George Hatfield Dingley Gossip RNAS

[nils d]

l tried researching the RNAS ace George Hatfield Dingley Gossip and found it a hopeless task.

Why? Because when l put in a wordsearch for him l could only find an American chess master ]died 1907] with EXACTLY the same name.

l take it Harold and Matilda Gossip in Australia named their offspring after the chess wizard but its frustrating the heck out of me 100 years later.

So what l want to know ,for now , is details on the pilots death.   All we have is that he dies in Istanbul in 1922. No details.

In service? Flying? Id be thankful for any gossip on Gossip

Nils

[stiletto_33853]

The National Archives have a couple of bits on him.

 

Andy

[horatio2]

Killed whilst flying in Sopwith Snipe No.F2487, spun in at San Stefano (west of Istanbul) on 24 April 1923. 

 

RAF Casualty Card gives Unit: 56 (detached flight)  http://www.rafmuseumstoryvault.org.uk/archive/gossip-g.h.d.-george-hatfeildsic-dingley

 

See also - http://www.56sqnfirebirds.org.uk/squadronhistory_interwar.htm 

 

and http://ozrnas.org.au/The Men/G/GOSSIP GHD.html

 

The AIR 76 record above is for the wrong man.

Wikipedia (caveat emptor) says they were grandfather & grandson

[Dolphin]

There is an entry for Capt G H D Gossip in the Database of men with an Australian connection who served in air services during the Great War: http://www.ww1aero.org.au/database.html

 

I hope this is useful.

 

Gareth

[josquin]

Gareth,

Excellent reference resource!  Thank you for posting this.  The site provides all the essentials of Gossip's biography

as well as a photo in RNAS uniform.

Josquin

[nils d]

Thanks for this Gents. Good work, which answers my questions.

l could kick myself for not  checking the casualty cards  .l had found him in Bowyers RAF operations 1919 - 1939  

where hes down as the CO of 56 Sqn which didn't match other sources . The links clear this one up as well.

He was the detachments OC until his death.

Note he got no bravery medals despite being an ace  , and was buried in Turkey although not a war death.

Above the  trenches has the wrong date of death l now see.

He might be the Grandson of his namesake but that's still to work out . l would bet his Father was simply a chess fanatic with a

'chequered' past .[but that's just more gossip......]