of the Squadron, had been sent with several other officers of the Squadron to Coventry on temporary duty as an R.E.8 "ferry pilot" for the Royal Flying Corps, and on the 27th July, 1917, when taking off from Coventry to fly to Lympne, his aircraft crashed, caught fire, and he was killed.

Title image courtesy of the Harold Edwards photograph collection.