C-4800

Photo of Bristol F2B, from the RAF Museum website

Nivelles Airfield

The squadron moved to Nivelles Airfield after the Armistice.

The photo above is from the Nivelles page on the Forgotten Airfields website.

Tails Up France

Interesting film about new Pilots completing their combat training, France 1918 Imperial War Museum

20th September 1918

Lt. Mahoney and his observer 2/Lt Keir fail to return from a patrol in their Bristol Fighter F2B (E-2260). They were last seen engaged in combat at 1100 hours over Roubaix.


They were both taken prisoner and were probably the victems of Leiut. Carl Degelow, Commanding Officer of Jasta 40. He claimed a BF at 1055 hours near Annappes.


Lt.Carl Degelow of Jasta 40

Information from Over The Front magazine

Sgt Francis Knox Irvine

I have finaly managed to identify one of the pilots that regularly appears in my Grandfathers photos. Named as Irvine or Jock, he appears a popular character with his arm around someone or with a pipe in his mouth in nearly every photo of him.

Malin, Doddy and Irvine (thanks to Trevor Henshaw for this photo)

I found his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate on ancestory.co.uk and from the photo there can be no mistake it is him, Sgt Francis Knox Irvine.


Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate Photo

I would like to try and find some more information on him, find out what he did after the war and so on. I obtained his service record from the PRO but that does not tell me much more.


My Grandfather and Irvine

Francis was born on the 13th November 1897 in Aberdeen.

On ancestory.com it appears that he married an Annie Milne, his parents were John Irvine and Elspet Jane Reid and he was the youngest of 4 sons (George, James and William). He was also named after his Grandfather Francis Knox Irvine (born 23/11/1837, died 1882).

Sgt Reginald White, Sgt Francis Irvine, Doddy

Edgar Mobbs

This postcard was included in the photos that Freddie Cunningham's nephew sent me. Freddie first enlisted into the army in Edgar Mobbs' 'D' Company, 7th Northampton Regiment. Edgar Mobbs' Company are legendary in my home town of Northampton. Edgar was the Captain of the town's Rugby team, the Northampton Saints. When the war started he went to enlist but was refused due to his age so he went and raised his own company of men to fight. The company was full of rugby players. Of the 400 who joined the company only 85 are ment to have survived the war. Legand has it that when the climbed out of the trenches Mobbs would kick a rugby ball towards the German trenches. Mobbs was killed at Passchendaele. Every year they have a memorial rugby match in the town in his memory and there are also monuments to him and the Company in the town centre and at the rugby ground. In the photo Edgar Mobbs is standing in the middle of the back row holding the rugby ball. The writting on the back of the postcard says that a number of officers from 'D' Company are in the team.

Plane Crash

This photo of a plane crash was included in the photos that Capt. Freddie Cunningham's nephew sent me. In the photo the serial number of the Bristol Fighter can be clearly seen in the photo D-7984 which should help identify when and how the crash occurred. I can't find the crash mentioned in the book The Sky Their Battlefield but I can find the plane mentioned in the 48 Squadron article in "Over the Front". One the 5th September 1918 Capt. H.A. Oaks and Lt. T. Beck were flying in this plane when they shot down two Fokkers .

The doesn't appear to be much damage on the plane, apart from the fact that it is upside down. I guess the pilot responsible for the crash is standing in front of the plane.