Cecil Henry Noble Campbell

[Grid]

Hi all,

 

The above named was involved in action against L62 on the night of 12-13 April 1918. Cole and Cheesman (pp. 411, 412-13) and Robinson (p. 309) have very different accounts on what happened and i'm wondering if anyone has the after action reports by Campbell and Brown cited by Cole and Cheesman or can point me the direction of where to find them. Any additional light on the subject greatly received.

 

Thanks,

 

Adam

[Terry_Reeves]

Adam

 

I researched this sometime ago as I live in Coventry.  Nobel Campbell managed to briefly catch sight of the L62 over northern outskirts of the city and managed to fire a burst of machine gun fire at about 500 yards range , however the L62 climbed away quickly and he was unable to pursue it.  His propeller  then inexplicably shattered and he was struck in in the head by a piece of the debris and crashed-landed his aircraft which came to rest against the wall of White and Poppe's fuze factory (National Filling Factory No 21).  Local residents were quickly on the scene and the pilot was helped from the aircraft, which had caught alight, by a police officer. He was taken to White and Poppe's hospital where he received treatment.  Lt William Aelred Brown (in some modern accounts wrongly referred to as Alfred) from the same squadron was also in  the same area , although neither of the pilots were aware of each others presence that night. The weather was very murky to the point where many aircraft had been grounded.  Brown, as you know, had an some sort of engine problem and fired his distress flares which were seen by ground  staff at No 1 Aircraft Acceptance Park a quarter of a mile or so to the south of where Noble Campbell had come down. The flying ground was actually at the rear of the Daimler factory, but the approach was over fields which had a number hedgerows. The  aerodrome staff lit up the landing strip for Brown , but he hit a hedge row a few hundred yards out and was injured in the crash.

 

Subsequently the RFC hierarchy issued a press statement which said that Noble Campbell's aircraft had been brought down by fire from the L62, and this was the first incident of its type.  Noble Campbell's squadron commander disagreed with this report.  He believed that the most likely cause was a shell fragment from an anti-aircraft gun. 

 

A number of problems arise from this, and may explain why there are differing views. First, Noble Campbell's combat report was actually made by his squadron commander, because the pilot was not in a fit state to make it the following day, and I think may have had a only a hazy recollection of events. The report is therefore a re-construct.  That said,  the AA gun theory does hold some water. The gun that fired that night was located near what is now The Old Shepherd pub in Keresley Road, on the edge of the Radford district area of Coventry, parts of which were rural,  and to the west of the White and Poppe factory  which it was there to protect. It is known that a AA searchlight, operated  by the London Electrical  Engineers,  briefly picked up the Zeppelin in its beam and the gun fired two or three rounds at it, just around  the time when Noble Campbell was pursuing it.

 

There is another theory that says Lt Brown mistook Nobel Campbell's aircraft for the L62 in the murk, and fired at him.  Brown's combat never mentioned anything like this,  and in fact it doesn't say very much at all except that he had an engine problem.  Noble Campbell's report does not mention being fired upon by the  L62, nor was there any report from the Germans  about it. Indeed, it is very likely the L62 did not even know it was being pursued. 

 

The precise circumstances will never be known , however, anti-aircraft fire does seem the most logical cause.

 

TR

Edited 18 October , 2016 by Terry_Reeves

[Grid]

Hi TR,

 

Thanks for this. Would be so much nicer if there was a simple narrative, but I guess this is one of those cases where I'm going to have to live with the uncertainty.  Really appreciate your reply here it gives me some direction on how to approach this.

 

Cheers,

 

Adam

[Grid]

Hi TR,

 

Do you have any biographical information on Kuno Manger? I see he was an army officer which makes him a bit unusual.

 

Cheers,

 

Adam

[Terry_Reeves]

Adam

 

Try this:

 

https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fi&u=http://faqualie.info/k/kuno-manger.php&prev=search

 

When the transfer from the army to navy took place Manger  appears to have kept his army rank.

 

TR

Edited 20 October , 2016 by Terry_Reeves

[Grid]

Excellant thanks

[XCalibre]

On 18/10/2016 at 15:54, Grid said:

Hi all,

 

The above named was involved in action against L62 on the night of 12-13 April 1918. Cole and Cheesman (pp. 411, 412-13) and Robinson (p. 309) have very different accounts on what happened and i'm wondering if anyone has the after action reports by Campbell and Brown cited by Cole and Cheesman or can point me the direction of where to find them. Any additional light on the subject greatly received.

 

Thanks,

 

Adam

Hello Adam, 
 

I am Cecil Henry Noble Campbell’s Great Grandson. It’s great that you are showing interest in his service in WWI. 
 

We are from New Zealand, and my Great Grandfather was initially in the Army and served At Gallipoli where he suffered from a gunshot wound to the leg and sustained serious injuries. The army wanted to send him home but he did not want to leave so he somehow talked his way into the Airforce. 
 

He was a very humble man, and did not speak of his action much, in fact I think it wasn’t until after he died and it was published in newspapers that he was somewhat of a hero in the UK, was when the family really found out about his achievement of winning the Air Force Cross. 
 

I know some parts of the story that night that may not have been told in those days, as the men would sit around drinking whiskey when I was a young boy and the odd story would come out. Mainly from Grandfather who was also a decorated WW2 fighter pilot in the UK. 
 

thanks 

Matt 

[Michelle Young]

Welcome to the forum. Adam @Grid is still visiting the forum, so my tag should alert them to your post. 

[Grid]

Hi Matt,

Yes, welcome to the forum. Your great grandfather gets a good mention in my book on New Zealand airmen in the First World War. Most Whitcoull's book stores have it or you can get it from: https://www.masseypress.ac.nz/books/military-history/fearless

Shameless plug for the book! :-)

Please feel free to message me through the forum message system, I'm in Auckland.

Kind regards,

Adam