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James Crichton (soldier)

James Crichton, VC (15 July 1879 – 22 September 1961) was an Irish-born soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that could be awarded at that time to British and Commonwealth forces.

Born in 1879 in Ireland, Crichton served with the British Army during the Second Boer War, and later emigrated to New Zealand. Following the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the New Zealand Military Forces and served with the Army Service Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign and on the Western Front in a field bakery. He transferred to the infantry in May 1918. On 30 September 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive, as well as carrying messages while under gunfire, he deactivated demolition charges set by German forces to destroy a bridge. For these actions, he was awarded the VC. He went to London in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and again nearly 20 years later for the VC centenary. He died in 1961, aged 82.

Early life
Crichton was born in Carrickfergus, in Ireland, on 15 July 1879. His family moved to the mining hamlet of Northrigg by Blackridge in what is now West Lothian, Scotland, when he was young. By the age of 10, he was working in a coal mine. Nicknamed "Scotty", he joined the British Army by enlisting in the Royal Scots Regiment at the age of 18. Two years later, he transferred to the Cameron Highlanders. He remained with the Highlanders for five years, including a period in South Africa during the Second Boer War.

During the Boer War, Crichton served with the Highlander's 1st Battalion, which saw action at the capture of Pretoria, the Battle of Diamond Hill, and the Battle of Nooitgedacht. In 1904, he returned to civilian life. He later moved to New Zealand and settled in Auckland. He took up employment as a cable splicer with the New Zealand Post & Telegraph Department.

First World War
Following the outbreak of the First World War, Crichton volunteered for the New Zealand Military Forces and was sent to the Middle East with the main body of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in October 1914. Promoted to corporal, he was posted to the New Zealand Army Service Corps (NZASC) as a baker with a field bakery. For the Gallipoli Campaign, the field bakery was part of the NZASC Divisional Train of the New Zealand and Australian Division. The NZASC divisional train was landed at Anzac Cove on 26 April 1915, and Crichton served throughout the campaign. At its conclusion, he was promoted to quartermaster sergeant. Two months later, he was promoted again, to warrant officer, 2nd class, before being sent to the Western Front.

Crichton was now serving with the 1st Field Bakery, which was part of the NZASC Divisional Train supplying the New Zealand Division. The Field Bakery numbered 92 personnel, many of whom had no experience, and was initially stationed at Rouen. It was required to produce 25,000 bread rations. As the bakers gained expertise, their output increased. By 1917, the numbers of personnel had been reduced through sickness. With no reinforcements, the burden on the remaining bakers increased. They later moved to La Mengate and then L'Hallobeau to support the troops during the Battle of Messines. In May 1918, having served with the 1st Field Bakery for over three years, Crichton wanted a transfer to serve with the infantry and experience frontline action. He relinquished his rank as a warrant officer and was posted to the infantry. He later stated that he had been selected for officer training with the NZASC, but a senior officer in the Auckland Infantry Regiment offered to arrange his transfer if permission was obtained. It was made clear to him that he would be reduced in rank if he proceeded with the transfer. Initially placed in the 3rd Entrenching Battalion, one of the training units of the New Zealand Division, he was transferred to the Auckland Infantry Regiment and posted to its 2nd Battalion with the rank of private in late August 1918.

On 30 September 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive, Crichton's platoon was trying to force a crossing of the Scheldt River, near Crèvecœur, when it came under machine-gun fire. With several men killed, including the platoon commander and senior non-commissioned officer, Crichton and the remnants of the platoon were trapped on an island in the middle of the river. The bridge leading to Crèvecœur was wired for demolition. Despite a foot wound, Crichton volunteered to inform company headquarters of the platoon's situation.

Fully clothed, Crichton swam the river and despite being exposed to German gunfire as he made his way up the bank, he was able to make his report to the company's commander. He then returned to the trapped platoon, carrying a message to hold on for reinforcements. While waiting assistance from other units, Crichton decided to deal with the demolition charges on the bridges and took out the fuses and detonators. While doing so, he was exposed to gunfire from German snipers.

After he returned to his company commander to report his successful deactivation of the demolition charges, Crichton attempted to re-join his platoon but was ordered to remain behind at company headquarters. He then assisted stretcher bearers transporting wounded soldiers before the gravity of his wounds became apparent and he was taken, despite his protests, to a field hospital. He was later evacuated to England for further treatment. Promoted to sergeant, he was still recovering from his wounds when the war ended.

Crichton was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for his deeds of 30 September 1918. The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest gallantry award that could be bestowed on a soldier of the British Empire. The citation for his VC read: "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when, although wounded in the foot, he continued with the advancing troops despite difficult canal and river obstacles. When his platoon was subsequently forced back by a counterattack he succeeded in carrying a message which involved swimming a river and crossing an area swept by machine-gun fire, subsequently rejoining his platoon. Later he undertook on his own initiative to save a bridge which had been mined, and, though under close fire of machine-guns and snipers, he succeeded in removing the charges, returning with the fuses and detonators. Though suffering from a painful wound he displayed the highest degree of valour and devotion to duty." Crichton's VC was the last to be earned by a serviceman of the NZEF during the First World War. Together with three other New Zealanders who had been awarded the VC, he received his medal from King George V in an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 27 February 1919. He returned to New Zealand in June 1919 and shortly afterwards was formally discharged from the NZEF.

Later life and legacy
After leaving the military, Crichton resumed his pre-war profession as a cable splicer. In 1919 he married Amy Watkins Howe, a war widow. The couple had two daughters. Crichton was part of the New Zealand contingent sent to London in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. At the time, he was working for the New Zealand Post & Telegraph Department as a foreman. He retired two years later.

During the Second World War, Crichton served in the Home Guard and worked on merchant ships travelling between New Zealand and England. In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. At 76, he returned to London in 1956 as part of the VC centenary celebrations.

Crichton died at Auckland Hospital on 22 September 1961. Survived by his wife and a daughter, he was buried in Waikumete Cemetery in Auckland. Crichton's family donated his VC to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, which continues to hold the medal along with his service medals from the Boer War and the First and Second World Wars.

Several memorials are dedicated to Crichton, including a plaque on the first house in which his family lived in Carrickfergus, his place of birth, in Northern Ireland. The town's museum also has a plaque honouring Crichton and another VC recipient from Carrickfergus, Daniel Cambridge. His name is recorded on the Armadale & District Roll of Honour, which included the Scottish village of Blackridge, where he had lived as a boy. At Blackridge school where he was a pupil, a replica VC memorial stone was installed in 2018. In New Zealand, there is a plaque dedicated to him in Queen's Garden in Dunedin, and a street in the town of Hastings is named for him.

title: James Crichton (soldier)


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James McCudden

James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history. Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions, McCudden joined the Royal Engineers in 1910. Having an interest in mechanics he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in 1913 at which time he first came into regular contact with aircraft. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he flew as an observer before training as a fighter pilot in 1916.

McCudden claimed his first victory in September 1916 flying the Airco DH.2. He claimed his fifth victory—making him an ace—on 15 February 1917. For the next six months he served as an instructor and flew defensive patrols over London. He returned to the frontline in summer 1917 flying the S.E.5a. That same year he dispatched a further 31 enemy aircraft while claiming multiple victories in one day on 11 occasions. With his six British medals and one French, McCudden received more awards for gallantry than any other airman of British nationality serving in the First World War. He was also one of the longest serving. By 1918, in part due to a campaign by the Daily Mail newspaper, McCudden became one of the most famous airmen in the British Isles.

At the time of his death, he had achieved 57 aerial victories, placing him seventh on the list of the war's most successful aces. Just under two-thirds of his victims can be identified by name. This is possible since, unlike other Allied aces, a substantial proportion of McCudden's claims were made over Allied-held territory. The majority of his successes were achieved with 56 Squadron RFC and all but five were shot down while McCudden was flying the S.E.5a. On 9 July 1918, McCudden was killed in a flying accident when his aircraft crashed on takeoff due to engine failure. His rank at the time of his death was major, a significant achievement for a man who had begun his career in the RFC as an air mechanic. McCudden is buried at the British war cemetery at Beauvoir-Wavans.

Early life and family
James McCudden was born in Gillingham, Kent, to Sergeant-Major William H. McCudden and Amelia Byford. His father had been in the military for most of his life. He joined the Royal Engineers as a teenager and served in No. 24 Company. William McCudden fought in the Anglo-Egyptian War at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir in 1882. During combat he rescued a wounded soldier while under fire and was recommended for an award. However, when it emerged he was acting against orders he was denied any honours. Nevertheless, William had a long career in the Engineers and eventually became an instructor at the School of Military Engineering as a non-commissioned officer. His mother's family also had a military background; her grandfather served as a Master-at-arms in the Royal Marines aboard HMS Poictiers (1809).

In 1890 William H. McCudden and Amelia Byford (1869–1955) married. They had six children; William Thomas James (3 April 1891 – 1 May 1915), Mary Amelia (23 January 1893), James Thomas Byford (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918), Kathleen Annie (1 December 1899), John Anthony (14 June 1897 – 18 March 1918) and Maurice Vincent (31 October 1901 – 13 December 1934). John and William McCudden became fighter pilots but both were killed whilst flying—John would be killed in action during the war.

His father William H. McCudden took a post at the Air Ministry at the rank of warrant officer after the Great War, but would die tragically at Clapham Junction railway station on 7 July 1920. When he stood up to offer a woman his seat the compartment door flew open, knocking him into the path of an oncoming train. Maurice Vincent became a pilot and served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) until he retired through illness in 1933. He died of colitis the following year, leaving a widow and small daughter.

The McCuddens moved to Sheerness in 1909 and James transferred to the garrison school. He learned to shoot at the rifle range, box and was a reasonably intelligent student. His father's retirement soon placed a heavy strain on the family finances and as a consequence McCudden felt obliged to find a job before he could enlist once he turned 15. He filled the time from the age of 14 to the age of enlistment by working as a Post Office messenger boy. It was at this time McCudden's interest in flying began. In nearby Leysdown, on the Isle of Sheppey, one of the first aviation centres was built. It was here John Moore-Brabazon became the first Englishman to fly. McCudden and his brothers often went to see the pioneer aviators gather. McCudden expressed a desire to become a pilot after spending hours watching these early flying machines.

Royal Engineers and RFC
Unfortunately his desire to be a pilot was postponed. The family required further income after his father retired. Unable to wait for that opportunity to arise he joined the Royal Engineers on 26 April 1910, as No. 20083. On 24 February 1911, he set sail for Gibraltar on the southern tip of Spain. McCudden spent eighteen months in Gibraltar before returning to England in September 1912. While in Gibraltar he read Flight manual magazine habitually, which explained the theory of flight, aircraft construction and aero engines. He excelled in his service and by 26 April 1913 he had become a qualified Sapper. He also held the grade Air Mechanic 2nd Class, No. 892, which was awarded to him on 28 April 1913. Soon afterwards he became a member of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). On 9 May he was posted to Farnborough depot as a mechanic.

McCudden's tenure at the aerodrome began ominously. The same day he was granted a request to travel as an observer in a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2, disaster struck which could conceivably have ended his career. Instructed to familiarise himself with the aircraft around the airfield he examined a Caudron Type A, and proceeded to turn over the engine. The aircraft was listed as unserviceable and McCudden saw no danger in leaving the throttle fully open. Suddenly the engine started and it accelerated out of the hangar and into a Farman MF.11. McCudden watched as the propeller chewed the wing to pieces and damaged his Commanding Officer's car which had been parked nearby. He was able to reach the cockpit and switch off the ignition but not before extensive damage had been done. For this misdemeanor he was brought before Colonel Frederick Sykes, commanding the RFC Military Wing. Sykes was pleased with his overall progress, which likely saved him, but sentenced McCudden to seven days detention and a forfeiture of 14 days pay for the incident. Five years later Sykes again met McCudden—then at the height of his fame—and chaffed him on the episode, even jokingly threatening to send him a bill for the car.

On 15 June 1913 he was posted to No. 3 Squadron RFC. He managed a flight in a Blériot aircraft while there and gradually won a reputation as a first-rate mechanic. By Christmas his frequent requests for trips in the aircraft had met with so much success that McCudden had logged nearly 30 hours, mostly in the Blériot monoplanes. On 1 April 1914 he was promoted to Air Mechanic First Class.

An observer airman
In August 1914 he travelled to France as a mechanic with 3 Squadron after war was declared, which followed the German invasion of Belgium. It operated as a reconnaissance unit and McCudden began to fly as an observer. After stopping at Amiens for several days, the unit began reconnoitering enemy positions. 3 Squadron offered support to the British Army at the Battle of Mons in Belgium. That month McCudden saw his first German aircraft on 22 August. On 25 August the British began their retreat, south-west, toward Paris. 3 Squadron moved to no fewer than nine different landing grounds, often delaying departure until the enemy was only a mile or two behind. Eventually they settled at Melun, south of Paris. In the autumn, McCudden participated in locating German artillery positions as the Allied armies drove back the enemy at the First Battle of the Marne and First Battle of the Aisne. McCudden flew these missions with a rifle since aircraft lacked any fixed armament.

McCudden performed well and took on more administrative responsibilities once he was promoted to Corporal on 20 November 1914. During this period, the First Battle of Ypres was being fought and the Squadron re-equipped with the higher performing Morane-Saulnier L aircraft. Several months later, on 1 April 1915, he was promoted to sergeant and made NCO in charge of all engines in his flight. McCudden's delight at gaining a promotion was cut short by news that his brother William had been killed in an air crash while flying an elderly Blériot. Just a week later, his eldest sister Mary lost her husband in an explosion which destroyed the minelayer HMS Princess Irene on 27 May 1915.

Undeterred, McCudden made a formal application to become a pilot and fly on operations but it was rejected on the grounds he was too valuable to risk losing. His reputation as a mechanic had spread since his supervision in the unit had led to a record-low number of engine failures. He continued to fly as an observer despite the recommendation of his rejection letter.

On 8 June he made his first official observer qualifying sortie which he passed. At this time the German Luftstreitkräfte (Air Service) introduced the Fokker Eindecker fighter equipped with Synchronization gear. Firing through the propeller, the Germans had a machine that soon became a serious threat to McCudden's unit. The enemy succeeded establishing a period of air superiority at this time. McCudden still flew regularly as an observer with the new commanding Officer, Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt, who had taken over command on 20 November 1915. He recorded a flight of 2 hours 40 minutes on 27 November which included an abortive chase after an Albatros C.I reconnaissance aircraft. On 16 December 1915 he acted as aerial gunner, when he drove off an attack on his flight by the German ace Max Immelmann. While firing at the Fokker, McCudden saw a piece of paper or fabric fall off the German machine. Although the ground was diligently searched, no trace of it was found. On 19 January 1916, McCudden exchanged fire with another German observer without result.

During this time, McCudden's Squadron was also experimenting with wireless technology. Captain D.S Lewis, who commanded the headquarters flight, fitted his B.E.2a with a wireless set to help direct artillery fire. In April 1915 he commanded 3 Squadron and became McCudden's commanding officer. He was killed a year later when he was shot down by ground-fire. It is unknown whether McCudden participated in these pioneering ventures.

On 21 January 1916 McCudden was awarded the Croix de guerre for gallantry. He travelled to Lillers to receive his award from General Joseph Joffre, Commander-in-Chief of the French Army. On 23 January he was promoted to flight sergeant and 24 hours later he was ordered home to England to begin pilot training.

Pilot training
McCudden was based at Farnborough and began his training on 22 February 1916. He started with a 20-minute flight in a Henry Farman pusher. McCudden had already flown 100 hours as a passenger with 25 different pilots including 46 hours as a regular observer since November 1915 and had much experience with his surroundings. His instructor was impressed with his grasp of the mechanics and theory. He practiced six landings and progressed to the more powerful Avro 504 as the last Farman had been written off by another student.

On 9 April he was sent to Gosport, assigned to No. 41 Squadron RFC, and made his first solo flight on 16 April in a Farman MF.7. Later that day he was awarded his Royal Aero Club certificate after completing four figure-of-eight turns, a glide from 1,200 feet and a landing within forty yards of a selected mark. He completed 22 flights at Gosport, the longest a 50-minute flight to 7,000 feet. On 29 April he was posted to the Central Flying School (CFS) at Upavon, near Salisbury Plain, for advanced training, arriving on 1 May.

On 7 May he became the 107th non-commissioned officer to receive his CFS certificate, passing as Second Class Flier. He was good enough to be selected as an instructor and took his first pupil after having flown only nine hours of solo flight himself. Two of his pupils included the future ace and 56 Squadron colleague Geoffrey Hilton Bowman and Mick Mannock. Soon afterwards, while teaching a student in an Airco DH.1, the aircraft entered a dangerous spin. McCudden narrowly avoided a crash, pulling up feet above the ground. An impact would certainly have killed them both.

On 30 May he was graded First Class Flier. The grade was based upon his achievements; he had achieved a dead-stick landing within a fifty-yard marker, a 15-minute flight at 6,000 feet, a 60-mile cross-country flight and 15 hours solo flying. On 24 May he passed his final test with a two-hour flight from Salisbury, to Southampton and on to Basingstoke. His 74 hours flying experience was well above the minimum. By the time he left for France in June he had accumulated 121 flying hours, given 177 lessons as instructor, and had personally tutored 40 student pilots.

Back at the front line
McCudden joined No. 20 Squadron on 8 July 1916. The unit was equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 and flew from Clairmarais aerodrome, near Saint-Omer. He flew his first operational sortie two days later and continued as the Battle of the Somme raged. The Squadron was ordered to intercept and shoot down German reconnaissance aircraft. He patrolled the Ypres and Roeselare (Roulers) region. He did not spot any enemy reconnaissance machines but did come into contact with a single Fokker near Lille. Flying in formation, the British were well placed to deal with lone German fighters since they could use their gunners to form a formidable defence screen. This particular German used a tactic of climbing above the British, making a diving attack at the rear-most aircraft and diving away if he did not score a decisive hit. Two days later McCudden ran out of fuel in the Lille district. Disorientated because of heavy mist, he force-landed in Allied territory, crashing and coming to halt in the garden of a French farmhouse. Little damage was done to the machine. On 2 August he took part in an operation to bomb the Zeppelin sheds at Brussels. The flight was unmolested, though the familiar lone Fokker made an appearance and then withdrew without attacking.

That same evening McCudden was told to pack his belongings since he was to be reassigned to 29 Squadron RFC flying Airco DH.2 scouts. McCudden was pleased to be flying scouts, finding it "light after flying the F.E." McCudden soon found from pilots that the machine was not popular and had to be handled with care. Nevertheless, while on patrol between Armentières and Ypres on 6 September 1916 he scored his first victory. He engaged an all-white Albatros B.II, and shot it down. He then chased another but it escaped through superior speed. Confirmation of his victory was given three days later by a I ANZAC Corps unit. It had crashed on the Gheluve-Mennin road at the time and place of his claim. McCudden nearly added to this score the following day. He engaged a Fokker monoplane but his gun jammed. Switching off his engine, he rectified the damage but the Fokker pilot took the opportunity to pursue him. Restarting his engine as the German closed, McCudden outmanoeuvred him and was presented with a close-astern shot, but once again his gun jammed and the battle ended inconclusively when the faster Fokker dived away.

McCudden did not score again during the year but had a remarkable escape on 27 December 1916. Flying from Arras to Monchy on patrol, his flight of six DH.2s engaged an enemy formation of Albatros D.IIs. McCudden rushed to the aid of Alexander James, a member of his flight, who had been attacked by a German fighter. He attacked the Albatros head-on but his gun jammed after 20 shots. As he fought to clear the jam he found himself surrounded by German fighters.

One soon latched onto him and began firing. McCudden dived steeply but the enemy pilot remained behind him. At 800 feet McCudden began a spinning dive until the German, now some distance behind, abruptly turned away. The enemy aircraft was fired at by British ground forces and McCudden, who by now had unjammed his Lewis machine gun, turned to give pursuit. The enemy pilot, apparently unaware of this, was already too high and McCudden watched as he re-joined his flight and departed the area.

McCudden returned to base; in spite of his narrow escape his machine had not been hit. His squadron mates were surprised to see him; they had witnessed his dive, assumed the spin to be terminal, and were in the process of posting him missing in action. It has been suggested that the enemy pilot was none other than Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red Baron", in which case McCudden had narrowly avoided becoming the rising star's 15th victim. Richthofen was credited with a "two seat Vickers biplane" that afternoon, which has usually been listed as the F.E.2b of Captain Quested and Lieutenant Dicksee, but recent research indicates that the action with McCudden may fit the time frame.

1916 ended on a personal high for McCudden. He received his commission on 28 December which came into effect on 1 January 1917. He was granted two weeks leave and returned to England. As a second lieutenant, McCudden returned to France on 21 January. He was determined to build up his personal tally despite the limitations of his DH.2. The very same day he was forced down for the first and only time. He attacked an Albatros D.III and damaged its engine which stopped. Unfortunately another attacked and he was forced to break off a certain kill when one of his propeller blades was partly shot off. Another DH.2 intervened and McCudden landed near Arras, ordered a new propeller, and flew back to base. Since no member witnessed the fate of the Albatros no claim was made.

McCudden's fortunes changed in the new year. He dispatched a two-seater on 26 January and another on 2 February 1917. On 5 February he attacked an Albatros C.III returning from a photo-reconnaissance mission. Diving out of the sun to blind the gunner, he shot it down over the front line, where it was shelled by British artillery. Ten days later he engaged an Albatros escorted by a LFG Roland C.II. After a brief dogfight and pursuit, the Albatros escaped but he destroyed the Roland which crashed near Monchy. The next day McCudden was awarded the Military Cross for his fifth victory. His award was gazetted on 12 March.

Return to England
He returned to England on 23 February and was appointed an instructor once more. He was slightly aggrieved as he felt he was now getting into his stride as a fighter pilot. He had also hoped that his squadron was about to receive the French-designed Nieuports, which were a better match for the Albatros and Halberstadt "D" class fighters than the obsolescent DH.2. His posting was not surprising to him. The beginning of 1917 witnessed an enormous expansion of the RFC and experienced tutors were required to train the mass of new students.

McCudden was posted to the 6th Training Wing at Maidstone until transferred to Dover on 15 April where he learned to fly the Bristol Scout. One of his aircraft was adorned with the name "Teddie", which his fellow officers suspected was the name of a girlfriend—a blonde dancer, Ms Teddie O'Neil. McCudden was notoriously private about this aspect of his life but it was suspected that he took her on unauthorised flights in the Scout since his log book recorded such escapades in April. He praised the qualities of his Scout even though he managed to survive two accidents in this aircraft on 29 April and 2 June. Concurrent with his tenure at Dover, his brother John also enrolled as a pilot pupil there. To avoid accusations of favouritism, he remained aloof from his brother which amused his senior officers who had guessed his intentions.

In late May and June he collected and experimented on the new Sopwith Pups which began to reach British units in January. He was impressed with the aircraft's agility and flew it often. During this period he met the now famous ace Albert Ball who advised him attack tactics against reconnaissance and bomber aircraft. Ball advised McCudden to fly underneath his target, in the blind spot of the observer, and angle his guns directly above then fire. McCudden was intrigued at the prospect and believed this offered a much better chance of shooting down an enemy aircraft. It is not clear if, or how often, McCudden implemented Ball's advice in battle and how many of his victories were claimed that way. McCudden's principal tactics did stress surprise and minimal risk.

It is known McCudden proved remarkably good at stalking tactics, which enabled him to get up underneath an opponent, pull down the wing gun and fire up into the German machine. The first the recipients would know of the attack was bullets coming up through the bottom of the fuselage of the aircraft, often causing death or injury, holing petrol tanks and crippling engines. The gun, being fed by a drum of ammunition, could also be reloaded in its pulled-down position, the pilot having two or more spare drums located in his cockpit.

This conversation coincided with the Gotha Raids in which German heavy bombers attacked London. He attempted interceptions against the high-flying machines and on 13 June finally got to within range of one. He fired but it swerved and resumed course. He chased the formation 21 miles (34 km) out to sea but could not get closer than 500 feet (160m). On 7 July he shot down the Gotha crewed by Leutnant Erwin Kollberg and Walter Aschoff (of bomber unit Bogohl 3). He damaged a second and narrowly avoided a collision with the machine as he flew by. On one raid a Gotha gunner's bullet struck his windshield. The raids continued and British aerial defences gained only a handful of successes against the Gothas.

Before returning to France, McCudden met with Frank Barnwell and Harold Barnwell, the sibling chief engineers at Vickers Limited, with whom he exchanged information on aircraft design and operations. The brothers gained a greater appreciation of the pilot's perspective. After watching him fly the F.B.9, the brothers were convinced of his skill and consequently McCudden was invited to fly several of their products. Among these machines was the Vickers F.B.16. McCudden claimed to have reached 136 mph (219 km/h) in the aircraft, describing it as a "nice bus". Other pilots noted it was faster than the French SPAD and the S.E.5. On the strength of this evaluation Vickers approached the War Office for front line use. It was not selected for production. McCudden believed the unavailability of the engine was a main factor in its rejection.

With 56 Squadron
In June he joined No. 66 Squadron RFC at Aire, equipped with the Sopwith Pup. He undertook a refresher course but his tenure there was unremarkable. He was ordered to fly with the group rather than fly solo patrols. He flew 47 hours in 66 Squadron and 21 patrols. He encountered the enemy six times but could not score. Finally on 21 and 26 July he shot down one Albatros D.V fighter for his 6–7th aerial victories.

He flew 13 different Pups while with the unit which meant he returned across the English Channel to collect new aircraft frequently. While collecting one from Rochester, England on 12 August 1917 a Gotha raid occurred and within 30 minutes he was flying at 17,000 feet over Herne Bay in an attempt to intercept them. Once more, he returned without success against the high-flying Gothas. After landing from the sortie he was informed he was to be transferred to the recently formed No. 56 Squadron which was winning a reputation as a very successful unit over the Western Front. The unit was equipped with the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 (S.E.5a) fighters which were among the most effective combat aircraft of the war and arguably the best designed British fighter of the conflict. It was heavily armed and very fast for its time. Along with the new fighter McCudden was eager to fly was the company he would be flying with. Albert Ball (44 victories), rising star Arthur Rhys-Davids (27) and McCudden's former pupil Geoffrey Hilton Bowman (32) were just some of the fighter aces who flew with the unit. Though Ball was killed in May 1917, he would fly and fight alongside Rhys-Davids, Bowman, Richard Maybery, Reginald Hoidge and Keith Muspratt.

This competitive group would spur McCudden to increase his score. 56's commanding officer, Major Richard Bloomfield noticed McCudden's leadership qualities and had hoped he could help turn the unit into an effective fighting team. At present the pilots, though talented, performed more as individuals. After flying for the first time with them Bloomfield promised to have him allocated to a position of Flight Commander. He formally took command of B flight on 14 August.

McCudden brought his substantial technical knowledge to 56 Squadron. He frequently inspected his flight's aircraft, expecting a high standard of mechanical refinement. He believed the finer the aircraft could be tuned the less likelihood there would be of losing pilots to structural or mechanical failures, which at that time were the cause of many fatalities among aircrew. Force-landings were rarely fatal owing to the low-landing speeds but the prospect of coming down behind enemy lines—especially since the RFC was adopting an offensive stance—was an undesirable prospect. Alex J. Gray, Air Mechanic First Class, 56 Squadron: "When McCudden came to No. 56 he certainly kept us on our toes to begin with. In the first few weeks he tried out just about every fitter in the flight, and none of them seemed to please him. Finally Corporal Tom Rogers and myself were detailed as his fitters and Corporal Bert Card as the rigger, and from that day on we formed a great friendship with him."

Victories 8–57
On 31 July the Third Battle of Ypres began and the unit was heavily involved. 56 was tasked with air superiority operations to allow RFC bomber and reconnaissance units to operate with relative freedom. The Germans had adopted a defensive stratagem of massing their aircraft, now increasingly outnumbered, at critical points of the front. Their units were also a collection of highly successful aces. The S.E.5s engaged in battle with the German fighters throughout the summer.

On 18 August 1917 McCudden scored his first victory as an official member of 56 Squadron over an Albatros D.V. Another the following day and two on 20 August raised his tally from 7 to 11 victories. He was pleased with his success but berated the armourers for the frequent gun-stoppages. Over the next four weeks his machine suffered engine difficulties and gun-jams. He could only claim damaged enemy aircraft and once suffered a galling experience when the DFW C.V reconnaissance he was attacking holed his engine while his guns jammed. It had to be sent for major repairs. He received a new fighter, B4863, which then became his regular mount.

McCudden was determined his machine would remain in first-class fighting order. He spent three days working with his fitters and armourers, stripping down the Vickers gun's synchronising gear, firing at the butts and making eight test flights shooting at ground targets. His armourers joked that his guns would never work in the air if he wore them out on the ground. He continued to experience jams and his unclaimed victim of 14 September 1917—Ernst Wiegand—was able to escape and crash-land wounded in German territory thanks to another stoppage. Since his crash was not witnessed his claim went uncredited.

On 19 September he attacked a Rumpler C.IV which he drove down to 1,000 feet and saw camera and photographic plates fall from the machine as it took violent evasive action. He abandoned the chase and spotted another. This time he attacked from the sun and from behind and below. His Lewis gun stopped after one round but his Vickers fired 60 rounds and the Rumpler crashed behind enemy lines. Other pilots and gunners on the line confirmed the kill. A DFW C.V followed on 23 September—his 13th victory.

After this victory his flight engaged a Fokker Dr.I flown by the 48-victory ace Werner Voss and an Albatros piloted by Carl Menckhoff. Voss, aided by the frequent jams of his opponents' guns, avoided being hit and drove two S.E.5's out of the fight before being fatally hit by Rhys-Davids. McCudden's account of this fight has become famous:

"He was very low ... still being engaged by an SE ... the pilot being Rhys-Davids. I noticed the triplane's movements were very erratic ... I saw him go into a steep dive ... and then saw the triplane hit the ground and disappear into a thousand fragments.

As long as I live I shall never forget my admiration for that German pilot, who single-handed fought seven of us for ten minutes and also put some bullets through all our machines. His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent, and in my opinion he was the bravest German airman whom it has been my privilege to see fight."

Over the course of September and October McCudden added five victories including a LVG C.V on 26 September, raising his tally from 13 to 18. On 6 October he was awarded the Bar to his Military Cross. Another five in November brought his tally to 23. His method of diving behind and under the enemy machines before firing was working particularly well.

In December he downed another 14 enemies for victory numbers 24–37 including several during the Battle of Cambrai. His successes included four on 23 December, three on 28th and two on the 29th. In December 1917 he received the Distinguished Service Order and a Bar He received two congratulatory messages from AOC RFC Hugh Trenchard on 6 and 12 December:"Well done. You are splendid. Your work lately has been of the finest."

McCudden had hardened to the realities of aerial combat by this time and revelled in his own success. He appeared to have limited empathy for his opponents, most of whom did not survive his attacks. On 24 January, after claiming his 43rd air victory, he remarked:"This D.F.W crew deserved to die, because they had no notion whatever of how to defend themselves, which showed that during their training they must have been slack, and lazy, and probably liked going to Berlin too often instead of sticking to their training and learning as much as they could while they had the opportunity. I had no sympathy for those fellows, and that it the mental estimate which I formed of them while flying back to my aerodrome to report the destruction of my 43rd aerial victory."

McCudden was now closing in on the tally of Albert Ball who was credited with 44 enemy aircraft. A further nine in January 1918 elevated his tally from 37 to 46. In February, 11 aircraft brought his tally to 57—four fell on the 16th. After achieving his 57th he probably downed a 58th—a Hannover CL.III—but it went down over enemy lines under control as McCudden's guns seized having already fired 300 rounds at his first victim.

By this stage McCudden was suffering from combat fatigue. It manifested itself in his decisions, of late, to seek a victory at any price, which was alien to his normal, calculated approach to combat. Knowing he was to soon be sent home, he was obsessed with catching up to von Richthofen's score. His contribution to 56 Squadron at this time was impressive; the unit had claimed 175 enemy aircraft while reporting 14 pilots killed and missing and seven captured. As Flight Commander, B Flight, McCudden's pilots had shot down 77–52 of which were his—while losing four pilots. To celebrate his success he dined with Brigadier General John Higgins and the following evening was invited to the headquarters of General Julian Byng, General Officer Commanding the British Third Army, to be personally congratulated.

McCudden was soon rotated home on 5 March. More than 50 officers gathered for a formal farewell dinner and they presented him with a silver model of his S.E.5A on 4 March. McCudden would not see action again. In the remaining eight months of the war, only British pilots Billy Bishop (72) and Mick Mannock (61) and Raymond Collishaw (60) would surpass his total while serving with the RFC (and later the Royal Air Force—RAF). Ernst Udet (62) René Fonck (75) and Manfred von Richthofen (80) were the only foreign pilots to beat McCudden's total.

Modified S.E.5a
McCudden's long-term interest in mechanics prompted him to modify his own aircraft to increase combat performance. He made a series of modifications to his aircraft which caused them to excel in performance in comparison to any other S.E.5 at the front and perhaps any other German fighter available at the time. Performance, a generic term, required improvements in all-round capability. McCudden's changes were made with one main objective in mind: high-altitude performance. He had achieved some success without these personal experiments. On 23 December 1917, for example, he intercepted an enemy aircraft at 18,000 feet and drove it down to 8,000 feet before shooting it down for his 30th victory. Incidentally, he was nearly killed in action when one of the wings broke away from his victim and nearly struck his own aircraft.

McCudden had always found it difficult to intercept high-flying German reconnaissance aircraft. The latest Rumpler C.VII which had entered service proved particularly elusive. With a 240 horse power engine, it could reach 24,000 feet and was thus beyond the reach of any prospective adversary. The average S.E.5, at that point, could reach only 17,000 feet. While most pilots were prepared to accept this tactical-technological situation, McCudden was not.

Through an as yet unspecified channel, he obtained high compression pistons used in the latest Hispano-Suiza 8 or V8 engine and fitted them to his power plant. It delivered revolutions at a much faster rate on the test bench. He removed any excess weight by shortening the exhaust pipes by several feet. He also added a spinner from a captured enemy aircraft which he believed added an extra 3 mph to his speed while also reducing the wing dihedral to increase agility.

A final alteration was to fit a simpler shutter (radiator vent) which had the object of warming the cockpit by directing heat from the engine. For McCudden this aspect was very important. At high altitude McCudden was to spend long periods of time in an extremely chilly environment. Operating the D.H.2 in 1916, he suffered terrible agonies as adequate blood circulation returned to his muscles once he reached terra firma. McCudden reported few general side-effects from high flight. Dizziness was a feature but he put this down to the cold rather than any form of anoxia. High altitude oxygen was too thin for humans which induced breathlessness. Aviation medicine was still in its infancy meaning pilots were left to solve operational problems themselves. Only the high-altitude bombers were equipped with oxygen equipment to assist with breathing. Despite his circulation difficulties, McCudden proved remarkably resistant to the effects of high altitude flying without oxygen.

The results of these personal modifications mostly went unrecorded. It is believed he achieved a height of 10,000 feet in nine minutes, curtailing the standard time by some five minutes. It was perhaps on exaggeration but no record remains to certify what McCudden did. He did note the maximum ground-level speed as 135 mph in his log book. He achieved these feats with the limited resources of a front-line squadron and without any official assistance.

Eager to test the modifications, he began operations on 28 January 1918. Until 16 February when 8491 was submitted for repair, he claimed his 45–50th aerial victories, the last at 11:30 on that date. His last victory that day was scored in another machine.

War hero
Unlike the German and French governments, the War Office had been reluctant to identify individual soldiers and aces for propaganda and public consumption, the most notable exception being Albert Ball. However, from December 1917 Viscount Northcliffe, the proprietor of the Daily Mail newspaper was appointed to the Ministry of Information. Northcliffe was an enthusiast for aviation. He campaigned for "air mindedness", when aircraft began to make technological headway and the nation, now facing the existence and efficiency of airships which could circumvent the North Sea and English Channel, was now increasingly concerned about aerial bombardment. Northcliffe supported the creation of the Air League and the Aerial League of the British Empire, a pressure group designed to impress upon a lethargic government the promising and threatening nature of aerial vehicles.

As head of the Ministry and Daily Mail, he felt an opportunity was being missed, and so ran a campaign in his publications to name outstanding individual combatants. On 3 January 1918 he ran a story in the Daily Mail under the headline "Our Unknown Air Heroes", which focused primarily on McCudden. In the front page segment it read: "What I want to know is why an Englishman whose hobby is bringing down sky Huns in braces and trios between luncheon and tea, who can already claim a bag of 30 enemy aircraft, should have to wait and be killed before a grateful nation waiting to acclaim him could even learn his name? I wonder if people in England realize that the German Air Service is the most popular and feted branch of the Kaiser's war machine because German authorities have imagination enough to exploit its personal side? How many people in these islands can name as many British airmen there are fingers on one hand?"

The campaign was an instant success. The Daily Chronicle echoed these sentiments with "Young Lionheart of the Air". On 7 January the Daily Mail ran the story "Our Wonderful Airmen—Their names at Last." The article was accompanied by a large photograph of McCudden and other pilots. Thereafter exploits of British airmen were routinely published. McCudden loathed the attention. In a letter to his father the following day he believed such "bosh" and hero worship would make him an unpopular figure in the RFC and with his comrades.

He was thankful to be posted to the No. 1 School of Aerial Fighting at Ayr in Scotland, where he flew the excellent performing Sopwith Snipe. It was in Scotland that he learned of the death of his brother, apparently shot down by the German ace Hans Wolff on 19 March. He wrote to his brother's commanding officer, Sholto Douglas asking for any news but understanding the Major's attention was now fixed on the German spring offensive. His death depressed McCudden greatly.

The same month he returned home, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry. The letter from Trenchard confirming the King had bestowed this honour upon him was dated 30 March 1918. The award was gazetted on 29 March and the details were published on 2 April 1918. Shying away from this publicity, McCudden did not even tell his family of his attendance at Buckingham Palace on 6 April to receive his Victoria Cross from King George V and promotion to major. While on leave in London, he socialised a great deal with his friend Mick Mannock. He met C. G. Grey owner of The Aeroplane weeks later who offered to help McCudden finish his manuscript for his biography, Flying Fury, due for publication that year. McCudden accepted. Now famous, he also had his portrait painted by the known artist William Orpen.

Death
McCudden remained in England until July 1918 when he was given command of No. 60 Squadron RAF. He flew to Farnborough in a Vickers F.B.16 to collect his new Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a before returning to France to lead his new Squadron. On 3 July he flew back in this fighter and over his home in Kingston upon Thames, taking the aircraft to 17,000 feet and circling London for an hour. When he landed, he made his last entry into his log book. His total flying time had reached 872 hours and 40 minutes.

On the morning of 9 July 1918 he travelled to the home of his fiancée, Miss Alex-Tweedie in Whitehall Court. Tweedie recalled their conversation revolved around his new posting and his book. He had delivered the manuscript to Grey two days earlier, and was expecting its publication. While there, McCudden promised to surpass von Richthofen, who had been killed in action on 21 April 1918. In view of what happened to von Richthofen and John McCudden, he promised that "I won't bustle, or do anything foolish like my brother". He then went next door, and had breakfast with his sister Mary. Upon leaving, he fumbled around in his pocket and handed her a bulky envelope containing his Victoria Cross and other decorations. He took his leave of her and drove to Hounslow, where he climbed into his S.E.5a (C1126). He took off shortly after 13:00. McCudden certainly stopped en route, since about six o'clock that afternoon he called the AOC No. 13 Wing, Patrick Playfair, to announce his imminent arrival at Boffles, where No. 60 Squadron was stationed.

McCudden set out across the English Channel. Unsure of the dispositions on the ground after the German advance, he checked the airfield he suspected to be Boffles but found it empty. Flying in heavy mist he decided to head to Auxi-le-Château, France, to get directions from the RAF personnel stationed there. He approached Corporal W .H. Burdett and L. E. Vallins of 52 Squadron. Burdett had served with McCudden in 3 Squadron back in 1915. Burdett did not recognise him in his flying gear. They marked his map, and McCudden returned to his machine. Around 90 seconds after takeoff from Auxi-le-Château, the S.E.5a plunged into the ground. 8 Squadron's Corporal W. H. Howard was on the scene within minutes and fought through the fire to free McCudden who was lying next to one of the wings—he had not worn his safety belt. Burdett followed and recognised the pilot as soon as his headgear had been removed. He was taken to No. 21 Casualty clearing station and diagnosed with a fractured skull. He did not regain consciousness, and died at 20:00.

Corporal Burdett later stated, "When McCudden took off he put the machine into a nearly vertical climb, seemed to do a half-roll and then nosed dived into a wood... it was usual for scout pilots to perform some little stunt... I think that is what he was doing." Witness Lieutenant L. M. Fenton had a different view, "the aircraft took off into wind and at about 100 feet did a vertical turn and flew back across the aerodrome by the side of the wood. The engine appeared to be running badly. The pilot rolled the machine, which failed to straighten out, at approximately 200 feet. It crashed nose down into the wood." Lieutenant E.M Greenwood stated he thought the crash was the result of a failed aerobatic manoeuvre: "I was watching an S.E.5 flying over the aerodrome at about 200 feet, when it did one complete roll to the right, then dived steeply to the ground behind the trees." Lieutenant K. V. King believed a similar thing: "[It flew]... very low over the aerodrome, going east towards the wood on the south-east side of the aerodrome. He had apparently been rolling. I saw him nose down and engine off entering the trees and immediately afterwards heard a crash." Lieutenant T. H. Barry, though supports the notion that something was amiss with the engine: "I saw an S.E.5 flying from west to east across the aerodrome at 200–300 feet. The engine was firing irregularly. Just after crossing the end of the aerodrome the pilot did a sharp stalling turn. The nose dropped and it dived behind the trees. During this dive the noise of the engine ceased."

Usually reports were issued on any incident with every aircraft. On the date McCudden died, 29 such returns exist for S.E.5s but the report pertaining to his accident is not among them leaving the official cause of the crash unexplained. It is possible the engine failed due to a wrongly installed carburettor. However, there is some doubt as to whether a mechanical defect was the culprit. The witnesses reported the pilot was attempting low-level stunts, manifesting in several turns and rolls. Many years later other witnesses disputed the aircraft performed a roll, but all agreed the trouble began when the machine entered an attitude resembling a near-vertical turn.

McCudden's remains were subsequently buried at the nearby Wavans war cemetery in the Pas de Calais. McCudden's death occurred only two months after the death of German ace Manfred von Richthofen, whom some commented had been honoured with a longer and more elaborate funeral by the British. McCudden's wartime score was 57 victories included 19 captured, 27 and 1 shared destroyed, 8 and 2 shared "down out of control"—an official classification which still counted the claim as a victory.

Relics and memorial
On the morning of 9 July, McCudden had handed his sister an envelope over breakfast, which was subsequently found to contain all of his medals. Today all of McCudden's medals including his Victoria Cross are displayed at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent, alongside those of two of his brothers and his father. The original brass engraved grave plaque used, along with a wooden propeller, are also displayed. The shattered windscreen from McCudden's crashed S.E.5a is preserved in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. The museum's collections also include McCudden's uniform 'maternity jacket' and a half-length portrait of McCudden by William Orpen. In March 2009, McCudden and his contemporary Edward Mannock, were the subjects of the BBC Timewatch episode, WWI Aces Falling.

List of victories
A complete list of the 58 claims by McCudden and the 57 credited to him.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: James McCudden


text:
File:VCJamesLeach.jpg

Photo of Victoria Cross recipient James Leach, migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference site with permission. Photo submitted by Bill Norman.

title: File:VCJamesLeach.jpg


text:
Commodore Cochran

Commodore Shelton "Com" Cochran (January 20, 1902 – January 3, 1969) was an American athlete, winner of a gold medal in 4 × 400 m relay at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

He was born in Mississippi and died in San Francisco, California.

As a Mississippi State University student, Commodore Cochran won the NCAA championships in 440-yard dash in 1922 and 1923.

At the Paris Olympics, Cochran ran the opening leg in American 4 × 400 m relay team, which won the gold medal with a new world record of 3.16.0.

After his running career, Cochran coached his younger brother Roy Cochran, who won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics.

title: Commodore Cochran


text:
James Munro (soldier)

James Munro (11 October 1826 – 5 February 1871) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

He was 20 when he joined up, and by 1854 he was a sergeant serving in the Crimean War. Eighteen months later, his regiment went to India and in 1857 Munro was promoted to colour sergeant.

James Munro received his medal from Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in 1860, two years after he was discharged due to illness caused by his wounds.

Details
Munro was about 30 years old, and a colour-sergeant in the 93rd Regiment of Foot (Sutherland Highlanders), British Army during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place on 16 November 1857 at the Lucknow, India for which he was awarded the VC: "For devoted gallantry, at Secunderabagh, on the 16th November, 1857, in having promptly rushed to the rescue of Captain E. Walsh, of the same corps, when wounded, and in danger of his life, whom he carried to a place of comparative safety, to which place the Serjeant was brought in, very shortly afterwards, badly wounded."

The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum, Stirling Castle, Scotland.

title: James Munro (soldier)


text:
Talk:Rafael del Riego

Untitled
According to Great Soviet Encyclopedia he was born 24 November 1785. --.:Ajvol:. 10:06, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

See:
 * http://www.google.com/search?q=Rafael+del+Riego+1784
 * http://www.google.com/search?q=Rafael+del+Riego+1785

Santa María de Tuñas
Apparently the modern name of the town is Tuña. I don't know whether to change it in the article or not. —Muke Tever 22:29, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Arquillos
Rafael Riego was taken prisioner in a "cortijo" near of the village of Arquillos, not Anquillas

 * Perhaps the " Santa Maria de Tuñas (now Tuña) " or " Santa Maria de Tuñas " could be used..? [[User:Halibutt|Halibutt]] 08:38, Nov 30, 2004 (UTC)

title: Talk:Rafael del Riego


text:
James Miller (VC 1916)

James Miller VC (4 May 1890 – 31 July 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Miller was 26 years old, and a private in the 7th Battalion, The King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment, British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place on 30/31 July 1916 at Bazentin-le-Petit, France for which he was awarded the VC:

"For most conspicuous bravery. His battalion was consolidating a position after its capture by assault. Private Miller was ordered to take an important message under heavy shell and rifle fire and to bring back a reply at all costs. He was compelled to cross the open, and on leaving the trench was shot almost immediately in the back, the bullet coming out through his abdomen. In spite of this, with heroic courage and self-sacrifice, he compressed with his hand the gaping wound in his abdomen, delivered his message, staggered back with the answer, and fell at the feet of the officer to whom he delivered it. He gave his life with a supreme devotion to duty."

His Victoria Cross is displayed at The King's Own Royal (Lancaster) Regiment Museum, Lancaster, England. A memorial stands in Withnell churchyard in the town where he worked as a paper mill worker.

title: James Miller (VC 1916)


text:
William Johnstone Milne

William Johnstone Milne VC (21 December 1892 – 9 April 1917) was a First World War Canadian soldier. Milne was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He received the VC for his actions at the Battle of Vimy Ridge on 9 April 1917.

Details
Milne was born on 21 December 1892 in Scotland and moved to Canada in 1910. He worked on a farm near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan before joining the army in September 1915.

Milne was 24 years old and a private in the 16th (The Canadian Scottish) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force on 9 April 1917 near Thelus, France, during the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where his actions led to the award of the Victoria Cross.

His citation reads: "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack. On approaching the first objective, Pte. Milne observed an enemy machine gun firing on our advancing troops. Crawling on hands and knees, he succeeded in reaching the gun, killing the crew with bombs, and capturing the gun. On the line re-forming, he again located a machine gun in the support line, and stalking this second gun as he had done the first, he succeeded in putting the crew out of action and capturing the gun. His wonderful bravery and resource on these two occasions undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his comrades. Pte. Milne was killed shortly after capturing the second gun."

Four soldiers earned the Victoria Cross in the Battle of Vimy Ridge; the others were Thain Wendell MacDowell, Ellis Wellwood Sifton and John George Pattison.

Milne's body was never found. He is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial.

The medal
Milne's Victoria Cross is in the collection of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

title: William Johnstone Milne


text:
Talk:Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles

Early discussion
It's good to see some else has also found the Baldwin Hills article and is working on improving it. I just found it yesterday, but was trying to do some research before doing any editing. The bit about LA being racially integrated, for example, doesn't belong in this article since it is about LA, and is balderdash anyway. It wasn't until 1964 (?) that the California Supreme Court struck down covenants on the deeds of property that said no purchases by Blacks, Mexicans, Jews and/or Catholics. LA has always been relatively ethnically diverse, but it has been a mosaic, rather than being intergrated.

I am still trying to determine some sensible boundary for Baldwin Hills. LA County has an unincorporated area they call Baldwin Hills (see ) that is next to Ladera Heights and Windsor Hills, but the City of Los Angeles also calls a section of the city they call Baldwin Hills as part of the West Adam - Baldwin Hills - Leimert Community Plan (see ). The LA City part of Baldwin Hills I had assumed was the triangular area between the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza and the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area--an area one website called "the Dons" because of all the streets that begin with Don, such as Don Lorenzo Drive. On the other hand, LA City's Baldwin Hills Recreation Center is near the intersection of La Cienega and Jefferson.

I also haven't been able to find any good history for the area on the internet, so it looks like a visit to the library might be required (or perhaps even a visit to the California African American Museum. gK [[User talk:GK|¿?]] 09:54, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * whew - I'm glad there are many hands working on this one. Baldwin Hills deserves a good article. You can tell I bailed out on defining the boundaries. The grim truth about L.A. is that the realtor-shorthand for neighborhoods is zipcodes, and also now neighborhood councils. So many overlapping boundaries! There may be old census data on the past integration of neighborhoods - that'd be interesting! The B.H. Village is a National Historic Site. - need to work that in.Willmcw 10:07, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * I've been poking around various topics related to the Los Angeles area in the last few days, and so many of the articles are a mess. Some of them are horribly inadequate stubs, others are ladden with POV, too many are just poorly written, some need better organization, and even a few have the facts wrong. There are plenty of people editing the LA area articles, but I think that there could be some better organization, and I've have started thinking that what might be needed is a WikiProject Los Angeles.

 * User:Jengod has worked on the L.A. neighborhoods, and might be able to offer suggestions or help. I'm sure I'd contribute - though I sometimes feel guilty lavishing attention on L.A. when some other deserving localities have even greater needs. Willmcw 23:07, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I don't understand why this has been moved back to Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California from Baldwin Hills, California. Since there are both LA County and LA City neighborhoods that are called Baldwin Hills, isn't it better to use the more general, rather than the more specific designation as the primary title?

Also: Baldwin Hills is named after "Lucky Baldwin", who apparently was quite a character and deserves his own Wikipedia article (see ). gK [[User talk:GK|¿?]] 07:00, 4 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Radumas (talk) 15:26, 4 June 2012 (UTC) I note the narrative places the 1932 Olympic Village in Baldwin Hills. That location is actually what is now View Park, hence the main avenue named "Olympiad".

Would a place that is 80% white be described as "highly diverse"?
Baldwin Hills is not highly ethnically diverse, it's highly monoethnic. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:6F:8E04:9701:21E:C2FF:FEAC:D9E8 (talk) 13:48, 27 November 2014 (UTC)

Racial covenant court cases
1948 is indeed the watershed year in many cities' history for desegregation because SCOTUS, in its ruling on Shelley v. Kraemer, barred state enforcement of segregation covenants. While a white family could still refuse to sell to a black homeowner until 1964, Shelley essentially froze enforcement of deed covenants. As most of you are well aware, I'm sure, "block-busting" (and resulting white flight) started well before 1964 in most American cities. See JimCrowHistory.org for more details.

 * Is there a direct tie-in with the history of Baldwin Hills? Was it under restrictive covenants? Thanks -Willmcw 06:41, May 24, 2005 (UTC)

 * Indeed there is, given the above comments--there wasn't a neighborhood south of the 10 and east of the 405 that wasn't experiencing at least the beginning stages of white flight by 1964, when the official ban on segregation covenants came down. Restrictive covenants were the norm in pretty much every residential development in Los Angeles until that time.

 * So should this go into the History of Los Angeles, California? -Willmcw 20:24, May 26, 2005 (UTC)

I don't think there's any part of Baldwin Hills that's not African-American majority. The Village Green may have more whites than other areas of Baldwin Hills but it's definitely black majority. The closest area to Baldwin Hills with a large number of whites would be Culver City (which is merely white plurality not white majority)71.106.209.163 (talk) 08:17, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Baldwin Hills Dam Disaster, 1963
The article at present has a paragraph on the 1963 dam disaster. I was going to improve it with additional material, but on reflection I think it deserves its own article. Unless there are really convincing objections, I plan to do that, and replace the dam disaster paragraph with a sentence and reference to the separate article. I also plan to confirm the source of the dam photos, to meet Wikipedia image status requirements, and then move them to the new article. (I lived in Baldwin Hills from 1960-1964, and was there for the dam disaster - we evacuated to a relative's house, and ours turned out to be undamaged.) If I can find some original photos my parents and I took they can be scanned and contributed. --MCB 22:57, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

I removed the following sentence, which had a fact tag; a day of searching (latimes.com,jstor, lexis-, etc) produced nothing to back it up. It seems quite likely to be true, however, so I am placing it here while I continue searching. Jlittlet 17:47, 26 May 2007 (UTC)

Planned city (category)
I removed from the article. Baldwin Hills was not a planned city; the vast majority of it is simply an ordinary urban residential neighborhood. The only "planned" aspect would be the Village Green development, which was innovative in its design, but (1) it's a small part of Baldwin Hills as a whole, and (2) it is not at all a true planned city in that it is only a housing development, and lacks commercial, retail, office, or industrial districts. MCB 21:00, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

I have heard, but cannot verify, that a portion of Baldwin Hills was built as part of the athlete's accommodations for the 1932 Olympics, then converted to residences afterward, by Mr. Baldwin. I wonder if this is an urban myth? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.168.70.193 (talk) 04:31, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

I heard the same, from my father, who in 1932 lived near Highland and Olympic and was age 8. Also the houses on Sycamore (south of Coliseum and all in that same development) were on relatively large lots. The developer ran low on funds, so had to build the houses smaller than planned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Benreaves (talk • contribs) 04:44, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

Link Correction
Made a change on the link of the official Baldwin Hills TV series. BET has changed the link.

208.71.72.2 15:58, 30 August 2007 (UTC)dystaniearl is soo sexyyour #1fan

The Jungle???
I lived the first 12 years of my life (born '74) in Baldwin Hills. My father lives there still in a house that was a survivor of the Dam burst. I grew up knowing a portion of the area as 'The Jungle' but the reasons given by those who used the expression has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with vegetation. On the contrary, I'm inclined to believe that this is a 'prettying up' of the history of the area. I was told that The Jungle was specifically the area of multi-family dwellings that had gradually come to have iron bars retrofitted over all the windows and locking steel bar doors in front of the doors. These dwellings were called crack-houses by my neighbors, and the area 'The Jungle' (as in Concrete Jungle) because the police were very reluctant to enter the area because it was so dangerous. I was routinely woken up by helicopters flying search overhead, and occasionally heard gunfire from that direction and even one day found a stray bullet that must have been a wild shot into the air embedded in the surface of the trampoline in our back yard.

On the contrary, there was almost no vegetation that I recall in the area I knew as 'The Jungle'... there was lots up on the hills near the dam, but little in the 'The Jungle'.

The Village Green of course was very verdant, but of course, it would be... there was a golf course in the center.

I have not been there in over 2 decades now, and so things may have changed, but, from a historical perspective, I think the explanation given for the epithet is bunk.

I won't make the edits as my information is that of anecdotes I heard 21 or more years ago, but if anyone else can confirm this with more solid information, then the article should be altered. --Thistledowne (talk) 05:25, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

I grew up in Baldwin Hills from 1957, and I can verify the fact that "The Jungle" has nothing to do with vegetation. It was, and remains, a dense area of inexpensive apartments with only nominal amounts of landscaping. "The Jungle" is definitely an urban epithet, and the area was not even referred to by that term until the 70's. I experienced the Baldwin Hills Dam Disaster personally, and could tell a few stories and give lots of facts if anybody is interested. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.168.70.193 (talk) 04:28, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

I grew up 1960-1970 on Sycamore in Baldwin Hills, and I remember it was called "the Jungle" as a metaphor for a dangerous area where one should not go, especially after dark. Village Green was not included. South of Coliseum was also not included. --Benreaves (talk) 04:54, 25 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Memory is funny, ain't it? I didn't grow up in "Baldwin Hills", I grew up in the Jungle itself, living there from the early 1960s until the late 1970s, minus time away at college. And yes, it certainly was initially called "The Jungle" because of lush, Japanese-style landscaping surrounding the apartment building exteriors and the pools within: Nearly every building had a swimming pool, most had cutesy names blazoned above the entry (like "Nicolet Arms" and "August Manor"), multi-colored floodlights illuminated the path from door to curb, kids weren't usually welcome because these were mostly 1 or 2 bedroom, poolside apartments for adults rather than for families (I was big, so Mom lied about my age and slipped some bills where they did some good), the buildings were ultra-modern in style, no two looked alike, and the Baldwin Theater was considered a state-of-the-art cinema. What you remember is what it became like after about 1970, by which time families had crowded in, the last whites (mostly Jewish: I remember most doors had mezuzahs and there were as many synagogues in the area as churches) moved West if they could afford it, to the Valley or Inland Empire if they couldn't, and the neighborhood became predominantly black before I started high school. Only after white flight turned the Jungle dark did the streets and alleys became shops for drugs and turf over which Bloods and Crips waged war. When my family moved in we were among the first blacks to do so (because most declined, quite politely, to rent to "colored"), but my Mom was determined to send me to Audubon, the racially integrated junior high off of Santa Barbara (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard). No, they weren't the single-family homes across La Brea in post-dam Baldwin Vista, nor the cordoned-off, multi-racial community that the Village Green preserved, still less the multi-level mansions occupied by mostly black professionals directly above and behind us in the "Don" streets of Baldwin Hills. But, yes, I say again it really was called "The Jungle" because it was once densely beautiful with semi-tropical foliage, we kids walked after dark across Coliseum Street to the theater to see "Mary Poppins" and, forebodingly, West Side Story, neighbors kept only their screen doors shut, shouted for friends to come outdoors to share barbecue, sat around the pools on weekends under giant umbrellas, and it was -- for one, brief, shining moment -- a little, multi-ethnic Paradise. Come the early 70s and the vast windows were crisscrossed with metal bars, while the pools got boarded over. By the mid-70s the landscaping was gone: hordes of kids overran the lawns, trees were trimmed back to increase visibility and safety, and landlords would no longer spend money for the painstaking gardeners who had tended each building when they were built. Repairs were done cheaply if at all, Section 8 families moved straight from the projects of Jordan Downs into the Jungle -- which was a giant step up to the "Westside" for them. Crack moved in, ice cream trucks shooed children away, and old folks tried to move out. The school buddy who had once run away from his home north of Olympic to mine when we were in junior high got mugged coming to visit me during college vacation. Still, I say that I grew up "in the Jungle" -- there was no such place as Baldwin Village. I don't deny the truth of your memories there. Please don't try to take away mine. Both are reality, and what each of us saw just depended on which side of the railroad track we were looking from. PlayCuz (talk) 12:21, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Just found this comment online to a 2009 L.A. Times profile on Baldwin Hills:
 * "I lived at the top of Baldwin Hills from 1953-1968. For what it's worth, our neighbors two doors up were black. And there were others. Also, I have understood, since I attended Baldwin Hills Elementary School and then Audubon, that when the flat part of BH was originally built, the developers followed the Southern California weather and planted date palms and royal palms and hibiscus and vines and and banana trees and most of the apartment buildings had in-gound swimming pools, at did the homes up the hills. View Park, too. Anyway, from the air, BH appeared lush and beautiful and tropical and then, 50 years ago, it was referred to as The Jungle. Because it was beautiful. I was there. — blacksheep March 3, 2011 at 12:47 p.m." Nice to read that my recollection of the Jungle (and the origin of its name) is shared by others -- and not only by fellow blacks. PlayCuz (talk) 23:53, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

Notable Residents
The multi-talented Elfman family, including Emmy Award winning author Blossom Elfman, and her sons, Acadamey Award nominated film composer Danny Elfman and his brother director Richard Elfman, grew up in Baldwin Hills. Also, Andy Lipkis, the founder of the L.A. based urban reforestation organization TreePeople, grew up there as well. We all attended Baldwin Hills Elementary School. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.168.70.193 (talk) 04:38, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
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Television
An addition to this section should include the reference made in Ep. 1.3 of "A Black Lady Sketch Show" 2603:8080:1040:22D:41E0:E29E:C7E4:A26B (talk) 18:24, 6 June 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles


text:
William Leet

Major-General William Knox-Leet VC CB (3 November 1833 in Dalkey, County Dublin – 29 June 1898), was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Victoria Cross
Leet was 45 years old, and a Major in the 1st Bn., 13th Regiment of Foot (later The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's)), British Army during the Anglo-Zulu War when the following deed took place on 28 March 1879 at Battle of Hlobane, Zululand, South Africa for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross: "For his gallant conduct, on the 28th March, 1879, in rescuing from the Zulus Lieutenant A. M. Smith, of the Frontier Light Horse, during the retreat from the Inhlobana. Lieutenant Smith whilst on foot, his horse having been shot, was closely pursued by the Zulus, and would have been killed had not Major Leet taken him upon his horse and rode with him, under the fire of the enemy, to a place of safety."

Later life
During the Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885–87), then-Colonel Knox-Leet commanded the Infantry's 2nd Battalion, of which 144 men lost their lives in battle. Their names are listed on the Burma Memorial in Taunton, Somersetshire. This was the 2nd Battalion's first operation. Knox-Leet was eventually promoted to Major General. He married Charlotte Elizabeth Anne Sherlock, a daughter of Thomas Henry Sherlock and Mary Catherine Kingston of Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. They had two sons, Bertie Fielding Knox Leet and Dudley Knox Leet. William retired in July 1887, died in Great Chart, Kent, on 29 June 1898. A memorial to him is in Great Chart Churchyard.

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Somerset Light Infantry Museum, located in Taunton, Somerset, England.

title: William Leet


text:
Albert Mountain

Albert Mountain VC (19 April 1897 – 7 January 1967) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross during the First World War, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Mountain won his VC while serving as a sergeant in the 15/17th Battalion, The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment), British Army. The citation for his VC reads:

On 26 March 1918 at Hamelincourt, France, when the situation was critical, Sergeant Mountain with a party of 10 men attacked an advance enemy patrol of about 200 strong with a Lewis gun, killing half of them. The sergeant then rallied his men in the face of overwhelming numbers of the main body of the enemy, to cover the retirement of the rest of the company – this party of one NCO and four men held at bay 600 of the enemy for half an hour. Sergeant Mountain later took command of the flank post of the battalion, holding on for 27 hours until finally surrounded.

He was also awarded the Croix de guerre and Médaille militaire (France). His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of Yorkshire Museum, York, England.

title: Albert Mountain


text:
Category talk:Bulgaria

Since in Bulgarian there is no distinction between city and town we need a formal criterion (like population limit) or just have to use only one of the categories. Now we have Pleven in towns and Nesebar in cities which is quite odd. --Nk 10:08, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Romania
Huh! Is Romania assigned to this category by mistake? --Cameltrader 19:49, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

title: Category talk:Bulgaria


text:
Talk:Factorial prime

Finite or infinite?
Is there any knowledge of whether there are a finite or infinite number of these primes? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.177.61.124 (talk) 10:09, 29 November 2004 (UTC)

 * Off the cuff, I couldn't find any source explicitly saying that there infinitely many factorial primes. But my feeling is, that is the case. Primorial primes figure in Euclid's proof of the infinity of primes, and perhaps this could be extended to cover factorial primes as well. PrimeFan 21:34, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

 * As far as I know, all we have in this matter are heuristic arguments, which strongly favor an infinitude of factorial primes. Euclid's proof of an infinitude of primes in fact does not use primorial primes, just primorials (which themselves are always composite after 2). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.70.71.47 (talk) 02:52, 22 May 2014 (UTC)

 * Here(PDF) is a preprint of a January 2002 paper by Chris Caldwell (maintainer of the Prime Pages) and Yves Gallot of UT Martin, On the Primality of n!±1 and 2×3×5×···×p±1, in which they conjecture that there are infinitely many factorial primes of both forms, with "the expected number of factorial primes of each of the forms n!±1 with n≤N are both asymptotic to eγlogN" (with γ the Euler–Mascheroni constant and "log" being the natural logarithm). -- ToE 17:29, 6 August 2017 (UTC)

Prime deserts
This is odd:

 * ... they sometimes signal the end or the beginning of an extraordinarily lengthy run of consecutive composite numbers. For example, the prime following 479,001,599 is 479,001,629.

Is a sequence of 29 consecutive composite numbers really "extraordinarily lengthy"? This isn't as good even as 1327 ... 1361! (33 consecutive composites between these) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.232.207.94 (talk) 02:20, 12 June 2005 (UTC)

 * The truth is, this is a POV, my opinion from a couple of years ago. Since then I've found far more interesting prime deserts, such as the example you mention. I should leave it to someone else to change that sentence. PrimeFan 22:45, 14 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Units and sets
Does it make sense to have an "argument" that 1 is not a prime? Whether or not 1 is prime is more a question of the definition of a prime, i.e. whether or not a unit is admissible as a prime or not. We normally exclude units from the set of primes, because to do otherwise would unnecessarily complicate the statements of a large number of theorems, including the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. The fact that "n!+p is composite when p is prime and <=n" is just one more example of a statement that is more simply stated when units are excluded from the set of primes -- but I would not say this is part of an "argument" that 1 is not prime. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.212.175.30 (talk) 19:42, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

 * I find the statement of n! + p far more concrete than any talk of "units" and "sets." PrimeFan 22:59, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Count for n! + 1 primes
For n = 0 and 1, the n! + 1 = 2 (only even prime number)

Shouldn't we count 21 primes for n! + 1 prime numbers as the resulting prime number is same (2) for both n = 0 and n = 1

OR is it like, we are counting 22 only because the values (0 and 1) differs irrespective of the fact that n! + 1 is same or not...

 * ✅ fixed. --Bill Cherowitzo (talk) 02:58, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

 * Thanks ! :-)

title: Talk:Factorial prime