2Lt Harold Tom White, RFC and RE, died 27.2.17

[Guest Pete Wood]

Name: WHITE

Initials: H T

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Second Lieutenant

Regiment: Royal Flying Corps

Unit Text: "D" Sqdn. Central Flying School

Date of Death: 27/02/1917

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: 100.

Cemetery: WALTON AND WEYBRIDGE (WEYBRIDGE) CEMETERY

ODGW states:

Killed

Royal Engineers (TF)

The fact that Harold White was in D company means, according to a book I have called CFS Birthplace of air power (John W Taylor), that our man was just learning to fly. C and D Sqdns were the ab initio training.

At this stage of the war, I think that the trainees were still flying Shorthorns manufactured by Farman. This was not a stable aeroplane, and casualties were in the order of one pupil per day - with around 50 pilots per month surviving the course to get their wings.

The Shorthorn was replaced in 1917, but I don't know exactly when, by the Avro 504J which was a superb trainer.

I am guessing that our man probably died while flying one of the two mentioned aeroplanes.

There is an excellent article about pilot training on The Aerodrome website written by Michael Skeet which I strongly recommend.

The RFC was especially appealing to the dare-devil elements of the army, who would often get into trouble with their unit which would be only too glad to shunt them off to the Central Flying School at Upavon (on Salisbury plain, near Tidworth).

[Dolphin]

"Airmen Died" states that 2Lt H T White was flying DH2 A4994 when he was killed. Hence, he must have moved on from elementary flying training.

A photograph of a DH2 [unarmed] at the CFS is below:

[Doug Lewis]

I have a different date of death from CWGC, my copy of Royal Flying Corps Casualties and Honours published Aug 1917 has Harold Tom White's death as 1st March 1917.

Following entry-

Second Lieutenent Harold Tom White,R.F.C,aged 21 of Spencer Road Southsea,was killed while flying in Wiltshire on March 1st 1917. When at a height of about 800 feet he was seen to make a spiral descent to about 400 feet. After going straight for a short distance he turned sharply to the right,and the machine made a spinning nose-dive to earth. The pilot was killed instantaneously.

Regards Doug

[Guest Pete Wood]

Nice one, Dolphin. I really should get that book!

Slightly off-track, but the CFS book tells of an instructor who was at 3000ft when he saw a pupil below him go into a spin. The instructor watched as the plane, just before hitting the ground, flattened out (upside down) and landed on its top wing on the local golf course. The plane then tipped over - right way up.

A few seconds later, the pilot got out, walked to the front of the plane, swung the prop, started the engine, climbed back in and took off again to make a perfect landing back at the CFS.

The instructor landed close behind the pupil and asked him what had happened, while inspecting the aeroplane.

The pupil explained that he had blacked out and remembered nothing about the (crash) landing. When he regained consciousness, he realised he was on the golf course - which was out of bounds to aeroplanes. So he "started the engine and flew home."

Amazing.

The instructor noted that the frame of the aircraft was broken, and if the pilot had done anything except fly straight and level, the aeroplane would have fallen apart. It was subsequently written off.

Sadly it does not say who the pilot was, or what he was flying.....

[Guest Pete Wood]

Second Lieutenent Harold Tom White,R.F.C,aged 21 of Spencer Road Southsea,was killed while flying in Wiltshire on March 1st 1917.

Doug, Upavon (CFS) is in Wiltshire - so that makes sense.

I don't quite understand why he was buried in Weybridge, which is close to Brooklands, in Surrey, when his address is given as Southsea.....