Group Captain Elwyn Roy King DSO DFC 1894-1941
Could have posted this in four or five threads but settled on Biographies.
I was unable to confirm his number and thought by the entry in the CWGC that he may have been an office worker or similar and did not notice that he was a Group Captain.
When taking a photo of his headstone or plaque as it turned out I was amazed at what I saw.
Attachment 1066
I am amazed at the obscurity afforded this WW1 Ace.
I truly wonder what the reason was for this lack of recognition?
Elwyn King From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to:
navigation,
search Elwyn Roy King DSO DFC (1894–1941) was an
Australian fighter pilot and
ace in
World War I. He scored 26 aerial victories in combat during the war, making him the fourth best Australian pilot in terms of
kills. King was also the highest scoring
Sopwith Snipe pilot of the war, making seven kills whilst piloting just that
aeroplane.
He initially joined the war effort in July 1915 as a member of the
12th Light Horse In the
AIF, serving in the
Middle East. He transferred to the
RFC in 1916 as a mechanic before attending flight school and joining the
AFC in October 1917, where he rapidly distinguished himself. He was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross in September 1918 and the
Distinguished Service Order in 1919. He left the AFC in August 1919, and began to work as a mechanic in the early 1920s.
At the beginning of
World War II in 1939, he joined up with the AFC again, but
died of
cerebral oedema whilst training in Australia on
28 November 1941.
A few more links:
AWM Collection Record: E02495 - Group portrait of officers of No. 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps (AFC), at their aerodrome. Back row, left to right: Lieutenant (Lt) C. R. Burton; Lt R. F. McRae; Lt C. S. Scobie; Lt J. S. ... British and Empire Aces of World War I - Google Book Search No.4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps Dolphin and Snipe Aces of World War 1 - Google Book Search Elwyn Roy King - The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War I