Mangoman Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 (edited) I attach i copy of the above man's service record in the RNAS and RAF but am struggling to understand where 'Auxierre' was. I know of a town named 'Auxerre' but can find no reference to the RNAS having been posted there. Would appreciate any help in establishing where this place is situated? Edited 27 May , 2019 by Mangoman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 It would appear that the location is "Luxeuil"https://www.overthefront.com/over-the-front-journal/sample-articles/more-than-would-be-reasonably-anticipated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 Sorry, my mistake, that's stated above the mystery location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 At a stab, could he have been hospitalised for ten days in Auxerre, before returning to his unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 27 May , 2019 Share Posted 27 May , 2019 Where was Handley Page Squadron? Crystal Palace an admin base? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangoman Posted 28 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Crysyal Palace was one of the bases for President II but where the Handley Page squadron was I do not know. On 27/05/2019 at 17:52, Keith_history_buff said: At a stab, could he have been hospitalised for ten days in Auxerre, before returning to his unit? Have found nothing that would indicate that he was hospitalised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangoman Posted 28 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 28 May , 2019 On 27/05/2019 at 19:37, johnboy said: Where was Handley Page Squadron? Crystal Palace an admin base? Crystal Palace was a base for President II. have no idea where thge Handley Page squadron was based. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Of interest from the link further above Quote The Handley Page 0/100 was the first of the new twin-engined bombers to enter British service. With a capacity of between ten and 16 112-lb. bombs, the 0/100 was to be the future of strategic bombing. The first of these in France was 1459, which had joined No.3 Wing on 4 November 1916, with 1460 following shortly after. ...While in France Nos. 1459 and 1460 formed the unnumbered 'Handley Page Squadron' under Sqdn.Cdr. John Babington, although operating under the orders of No.3 Wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 The Handley Page Squadron formed at Manston on 1 Jul 1916 and moved to Luxeuil on 21 Dec 1916. 23 minutes ago, Mangoman said: Crystal Palace was a base for President II. Not strictly true. PRESIDENT II was the accounting base for numerous units of the RNAS, one of which was the RNAS training unit at Crystal Palace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Luxeuil Think that answers the original question. Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topgun1918 Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 Given that the second destination, Manston, home of the Handley Page Squadron in the UK, is shown as 'Manstone', I would venture that 'Auxierre' is actually Auxerre and it is a simple spelling error. Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 28 May , 2019 Share Posted 28 May , 2019 I read the line under Handley Page squadron as Luxeuil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOK4 Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 5 hours ago, johnboy said: I read the line under Handley Page squadron as Luxeuil It is the line under Luxeuil, that Mangoman is interested in. I've searching a bit and agree that it probably should be Auxerre and it's just a spelling error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 It certainly looks like 'Auxierre' and agree that It could be a typo for Auxerre. But Auxerre was an awfully long way away from Luxueil (320km), and both places an awfully long way from the Flanders and Somme fronts usually associated with British military activity. I suppose that these locations must have beenplaces of some importance for French air services? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 No 3 Wing RNAS was based at Luxeuil, along with French bombers, as per the link to the Cross & Cockade article, to perform their strategic bombing role. This would be a good geographic location for bombing raids on Germany, certainly better than 'the Flanders and Somme fronts'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 (edited) Luxeuil was the main base for both the Handley Page Squadron and, later, the Strategic Bombing Wing (3 Wing) of the RNAS, close to their targets in Germany. I think Auxerre is just 200 km west of Luxeuil (as the crow flies). Edited 29 May , 2019 by horatio2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 3 hours ago, Keith_history_buff said: No 3 Wing RNAS was based at Luxeuil, along with French bombers, as per the link to the Cross & Cockade article, to perform their strategic bombing role. This would be a good geographic location for bombing raids on Germany, certainly better than 'the Flanders and Somme fronts'. 3 hours ago, horatio2 said: Luxeuil was the main base for both the Handley Page Squadron and, later, the Strategic Bombing Wing (3 Wing) of the RNAS, close to their targets in Germany. Thanks. I see that there is proximity to Southern Germany from there, even though the really important German industrial targets would have been further north. I don't want to go too far off topic, but I wonder if the energy, organisation, resources and effort involved in delivering 660 tons of explosive during the whole of the Great War was justifiable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 For some reason, this man left Luxeuil, went somewhere for ten days, then came back to Luxeuil. To go off on a tangent, I have a family member who was in the KRRC. Although he initially went to Winchester, he was duly sent off to Blyth, which is in excess of 300 miles. There's not a great deal around Luxeuil these days, so going to Auxerre does not seem so peculiar to me, and there are often bureaucratic rules why a certain depot has to be visited. If you really want to know, then perhaps a trip to Kew could be done, to see if there is mention in the correspondence. Whilst there are various theories being presented, source material is needed to add brevity to a hypothesis. The Cross and Cockade article starts thus: Quote the bulk of the narrative, being made up from the various No.3 Wing records in the AIR 1/115/15/39/51 and AIR 1/648/17/122/397 files Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangoman Posted 29 May , 2019 Author Share Posted 29 May , 2019 Gemntlemen thanks for all your input, it has been much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gustywinds Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 This chap obviously served with a chap I was researching by the name of Douglas Ross Cameron Wright. i have a document which lists their operations out of Luxieul and Ochey. Wright flew as observer on 1460 By the way, Crystal Palace was a training facility for RN, RNAS and RND. It was in the actual glass Crystal Palace with most the exhibits having been stored by some still visible. I have an amusing picture of the recruits dining under the gaze of Egyptian mummies! Officially HMS Victory II my great uncle trained there before going to Vendome in France for flight training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith_history_buff Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 52 minutes ago, Gustywinds said: This chap obviously served with a chap I was researching by the name of Douglas Ross Cameron Wright. How very interesting that you researched an officer and observer, who was also in No 3 Wing RNAS at the same time as this unnamed Aircraftman 2nd Grade of the RNAS 52 minutes ago, Gustywinds said: i have a document which lists their operations out of Luxieul and Ochey. Wright flew as observer on 1460 Does this document shed any light with regard to men of No 3 Wing absenting themselves from their unit for the 11 day period from 15 February to 25 February 1917 inclusive? The Cross and Cockade article written by Bob Pearson does suggest that No 3 Wing were at Ochey during this time. As far as the ADM 188 record is concerned, this unnamed Aircraftman 2nd Grade was still getting paid via the Accounting Base of HMS President, regardless of wherever he was in France, with No 3 Wing RNAS, from November 1916 to April 1917. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gustywinds Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 1 hour ago, Keith_history_buff said: Does this document shed any light with regard to men of No 3 Wing absenting themselves from their unit for the 11 day period from 15 February to 25 February 1917 inclusive? No, sorry. There are some letters on line from another member of the unit: https://www.canadianletters.ca/collections/all/collection/20593/doc/221 Seems to indicate they got leave to go elsewhere in France (in this case Monaco) so maybe Auxerre was leave? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gustywinds Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 The other thing that it may be. as he was an aircraftman and they were flying French machines as well as the Handley Pages and Sopwiths, he may have been posted to an aerodrome at Auxerre for some training? it appears that there were two there during WW1 http://www.anciens-aerodromes.com/?p=612 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horatio2 Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 9 minutes ago, Gustywinds said: Seems to indicate they got leave to go elsewhere in France (in this case Monaco) so maybe Auxerre was leave? This is very unlikely. If given leave from Luxeuil he would still have been 'on the books' for PRESIDENT II (Luxeuil). If he had gone on leave to Cannes his record would not be marked PRESIDENT II (Cannes). His, albeit short, draft to Auxerre must have been to some sort of formed unit at that location. 4 minutes ago, Gustywinds said: he may have been posted to an aerodrome at Auxerre for some training? This is much more likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 29 May , 2019 Share Posted 29 May , 2019 3 hours ago, Gustywinds said: name of Douglas Ross Cameron Wright Gustywinds, a totally off-the-beam question, but did Douglas Ross Cameron Wright by any chance have a son called Horace, that you know of? Thanks! seaJane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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