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Remembered Today:

Sgt. J. Mason, M.M. 11 Squadron, R.F.C.


josquin

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Sgt. J. Mason was an observer with 11 Squadron who was awarded the Military Medal for bringing down

5 enemy aircraft from 8 June through 21 October 1917. His pilots were Richard Raymond-Barker and Ronald F.S. Mauduit.

Any information about Sgt. Mason will be gratefully received--prewar and postwar biography, forename, as well as service

details. Since award citations for the M.M. were not published in the London Gazette, I assume that the award may have

been forthcoming after Mason and Mauduit brought down 3 enemy aircraft on 21 October. I have been unable to match

the service number listed for his M.M. award with any of the service numbers in the Air 79 file at the National Archives,

hence all information you can provide will help to locate the correct record (if it is not at MOD).

Regards,

Trelawney

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LG 19 Nov 1917 gives him as Cpl. P/13911. I assume he was promoted to Sgt. after (or because of) the award.

Dave

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It also says that he as from Everton. He has his own stub on Wikipedia - it says that his forename was Jack, that he was born in Liverpool during 1896 and died in Belfast in 1968.

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His medal card is WO 372/23/141877 but this also gives P/13911

However, a Cpl J Mason was involved in a incident with 11Sq on 20.11.17, with Capt JCL Barnett as pilot in Bristol A7153, and his service number is given as 103364

The TNA helpfully list this as 'record not available'

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Thank you, all, for the very helpful information about Sergeant Mason. I had previously encountered the "record not available" roadblock at TNA,

so I am uncertain where to investigate further.

Best regards,

Trelawney

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It also says that he as from Everton. He has his own stub on Wikipedia - it says that his forename was Jack, that he was born in Liverpool during 1896 and died in Belfast in 1968.

It also says that he as from Everton. He has his own stub on Wikipedia - it says that his forename was Jack, that he was born in Liverpool during 1896 and died in Belfast in 1968.

It also says that he as from Everton. He has his own stub on Wikipedia - it says that his forename was Jack, that he was born in Liverpool during 1896 and died in Belfast in 1968.

Woollamc,

The Wikipedia entry is problematic with respect to the birth and death information. No sources I can access for U.K. or N. Ireland (birth registries, census,

christening records, and the like) confirm either the 1896 Liverpool birth or the 1968 death in Belfast. The Wiki stub provides no source for this information,

so the absence of the service record is telling in this instance. Does anyone have a SRB or operations log for 11 Squadron? Without additional

confirmation from civil or military records, I hesitate to consider any of the Wiki data as correct (forename & dates and places of birth and death).

One of the service records that IS available is for John Mason, born in June 1895, in Liverpool, who has an address (also his father's address) at

Everton. The record gives his 3 postings as 3rd Brigade, R.D., and a training squadron. He joined the Army in Sept. 1914 and the record says

his RFC transfer was in Sept. 1917--too late for the first E.A. in June, but perhaps the transfer date is an error. He ended the war a Sergeant, as well,

but the record does not list any gallantry awards. Something of a puzzle, then, unless a 11 Sqn. SRB or the service record emerges eventually.

Best regards,

Trelawney

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His medal card is WO 372/23/141877 but this also gives P/13911

However, a Cpl J Mason was involved in a incident with 11Sq on 20.11.17, with Capt JCL Barnett as pilot in Bristol A7153, and his service number is given as 103364

The TNA helpfully list this as 'record not available'

Nieuport,

I encountered the identical notification for # 103364 when I enquired last year, but I remain uncertain what it means (is it at the MOD for

records of airmen with substantial postwar RAF service, or was it simply weeded or otherwise misplaced?). Thank you for looking, however!

Best regards,

Trelawney

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This post has got me interested. It is apparent that Mason did not have a service number as listed above (1918 muster list) 13911 is claimed by another name and 103364 is missing from the list. However because 103364 is missing it may mean that he as an army transfer was re listed in the 400 series of numbers. There is a James Mason in Air 79 with service 402765 who has a trade as "aerial gunner" and became a sergeant. He also became proficient as an aerial gunner in June 1917! Although notes 35 sqn?

jamie

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This post has got me interested. It is apparent that Mason did not have a service number as listed above (1918 muster list) 13911 is claimed by another name and 103364 is missing from the list. However because 103364 is missing it may mean that he as an army transfer was re listed in the 400 series of numbers. There is a James Mason in Air 79 with service 402765 who has a trade as "aerial gunner" and became a sergeant. He also became proficient as an aerial gunner in June 1917! Although notes 35 sqn?

jamie

Jamie,

Yes, James Mason #402765 is one of two airmen I suspect may be the 11 Squadron observer. James Mason was born in November, 1895, at Mansfield,

Nottinghamshire, enlisted 20 October 1914 and served with the Nottingham & Derbyshire Regiment as a Private prior to his transfer to the R.F.C. 19 March 1917.

As you stated, the record lists 35 Sqn. but not 11 Sqn., and I cannot find a connection to Everton--when he enlisted he was a miner, with Sherwood Colliery Co., Ltd.,

of Mansfield, Notts. The other possibility is John Mason #402601, who was born at Liverpool, in June, 1895, and whose address (and his father's address) was

10 Reservoir St., Everton, Liverpool (this is significant because his Military Medal listing gives "Everton" as his town). He enlisted in the Army 12 Sept. 1914

(the RAF Muster Roll of Apr. 1918 also gives Sept. 1914 as his enlistment date) but his MIC only lists service in the R.F.C. & R.A.F. rather than any prior

regimental postings. His service record confirms that he was a 2/Air Mechanic, later promoted to Corporal & Serjeant and gives his postings as

3rd Brigade, R.D., and 86 Training Squadron. The numbers recorded in the service record are somewhat difficult to decipher, so I cannot determine

whether his R.F.C. transfer date was 12 Sept. 1914 or 1917--if it was the latter, perhaps he was attached to the R.F.C. a few months earlier (to account

for his first victory claim with 11 Sqn. on 8 June 1917). As you say, it is likely that Sgt. Mason was renumbered, possibly more than once, and this compounds

the difficulty of identifying the 11 Sqn. man. Thank you for your interest.

Best regards,

Trelawney

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To add info

James Mason (402,765) previous service number was 77,879 RFC

John Mason (402,601) was awarded an RFC, TFWM so would make his medal group if him very desirable and would also indicate no service abroad prior to 1916 but territorial service

jamie

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And Mason 77879 is shown on the nominal roll at Sept 1917 as aerial gunner with 35Sq,

but Mason 13911 is also shown on the same roll as being with 11Sq, so they appear to be different men

The 11Sq Mason is listed as being observer in a Bristol Fighter on 20.11.17 with number 103364 and also in a January 1918 nominal roll under number 1033464 [sic] as an aerial gunner (date of qualification 21.7.17)
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Jamie and Nieuport,

Thank you for the additional information. The nominal roll listings do indicate that James Mason 77879 and the 11 Sqn. Mason (103364) were

different men, so that excludes 77879 as a possibility. Now the possibilities appear to be 103364 and John Mason 402601, from Everton. Do

the nominal rolls list both 402601 and 103364, or just one? I am still attempting to determine if 103364 was renumbered later,

Trelawney

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As I understand it, the 400000 series was only started in September 1918 for RAF-Army transfers so unfortunately earlier rolls don't help eliminate the possibility of these numbers referring to the same man

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The RAF Muster Roll of April 1918 lists a number of J. Mason airmen, including 133361, 402601, and 402765--so, apparently the three were different men,

as of April 1918, at least. The roll listed 133361, but there was no 133364 among all the J Mason possibilities with one to three forenames. As you say,

Nieuport, the Army transfer renumbering occurred September 1918 and subsequently, so that does complicate matters, but the April 1918 roll does

indicate that 133361, 402601, and 402765 were all different men rather than an airman with one or more sequential service numbers. Looming larger,

then, is the likelihood that Sgt. Mason had sufficient postwar service with the RAF to cause his service record to be among those still held at the MOD.

Trelawney

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The problem of identifying Cpl. J. Mason, M.M. was posed on The Aerodrome site, as well, and several of us combined

resources to arrive at a documented identification. Mason was a Flight Cadet with the RAF in 1918 as well as an observer/gunner

with the RFC/RAF earlier. As a Flight Cadet, he had a Royal Aero Club Certificate (# 6573 31 December 1918) and a service

record in the AIR 76 series (AIR 76/338/35) that confirms he was the same man who is 402601 John Mason in the AIR 79

service record series and the RAF Muster Roll of April 1918. Mason was born 25 June 1896, at Liverpool; he misrepresented

his age when he enlisted 12 Sept. 1914, claiming he was a year older than he was in fact. The R.Ae.C. Certificate on

Ancestry.com includes a photo and signature. Again, thank you for your interest and help with the research.

Best regards,

Trelawney

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  • 6 years later...

I have checked my fathers medals and his service number is 402601 and he served with RFC 11 sq he also received The Atlantic Star in the 2nd world war when based in Londonderry, not a clue what he was doing there could have been navel as he was a Captain or could have been flying

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Irish,

Your confirmation that John Mason, service number 402601, is the correct 11 Squadron NCO is appreciated.  

The documents I located confirmed his wartime activities, but I was unable to learn anything concerning his

life after the war.  Any information you can provide about his postwar life, and date and place of death, will 

help to complete a full biography.  The Atlantic Star award confirms that he did serve during World War II, 

but not which branch of the service. since it was awarded for service in the Royal Navy, R.A.F., and the Merchant

Marine.  Any information about his life before the war would be appreciated, as well.

Best regards,

Trelawney

 

 

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