dutchbarge Posted 1 May , 2019 Share Posted 1 May , 2019 (edited) I am seeking information about the wartime RFC service of an American, Leon Wagoner Sage, who travelled from New York, USA to Toronto, Canada in October 1917 and joined the RFC. His Short Service Attestation, dated 10-15-17 states, "ROYAL FLYING CORPS" for "Misc. Aviator Cadet (Student)" and "Transferred to R.A.F. under R.A.F. (Constitution) Act 1917 Pte.II. 1-4-18" and that he was "Discharged KR&O 1912 PARA. 393 6.4.18, Discharged, while having been selected for appointment to temporary commission (Para.392 xxviii)K.R.) Pte.II 5-4-18" and "Total Services toward Engagement to 5-14-18 (date of discharge) 173 days, Total Service toward Pension to 5-4-18 (date of discharge 173 days" and "For G.O.C. Royal Air Force, Canada". The document is pretty faded and the cursive writing and signatures hard to decipher. . The London Gazette, 31 May, 1918, page 6385, has him as one of a group who were, "granted temp. commns. as 2nd Lts. (Flying), A.& S.:- 6th Apr. 1918, Leon Wagoner Sage". Ancestry.com shows him crossing the Atlantic from N.B., Canada to Liverpool as an "Aviator" in 1918 (again hard to decipher the cursive script) and returning from Liverpool, UK to N.B., Canada April 1919 listing him as an 'Army Officer'. Other than a few hits pre-war (Cornell University) and Post-war (banker, servants, European and Carribbean cruises) I've hit a dead end. I've never been lucky with the online LG, but if his commission was announced there surely there must be other entries. No luck either with an MIC on Sage although his service should have qualified him for at least the British War medal. Odd that he, an American, should go to Canada to join the RFC 6 months after the US had declared war on Germany. Perhaps he realized that the RFC/RAF was streets ahead of US military aviation at this time? Any help the Forum member might be able to provide would be most welcome. Thanks in advance. Cheers, Bill PS: According to AIR/76/442 (which I have been unable to gain access to) his officer service number was 152466 Edited 2 May , 2019 by dutchbarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenmorrison Posted 2 May , 2019 Share Posted 2 May , 2019 Just a little item. London Gazette Publication date:18 April 1919 Issue:31302 Page:5045 under the title Air Ministry, 18th April, 1919. ROYAL AIR FORCE. on the following page (5046) there is: The undermentioned are transferred to unempld. list: — 1st Apr. 1919. 2nd Lt. R. S. Asher. Lt. R. E. Duke. 2nd Lt. H. H. Davies. Maj. O. H. Drabble. Lt. F. B. Dawson. 2nd Lt. L. W. Sage. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmsk212 Posted 2 May , 2019 Share Posted 2 May , 2019 (edited) Hi, The service number you show ( 152466 ) was the one he had whilst he was training and ranked as a Private 1st Class / Cadet. The RAF did not have mics Although it doesn't show a lot but you can download his Air76 Officers File here :- https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8223166 Steve Edited 2 May , 2019 by hmsk212 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierssc Posted 2 May , 2019 Share Posted 2 May , 2019 Apart from the AIR 76 file Steve has mentioned, Airhistory.org.uk's only entry for him is a casualty report in AIR 1/984 dated 18 March 1919 at 14 AAP (Aircraft Acceptance Park) which was at Castle Bromwich "Ok [D8340 Handley Page] Aerial photo flight - sideslipped and wrecked. Lt LW Sage Ok [FF 03.02.19]" http://www.airhistory.org.uk/rfc/people_index.html Looking up D8340 on the aircraft pages of the same site reveals that it was an HP 0/400. I'm not sure what the FF reference relates to Piers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 2 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 2 May , 2019 Thank you, Ken, Steve and Piers. I am always astounded at how informative and fast are the replies I receive from the Forum members. Regarding the dearth of information in Sage's official records, it is something that I regularly encounter researching 'reserve/temporary' officers who served in the US armed forces during both World Wars. I think that in the US this was due in the main to an overwhelmed staff (many recently minted) trying to cope with the unprecedented expansion of the military with possibly a dash of attitude by the professionals that as most would be back on civvy street after the war it wasn't worth the effort to record their service in detail. Sage was gazetted 2nd Lt. in the RFC in April 1918, leaving another six or seven months during which the air war raged on. Would anyone care to speculate on the possibility of whether or not he might served in France or Belgium or if it he actually flew in combat? Might I find additional information about him in squadron records? Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierssc Posted 2 May , 2019 Share Posted 2 May , 2019 (edited) There isn't a casualty form for him, so on the face of it he didn't appear to serve in France/Flanders (casualty forms recording movements to and from the expeditionary force and between units rather than just injuries). The paucity of records picked up by airhistory backs this up, but it doesn't conclusively mean that he didn't! The reference to 14 AAP suggests that he may have served with them. AAPs as I understand it (my grandfather served with one for a bit) were units near aircraft factories to which newly built machines were delivered and tested prior to acceptance into service. The machines were then delivered elsewhere. On the other hand this doesn't explain why he was on an aerial photo flight when he had his crash because that wouldn't seem to be a normal AAP activity. Nor is the lack of casualty form conclusive - it may be lost, stolen or misfiled. All one can be definite about is that he was a qualified pilot and was a good enough one that he was let loose on an HP 0/400 solo which seems rather strange because they were big beasts to be flying on one's own (had there been other crew members aboard one would expect them to be mentioned in the crash report too). PS: Just found this report of the crash - there were in fact 4 passengers plus Sage -- and a photo whose URL I was a bit doubtful about, but it seems OK https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=162311 Edited 2 May , 2019 by pierssc Further info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmsk212 Posted 4 May , 2019 Share Posted 4 May , 2019 The only pre 11/11/1918 posting shown on his Officer File is 57 TDS :- 57 Training Depot Station. This was based at Cranwell and was part of 59th Wing. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topgun1918 Posted 4 May , 2019 Share Posted 4 May , 2019 FF denotes First Flown or First Flight; so D8340 first flew on 3 February 1919 and was wrecked on 18 March. Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quemerford Posted 4 May , 2019 Share Posted 4 May , 2019 I'd suggest contacting the RAF Museum, which may hold copies of his 'non-TNA' records: in my experience they have provided copies of individual's medical records and they may also have a copy of his 'Casualty Return (Home)', which contains a lot more detail (such as graduation date etc) than the precis Casualty Cards shown on the Museum's 'Vault' website. From his AIR 79 record it would appear he graduated 'B' from Higher Instruction circa 6 April 1918. Incidentally the '104 Sqn' mention on his AIR 79 record is interesting: though crossed out I do wonder if it is relevant. 104 Sqn was a DH.4/DH.9 unit on the Western Front and as a way to check that the crossing out isn't an error (it sometimes is), I'd try consulting the war diary in the days up to that '02Sep18 transfer to 14th General Hospital at Wimereux', just in case it relates to Leon W and not another 'Sage'. If you are exploring all avenues it might be worth a look. But first of all I'd drop the RAF Museum an email and see what they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 5 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 5 May , 2019 (edited) Thank you, Piers, Steve, Graeme and Quemerford, for your help. The 104 Squadron lead in most tantalizing. Quite a few Americans served with that squadron and sadly many never returned from their missions. I've googled the RAF Museum but their website, while having a 'research' link, doesn't include an email address for inquires. Does anyone have one for me? Sage was the scion of a prominent New England family. He was Cornell University, class of 1919. In 1917 he enrolled in the US Army School of Military Aeronautics which was established at Cornell 17 May 1917. In October he quit college and travelled to Toronto to join the RFC. I think he decided, since his ass was on the line, rather than fly for the fledgling US Army Air Service he would opt for the vastly more experienced and technologically and tactically superior RFC. After the war he returned to the US, founded Sage, Rutty and Company, an investment firm still operating today, married and had 3 children, living until 1981 (imagine all the changes he witnessed in his long life....from horse drawn carriage to wide bodied jet). Cheers, Bill Edited 5 May , 2019 by dutchbarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quemerford Posted 5 May , 2019 Share Posted 5 May , 2019 Try: askcollections@rafmuseum.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 6 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2019 Thank you, Quemerford, for the address. I sent them a request for help and they have already replied in the affirmative. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 6 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 6 May , 2019 (edited) From the Genealogical Record of the Descendants of David Sage; A Native of Wales; Born 1639, "Leon W. b. Aug. 2nd 1896, (Enlisted 1917 in the Royal Air Force, promoted to Lieutenant in 1918, served one year overseas, as pilot on Hanley-Page bombing planes, honorably discharged 1919)". Cheers, Bill Edited 6 May , 2019 by dutchbarge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 9 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2019 His AIR/76/442 states he was transferred from 104 Squadron to hospital at 14 General Wimereaux Hospital. While this has been crossed out, it seems unlikely that it is irrelevant. Possibly he was posted to 104 Squardon, was sick or injured, and was not moved to hospital but recuperated at his squadron (thus the notation was crossed out). Or he was moved to Wimereaux but not from 104 Squadron. Either would place him in France. I suppose it is possible that the notation was crossed out because neither scenario occurred, although that seems a lesser possibility. I must say that the AIR/76 seem a bit hastily done. And even my doctor has more legible handwriting. Hopefully RAF Museum will have something on him. Could any of the members tell me how I might go about examining a copy of 104 Squardon's war diary? Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutchbarge Posted 9 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2019 His AIR/76 also states he was transferred to "No.2 L.S." Can anyone tell me the meaning of this? Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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