Identification of convalescent RFC officers 1917

[Madmeg]

Quote

 

Charles Edward William Foster

 

Service records shows joined up on the 24th August 1914 when he was 19 years and 3 months old, having been born Sydney, New South Wales. He was discharged from the A.E.F having obtained a Commission in the Royal Flying Corps effective 27th December 1915. He had been serving with the 2nd Battery, 1st Australian Field Artillery Brigade. Next of kin appears to be a Mr C E Foster, of Valley Heights, Western Line, New South Wales.

 

Other than putting his date of birth as circa April \ May 1895 and giving a different middle initial for his father that doesn’t add much.

 

I couldn’t seem to find a MiC or Airmens Service Records for him. His Long Service Papers are probably the ones shown for 2/Lieutenant Charles Edward William Foster, General List, which are held under reference WO 339/52565

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1106418

(His 1914/15 Star was issued by the Australian Authorities).

 

22nd January 1917.

Capt C E W Foster (Inj) & 2nd Lt F R White (Inj; DoI 23-Jan-17), 10 Sqn, BE2g A2742 - collided in air near aerodrome with A2744 on practice regn
2nd Lt S W Woodley (Killed) & 2nd Lt W Kellett (Killed), 10 Sqn, BE2g A2744 - collided in air near aerodrome with A2742 on photography.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-67204.html

 

 

REF PRC 15 August (above)

Charles Edward William Foster- from his AIF service record.

This runs to 72 pages some of which are duplicates or very similar so this is collated from several pages hence the differences in some dates/information rcorded

 

Born Sydney in County of Cumberland

Birthday 26th May (from letter from his father "he attained his eighteenth year 26th May 1914"

Left school Dec 1913 at 17 and a half years old (headmaster letter september 1921)

 

in 1921 he applied for his medals including the 14/15 star- stating that he had been in the Cadets at his school (Sydney Grammar) from 1910 to 1913. However the records for that service had gone missing, so the army wrote to his old Headmaster [AHS Lucas] who confirmed his service, and to his father. (Australia Citizen Force or Militia)

"he went into camp at the Agricultural grounds on 24th August 1914 with the battery" "eventually left for the front with or [sic] 18th October 1914" "if he was enrolled with the Australian Citizen Forces it would have only been for a very brief period" Father's signature is very hard to read- could be Chas (or Thos) E. foster- Chas seems likely .

 

Attested 24/8/14 at Sydney at age of 19 y 3 m. Rank Gunner number 251

After joining up he seems to have been sent to Eygpt.

 

[Illegible] 4/4/15 Alexandria

9./5/15 adm Hosp scarlet fever

15/5/15 Scarlet fever Rasiljin?? Hospital ?Comat? AIF Cairo [Ras-El- Jin hopsital]

2/6/15 rejoined unit

11/9/15 Gallipoli peninsula- to hospital, Diarrhoea to no 11 ?cc? ?Stat?

11/9/15 diarrhoea

12/9/15 trans to Fleet Sweeper

O?B? no 2 Dysentery adm to no 2 Aust Stat Hosp Lemnos

17/10/15 disch to duty Conc ?lmpt? Lemnos

17/10/15 to duty

20/10/15 Transf to Base- Lemnos

21/10/15 embarked MS ?Agreltemia? For England Diarrhoa, Mudros [Aquitania]

21/10/15 to ?Ing for ? aususta???

27/10/15 adm Military Hospital Church Lane Tooting

27/10/15 adm Military Hospital Church Lane Tooting Sick ?slight

27/12/5 Discharged to obtain commission in RFC London

11/11/15 NOK advised hospital London slight

[In red] -Died at RAF Officers Hospital Uxbridge 6/7/1939, [underneath- appears to say] ?historian? 24/7/39

 

 

Discharged 27/12/15 aged 20 y 7 m, 2nd Battery 1st FA Brigade, after 1 year 122 days n London

1914/15 star issued. BWM VM not issued- [penciled note] being issued by Imperial Authorities 19/2/21

 

AIF service 24/8/14 to 27/12/15 eligible for 14/15 star

RFC RAF service is stated as 28/12/15 to 11/11/18 for BWM and VM. Address is given as No 20 squadron , Parachinar , India (but is elsewhere given as Messrs Coy and Cox , Bombay) this part of the form is dated 24/2/21 (page 58 of 72)

 

20/12/15 CEW wrote to the Post master at Horseferry Road to ask for his mail to be sent to either the Carlyle Club 211 Picadilly, W1 or Hut P4, Abbey Wood, Australian Camp Depot.

He was notified on the 24th Jan 1916 that his transfer had gone through and that he no longer got a free passage back to Australia :-)

A letter of 5th May 1916 notes that the transfer process was started on 11th October- there are notes that original letters had been lost. His discharge "parchment certificate "(!) was finally sent to him (at the Carlyle Club) on the 27th May

 

He was posted to 20 squadron.

 

He must have stayed in the RAF at the end of the war but i'm not finding any records for him other than the AIF forms, most odd.

[Madmeg]

ahah- 

8/2/17

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/15734660?searchTerm="c e w foster"&searchLimits=

possible sighting fron 1915

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/218448532?searchTerm="c e w foster"&searchLimits=

biographiical detail mar 1916

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/121178620?searchTerm="c e w foster"&searchLimits=

2/3/17

and a picture...

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/239229424?searchTerm="c e w foster"&searchLimits=

death notice

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/169830878?searchTerm="c e w foster"&searchLimits=

there are several of these- but only about 30 words

a bit more detail (79 words)

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/167313757?searchTerm="c e w foster"&searchLimits=

father's name was Charles Ernest.

 

What would be recorded in an RFC record book? TNA have the book for 8 squadron listed but is it worth getting a copy as it isn't digitised?

[Guest]

Re. 2nd Lt Henry Stroud RFC

 

Selected for appointment as a 2nd Lieut., on probation, in the Special Reserve of Officers, R.F.C. from 3rd June 1916, Appointment as a Flying Officer with effect from 11th November 1916.  He was unfit for duty from 27.01.17 until abut the end of March 17.  Was admitted to  R.F.C. Auxiliary Hospital, Hillingdon Hall, King's Lynn, Norfolk on 28.09.17, having been  wounded at Ypres on 17.06.17 whilst photography patrolling. .  In 1918 he was transferred from R.F.C. Hospital, 37 Bryanston Square, London W. to  R.F.C. Auxilliary Hospital, Shirley Park, East Croydon. His home address had been 23 Barley Gardens, Barley Lane, Ilford.  Prior to that, he had lived at Barley Hall, Ilford.

 

 

[Madmeg]

Hi Martin,

Good to hear from you and thank you for the extra details, interesting to see the gaps in the records- admitted to Hllingdon Hall but transferred from Bryanston Sq!

I hope the photo adds something to your family history :-)

If you message me direct with an email I can send you a better detail of the photo of your Grandfather if you would like it. The one posted is a low resolution version.

 

Edited 4 June , 2020 by Madmeg

[Guest]

Hi Meg, I was pleased to find your photo which includes a photo of my great Uncle Andrew Hinchcliffe Lancaster. I have tried to attach a photo of him taken a couple of years before but I don't seem able to. He came from a family of nine of whom four were boys. Tom and John, died as young men in WW1, in France and Palestine, aged 22 and 19. Andrew and his brother Harold survived WW1 but died in WW2, Andrew probably due to ill health and Harold a Captain in the Royal Navy Reserve, sank with his ship in Singapore, being bombed by a Japanese Destroyer, having let passengers off on the few remaining lifeboats. The family story goes that in WW1 Andrew Hinchcliffe Lancaster crashed with his plane in Egypt. That he smoked a cigarette as he came down. They believe he was found by the Toureg who looked after him and delivered him back to the UK forces. He was then sent back to England to recuperate.

 

 

Hi Meg, I was pleased to find your photo which includes a photo of my great Uncle Andrew Hinchcliffe Lancaster. I have tried to attach a photo of him taken a couple of years before but I don't seem able to. He came from a family of nine of whom four were boys. Tom and John, died as young men in WW1, in France and Palestine, aged 22 and 19. Andrew and his brother Harold survived WW1 but died in WW2, Andrew probably due to ill health and Harold a Captain in the Royal Navy Reserve, sank with his ship in Singapore, being bombed by a Japanese Destroyer, having let passengers off on the few remaining lifeboats. The family story goes that in WW1 Andrew Hinchcliffe Lancaster crashed with his plane in Egypt. That he smoked a cigarette as he came down. They believe he was found by the Toureg who looked after him and delivered him back to the UK forces. He was then sent back to England to recuperate.

 

 

[Madmeg]

Hi STilly, It is possible to attach - maybe the file format is wrong? Be interesting to see if you are able to :-)

Did you see my earlier link to a site relating to journalists? Whish it appears that he was- I couldn;t access it as its subscription but might be interesting for a relative ;-)

I must update Capt G Davies when I have time.

 

As an extra detail.

Hillington Hall was right next door to Sandringham. There are records saying that the owner "Commandant" Lady Dawnay was a friend of Queen Mary. Among my huge collection of old photos wot my grandparents took is a photo of Queen Mary. For a long time I thought that it must have been taken by my grandmother probably when QM was visiting a troop hospital somewhere on the south coast. But having been working on the Hillingdon Hall picture I realised that it appears that two of the men in the Tatler (and my) photos are gurning in the background behind the queen :-D , Benjy the dog may also be in shot. Unfortunately I have stored the wretched thing somewhere other than with all my other digital copies but I think one of the men is Herbert Sidney the Soho Cinema operator but I need to find the file again to identify the other man. Therefore the photo must have been taken by my GF not my GM. It is possible that the occasion of the Tatler photo was a visit by the Queen to see the RFC officers- perhaps. I have not been able to find any newspaper record of such a visit but as the Queen was a next door neighbour.... 

There are a number of other photos which do NOT include the Queen but DO include a lady I have not been able to put a name to but who IS a member of the Royal Party in other official photos.

Edited 1 December , 2021 by Madmeg

[Guest]

It worked this time. Here is a photo of Andrew Hinchcliffe Lancaster and also his Casualty Card which led to him being in Hillington Hall. Yes later he was a journalist and looks like he wrote a book. I had already come across Scoop and wondered whether to pay having found that other sites don't offer much after you pay but I may have a go. The extended family were very pleased to see the Tatler photo and yours (although a little harder to see), I also found one of Andrew's sisters having an engagement photo and announcement later that year in the Tatler which was an added bonus.

[Madmeg]

I was hoping to do a better copy for you and post it but I'm having trouble locating my digital copy on the (many) pc's that hold my (many many many) photos.

I will get it there for you at some stage.