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Frederick Libby (Part 4 of 8)
The American Fighter Aces Association Oral Interviews The Museum of Flight Seattle, Washington Frederick Libby (Part 4 of 8) Interviewed by: Eugene A. Valencia Interview Date: circa March 1962 2 Abstract: In this eight-part oral history, fighter ace Frederick Libby is interviewed about his life and his military service with the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. In part four, he discusses his time as an observer and pilot with various squadrons in France. Topics discussed include his thoughts on German and British pilots, military life in France and England, and mission logistics for squadrons. The interview is conducted by fellow fighter ace Eugene A. Valencia. Biography: Frederick Libby was born in the early 1890s in Sterling, Colorado. He worked as an itinerant cowboy during his youth and joined the Canadian Army shortly after the outbreak of World War I. Deployed to France in 1915, Libby initially served with a motor transport unit, then volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps. He served as an observer with No. 23 Squadron and No. 11 Squadron, then as a pilot with No. 43 Squadron and No. 25 Squadron. Scoring a number of aerial victories during his RFC career, he became the first American fighter ace. Libby transferred to the United States Army Air Service in 1917 and was medically discharged soon after for spondylitis. As a civilian, he went on to embark on a number of business ventures, including founding the Eastern Oil Company and Western Air Express. Libby passed away in 1970. Biographical information courtesy of: Libby, Frederick. Horses don’t fly: The memoir of the cowboy who became a World War I ace. -
British Identity, the Masculine Ideal, and the Romanticization of the Royal Flying Corps Image
W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 4-2019 A Return to Camelot?: British Identity, The Masculine Ideal, and the Romanticization of the Royal Flying Corps Image Abby S. Whitlock College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the European History Commons Recommended Citation Whitlock, Abby S., "A Return to Camelot?: British Identity, The Masculine Ideal, and the Romanticization of the Royal Flying Corps Image" (2019). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 1276. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1276 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Return to Camelot?: British Identity, The Masculine Ideal, and the Romanticization of the Royal Flying Corps Image Abby Stapleton Whitlock Undergraduate Honors Thesis College of William and Mary Lyon G. Tyler Department of History 24 April 2019 Whitlock !2 Whitlock !3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………….. 4 Introduction …………………………………….………………………………… 5 Chapter I: British Aviation and the Future of War: The Emergence of the Royal Flying Corps …………………………………….……………………………….. 13 Wartime Developments: Organization, Training, and Duties Uniting the Air Services: Wartime Exigencies and the Formation of the Royal Air Force Chapter II: The Cultural Image of the Royal Flying Corps .……….………… 25 Early Roots of the RFC Image: Public Imagination and Pre-War Attraction to Aviation Marketing the “Cult of the Air Fighter”: The Dissemination of the RFC Image in Government Sponsored Media Why the Fighter Pilot? Media Perceptions and Portrayals of the Fighter Ace Chapter III: Shaping the Ideal: The Early Years of Aviation Psychology .…. -
“To Fly Is More Fascinating Than to Read About Flying”: British R.F.C. Memoirs of the First World War, 1918-1939 Ian A
Civil War Institute Faculty Publications Civil War Institute 2014 “To fly is more fascinating than to read about flying”: British R.F.C. Memoirs of the First World War, 1918-1939 Ian A. Isherwood Gettysburg College Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cwifac Part of the European History Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, Military and Veterans Studies Commons, Military History Commons, Oral History Commons, Public History Commons, and the Social History Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Isherwood, Ian A., “’To fly is more fascinating than to read about flying’: British R.F.C. Memoirs of the First World War, 1918-1939.” War, Literature and the Arts 26 (2014), 1-20. This is the publisher's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution. Cupola permanent link: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cwifac/13 This open access article is brought to you by The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The uC pola. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “To fly is more fascinating than to read about flying”: British R.F.C. Memoirs of the First World War, 1918-1939 Abstract Literature concerning aerial warfare was a new genre created by the First World War. With manned flight in its infancy, there were no significant novels or memoirs of pilots in combat before 1914. It was apparent to British publishers during the war that the new technology afforded a unique perspective on the battlefield, one that was practically made for an expanding literary marketplace. -
The Incomparable Billy Bishop: the Man and the Myths
HISTORY DND Photo NAC AH-740-A DND Photo NAC William Avery Bishop, VC. THE INCOMPARABLE BILLY BISHOP: THE MAN AND THE MYTHS by Lieutenant-Colonel David Bashow Think of the audace of it. acclaimed second book, Winged Peace, much of his vision was embodied in the United Nations International Civil Aviation Maurice Baring Organization (ICAO) in 1947. However, all these achieve- ments would occur long after he won his spurs in the skies over o spoke the renowned British poet and diplomat, the Somme, the Douai Plain and Flanders in 1917 and 1918. Maurice Baring, while serving as private secretary to There, he was the product of his circumstances: a war-weary Major General Hugh Trenchard at Royal Flying Empire in need of a charismatic hero. His war record would Corps Headquarters in France, upon hearing the eventually generate mountains of controversy, but only, for the news of Billy Bishop’s daring dawn raid on a most part, well after his death in 1956. SGerman airfield on 2 June 1917. Indeed, William Avery Bishop, Canada’s first aerial Victoria Cross winner, was auda- Billy Bishop was born in Owen Sound, Ontario, in 1894 of cious. He was also an imperfect human being and a study in upper middle class parents. A “disinterested student with poor contradictions, frequently at odds with the perceptions of an grades” who preferred solitary sports to team efforts, he was adoring public. While often a proud, ambitious risk-taker and, unable to meet the entrance requirements for the University of occasionally, a self-absorbed embellisher of the truth, he was Toronto, and followed his older brother Worth to the Royal also a skilled, courageous and resourceful warrior who served Military College at Kingston in 1911. -
THE BRITISH AIR CAMPAIGN DURING the BATTLE of the SOMME APRIL-NOVEMBER, 1916: a PYRRHIC VICTORY by Thomas G. Bradbeer M.A., Univ
THE BRITISH AIR CAMPAIGN DURING THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME APRIL-NOVEMBER, 1916: A PYRRHIC VICTORY By Thomas G. Bradbeer M.A., University of Saint Mary, 1999 Submitted to the graduate degree program in History and the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Kansas In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ___________________ Chairperson Theodore A. Wilson, PhD Committee members ____________________ Jonathan H. Earle, PhD ____________________ Adrian R. Lewis, PhD ____________________ Brent J. Steele, PhD ____________________ Jacob Kipp, PhD Date defended: March 28, 2011 The Dissertation Committee for Thomas G. Bradbeer certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: THE BRITISH AIR CAMPAIGN DURING THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME APRIL-NOVEMBER, 1916: A PYRRHIC VICTORY ___________________ Chairperson Theodore A. Wilson, PhD Date approved March 28, 2011 ii THE BRITISH AIR CAMPAIGN DURING THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME, APRIL-NOVEMBER, 1916: A PYRRHIC VICTORY ABSTRACT The Battle of the Somme was Britain’s first major offensive of the First World War. Just about every facet of the campaign has been analyzed and reexamined. However, one area of the battle that has been little explored is the second battle which took place simultaneously to the one on the ground. This second battle occurred in the skies above the Somme, where for the first time in the history of warfare a deliberate air campaign was planned and executed to support ground operations. The British Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was tasked with achieving air superiority over the Somme sector before the British Fourth Army attacked to start the ground offensive. -
Nottinghamshire Aviation Memorials
Nottinghamshire Aviation Memorials Aviation | Aviation Memorials in Nottinghamshire We love to commemorate our aviation heritage. In Nottinghamshire We Love To Commemorate Our Aviation Heritage The diversity of aviation memorial locations across the county is impressive. These memorials are not just at airfield sites, but they can also be found in churches, village halls, on city streets and at remote countryside locations. Some memorials are relatively new, whilst others can trace their origins back Nottinghamshire decades. These memorials, some of them raised through public subscription, reflect the lives of national figures like Albert Ball VC; whilst others are simpler marks of respect that have been erected thanks to the efforts of small groups of individuals. There are even sculptures and pub signs that highlight the county’s contribution to the development of significant aviation technologies. Collectively they play a part in helping to commemorate the county’s aviation heritage. Many individuals had travelled from around the world to air bases in Aviation Memorials Aviation | Nottinghamshire to train as World War II bomber crews. A common bond that joins most of these memorials together is that they commemorate the lives of brave individuals who were lost whilst learning these new skills; often in difficult weather conditions, a long way from home and in a relatively congested airspace, caused by having a lot of airfields so close together. For each of the memorials listed we have provided some background information about the crews involved and the circumstances of the crash; this is merely a snapshot of incidents that are recorded in more detail in books and on websites and we would encourage you to investigate them further. -
Billy Bishop Goes to War
Billy Bishop Goes to War Written and composed by John Gray In Collaboration with Eric Peterson A Guide to the Play Written and compiled by Mark Claxton 1 Contents How to use this guide pg.3 A Canadian stage classic pg.4 Billy Bishop's legacy: History or just his story? pg.5 Meet the artistic team pg.6 Songs and stories: A summary of the play pg.7 For discussion and further exploration pg. 9 2 How to Use This Guide This guide is intended for anyone who would like to enhance their appreciation and understanding of the Globe Theatre's production of Billy Bishop Goes to War. The guide contains a brief history of the play and its reception, an introduction to the Globe's artistic team, a summary of the action in each scene, a few questions intended to encourage open-ended discussion, and some links to online resources for those who wish to explore further. Some of this guide's content may give you information about the play's plot that you'd rather discover yourself while experiencing the show. If you'd like to avoid any potential spoilers, you might want to wait until seeing the play before reading any further. Teachers who are preparing their students to experience the play can provide them with this guide's discussion questions ahead of time -- or first allow them to see the production and then use the questions or other sections of the guide to facilitate further thought and discussion. I hope this guide is both helpful and enjoyable to read. -
Passchendaele Remembered
1917-2017 PASSCHENDAELE REMEMBERED CE AR NT W E T N A A E R R Y G THE JOURNAL OF THE WESTERN FRONT ASSOCIATION FOUNDED 1980 JUNE/JULY 2017 NUMBER 109 2 014-2018 www.westernfrontassociation.com With one of the UK’s most established and highly-regarded departments of War Studies, the University of Wolverhampton is recruiting for its part-time, campus based MA in the History of Britain and the First World War. With an emphasis on high-quality teaching in a friendly and supportive environment, the course is taught by an international team of critically-acclaimed historians, led by WFA Vice-President Professor Gary Sheffield and including WFA President Professor Peter Simkins; WFA Vice-President Professor John Bourne; Professor Stephen Badsey; Dr Spencer Jones; and Professor John Buckley. This is the strongest cluster of scholars specialising in the military history of the First World War to be found in any conventional UK university. The MA is broadly-based with study of the Western Front its core. Other theatres such as Gallipoli and Palestine are also covered, as is strategy, the War at Sea, the War in the Air and the Home Front. We also offer the following part-time MAs in: • Second World War Studies: Conflict, Societies, Holocaust (campus based) • Military History by distance learning (fully-online) For more information, please visit: www.wlv.ac.uk/pghistory Call +44 (0)1902 321 081 Email: [email protected] Postgraduate loans and loyalty discounts may also be available. If you would like to arrange an informal discussion about the MA in the History of Britain and the First World War, please email the Course Leader, Professor Gary Sheffield: [email protected] Do you collect WW1 Crested China? The Western Front Association (Durham Branch) 1917-2017 First World War Centenary Conference & Exhibition Saturday 14 October 2017 Cornerstones, Chester-le-Street Methodist Church, North Burns, Chester-le-Street DH3 3TF 09:30-16:30 (doors open 09:00) Tickets £25 (includes tea/coffee, buffet lunch) Tel No. -
Billy Bishop – Brave Flyer, Bold Liar
HISTORY DND Photo RE14469 Billy Bishop with his Nieuport 17. BILLY BISHOP – BRAVE FLYER, BOLD LIAR by Brereton Greenhous e all of us tell little lies. They are the lubri- Did he tell tall tales all his life? We don’t know. We do cants of society. But only a few of us tell lies know that he was ‘rusticated’ — set back a year — at RMC for as big as those told by Billy Bishop. Even some unspecified cheating in his first year examinations. And at fewer of us tell them as frequently as he did, some point in his career (probably between the world wars, when and those that do, usually tell them to entertain he had already been awarded a great array of decorations and his Wour friends and acquaintances rather than to advance our tunic was ablaze with ribbons), he granted himself the 1914-1915 careers. He was an inveterate liar; and no one but Bishop ever Star — you can see it on his tunic at the Canadian War Museum told one to get himself a Victoria Cross! to this day. You can also see, in the National Archives of Canada, a document which, on behalf of both the British and Canadian Even so, Bishop was as brave as they come. It is a com- governments, specifically denies his entitlement to it. (Read my mon, but quite false, assumption that because a man is a book The Making of Billy Bishop if you want precise citations, on proven and consistent liar he must also be a coward, or, this matter or any other in this account.) alternatively, because he is honest he must be brave. -
Liste Récapitulative Des Pial
LISTE RÉCAPITULATIVE DES PIAL PIAL DU NORD Numéro Pial PIAL Nom PIAL 01-N 0593658F public COLLEGE YVONNE ABBAS - LA MADELEINE CEDEX 02-N 0593226L public COLLEGE ANNE FRANK - LAMBERSART 03-N 0593177H public COLLEGE JEAN ZAY - LILLE 04-N 0590115E public COLLEGE FRANKLIN - LILLE CEDEX 05-N 0593180L public COLLEGE ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPERY - LILLE 06-N 0596833G public COLLEGE NINA SIMONE - LILLE 07-N 0594287P public COLLEGE ROUGES BARRES - MARCQ EN BAROEUL 08-N 0594397J public COLLEGE JEAN ROSTAND - ARMENTIERES 09-N 0596059R public COLLEGE JULES FERRY - HAUBOURDIN CEDEX 10-N 0593660H public COLLEGE RENE DESCARTES - LOOS CEDEX 11-N 0594638W public COLLEGE ROGER SALENGRO - HOUPLINES 12-N 0595758N public COLLEGE ETIENNE DOLET - PROVIN 13-N 0593231S public COLLEGE ALBERT SCHWEITZER - LA BASSEE 14-N 0593475G public COLLEGE LEON BLUM - WAVRIN 15-N 0594525Y public COLLEGE SPECIALISE LE TRIOLO - VILLENEUVE D ASCQ 16-N 0590057S public COLLEGE PAUL ELUARD - CYSOING 17-N 0590155Y public COLLEGE DESCARTES - MONS EN BAROEUL 18-N 0594866U public COLLEGE FRANCOISE DOLTO - PONT A MARCQ 19-N 0593237Y public COLLEGE GERNEZ RIEUX - RONCHIN 20-N 0593662K public COLLEGE JEAN DEMAILLY - SECLIN 21-N 0593196D public COLLEGE ARTHUR RIMBAUD - VILLENEUVE D ASCQ CEDEX 22-N 0593991T public COLLEGE THEODORE MONOD - LESQUIN CEDEX 23-N 0596172N public COLLEGE HENRI MATISSE - LINSELLES CEDEX 24-N 0594632P public COLLEGE RAYMOND DEVOS - HEM 25-N 0593239A public COLLEGE BORIS VIAN - CROIX 26-N 0590183D public COLLEGE MADAME DE SEVIGNE - ROUBAIX 27-N 0593667R public COLLEGE -
“The Sort of Man”
“The sort of man” Politics, Clothing and Characteristics in British Propaganda Depictions of Royal Air Force Aviators, 1939-1945 By Liam Barnsdale A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Victoria University of Wellington 2019 Abstract Throughout the Second World War, the Royal Air Force saw widespread promotion by Britain’s propagandists. RAF personnel, primarily aviators, and their work made frequent appearances across multiple propaganda media, being utilised for a wide range of purposes from recruitment to entertainment. This thesis investigates the depictions of RAF aviators in British propaganda material produced during the Second World War. The chronological changes these depictions underwent throughout the conflict are analysed and compared to broader strategic and propaganda trends. Additionally, it examines the repeated use of clothing and characteristics as identifying symbols in these representations, alongside their appearances in commercial advertisements, cartoons and personal testimony. Material produced or influenced by the Ministry of Information, Air Ministry and other parties within Britain’s propaganda machine across multiple media are examined using close textual analysis. Through this examination, these parties’ influences on RAF aviators’ propaganda depictions are revealed, and these representations are compared to reality as described by real aviators in post- war accounts. While comparing reality to propaganda, the traits unique to, or excessively promoted in, propaganda are identified, and condensed into a specific set of visual symbols and characteristics used repeatedly in propaganda depictions of RAF aviators. Examples of these traits from across multiple media are identified and analysed, revealing their systematic use as aids for audience recognition and appreciation. -
2/Lt Leonard Learmount
OUT OF THE ORDINARY by David Learmount The Royal Flying Corps actively discouraged the glorication of individual iers during the Great War. In war, however, the public needs heroes, and the press gave them some. But what about the rest of the RFC’s aviators? he Royal Flying Corps actively discouraged the the scene of an aircrew attrition rate ve times that facing glorication of individual iers during the Great War. the troops in the trenches. When Whitehouse nally le In war, however, the public needs heroes, and the press Squadron in January , Learmount and he were the only Tgave them some. But what about the rest of the RFC’s aviators? two aviators le alive among those who had been on the unit’s Albert Ball, Billy Bishop and James McCudden were three strength when they joined it almost exactly a year before. of Britain’s ‘ace’ military aviators in the Even to get to the Front, RFC pilots First World War. Although the Royal faced a shocking cull through ying Flying Corps actively disapproved of training accidents. Aviation was, aer the glorication of individual aviators, all, in its experimental phase. Out of the it awarded medals as the military always total airmen lost to the RFC from does where they are deserved, and these to , approximately half died in three were all awarded the Victoria training crashes. A young American Cross. So, the Press, which loves to volunteer pilot trainee at the RFC’s provide the public with heroes, knew Montrose training base just before the where to look for them.