identification of a member of the Royal Flying Corps who died on 17 March 1917

[battle of loos]

Bonjour,

Je cherche à identifier ce personnel du Royal Flying Corps mort le 17 mars 1917 dans les lignes allemandes (je n'ai pas d'autres informations)  :

Merci d'avance pour votre aide.

Cordialement

michel

Edited 10 March , 2022 by battle of loos

[charlie2]

According to the writing on the reverse, he died on 15th April 1917 near Arras, one of the dates has got to be wrong.

Charlie

[charlie962]

 

If 17/3/17 is the date then what about Alex Ivan Gilson who was reported missing with 1 squadron (Nieuport Scout)? His death was presumed but his unidentified body had been buried by the Germans and was identified subsequently by CWGC, if I've interpreted the docs correctly. Linselles Communal Cemetery.

Edited 10 March , 2022 by charlie962

[battle of loos]

good evening,

on the CWGC web site, I find 171 name( for the date 17 march to 15 april 1917) :

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/search-results/?Surname=&Forename=&Initials=&ServiceNum=&Regiment=royal+flying+corps&ServedIn=Air+Force&WarSelect=1&DateDeathFromDay=17&DateDeathFromMonth=March&DateDeathFromYear=1917&DateDeathToDay=15&DateDeathToMonth=April&DateDeathToYear=1917&DateOfDeath=&CountryCommemoratedIn=France&Cemetery=&Unit=&Rank=&SecondaryRegiment=&AgeOfDeath=0&Honours=null&AdditionalInfo=

I will consult this list in order to see those commemorated at the Monument of Arras and tombs that can locate it in the German lines.

for the date, I will lean more for the month of March (preparation of a battle of arras)

michel

[charlie962]

You have put a strange date in your renamed title?

[battle of loos]

sorry.

I have change the date

michel

[battle of loos]

1 hour ago, charlie962 said:

 

If 17/3/17 is the date then what about Alex Ivan Gilson who was reported missing with 1 squadron (Nieuport Scout)? His death was presumed but his unidentified body had been buried by the Germans and was identified subsequently by CWGC, if I've interpreted the docs correctly. Linselles Communal Cemetery.

Linselles, it's near Lille

the picture would be located near arras

 

 

[battle of loos]

can be one of the 3 :

https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/search-results/?Surname=&Forename=&Initials=&ServiceNum=&Regiment=royal+flying+corps&ServedIn=Air+Force&WarSelect=1&DateDeathFromDay=17&DateDeathFromMonth=January&DateDeathFromYear=&DateDeathToDay=1&DateDeathToMonth=January&DateDeathToYear=&DateOfDeath=17%2f03%2f1917&CountryCommemoratedIn=France&Cemetery=ARRAS+FLYING+SERVICES+MEMORIAL&Unit=&Rank=&SecondaryRegiment=&AgeOfDeath=0&Honours=null&AdditionalInfo=&Tab=&Page=1

REGINALD HERBERT LOWNDS
Second Lieutenant
43rd Sqdn.

AARON APPLETON
Second Lieutenant
6th Sqdn.

JAMES COOK RIMER
Second Lieutenant
43rd Sqdn.

Died 17 March 1917

ARRAS FLYING SERVICES MEMORIAL
 

[topgun1918]

From my workings on another website, options would be:

2nd Lieut James Cook Rimer (Kia) & 2nd Lieut Reginald Herbert Lownds (Kia), 43 Sqn RFC, 1½ Strutter A1111 - took off 09:10 (British time)/10:10 (German time) then missing on offensive patrol Beaumont - Ltn Karl Allmenroder, Jasta 11, 3rd victory [Oppy at 10:45/11:45].  Oppy is north-east of Arras.

2nd Lieut Arthur Leslie Constable (Kia) & 2nd Lieut Charles Duncan Knox (Kia), 43 Sqn RFC, 1½ Strutter A1097 - took off 09:10/10:10 then missing on offensive patrol Beaumont - Ltn Kurt Wolff, Jasta 11, 3rd victory [south-west of Athies at 10:45/11:45].  Athies is just east of Arras.

2nd Lieut George Macdonald Watt (Kia) & 8861 Sergt Ernest Adam Howlett (Kia), 16 Sqn RFC, BE2c 2814 - took off 15:25/16:25 then attacked and brought down at ‘Sheet 27.a.5.9’ by H.A. collapsed in air at 1,000 feet on artillery observation Farbus - Ltn Manfred von Richthofen, Jasta 11, 28th victory [south of Givenchy at 16:00/17:00].  Farbus is north of  Arras.

We can ignore 2nd Lieut Alexander Ivan Gilson (Kia), 1 Sqn RFC, Nieuport 17 A6617 - took off 09:31/10:31 then went down in spinning nosedive near Lille at 10:05/11:05 during combat with 8 H.A. on escort to FEs Lille - Menin - Courtrai - Ltn d R Paul Strähle, Jasta 18, 3rd victory [Wervicq at 10:20/11:20].  Wervicq is north of Lille and way too far north of Arras to be considered.

2nd Lieut Aaron Appleton (Kia) & 31589 Corpl A Joseph Cooper (Kia), 6 Sqn RFC, can also be discounted since their BE2d 6241 was attacked by 5 Halberstadt and Albatros Scouts and went down in flames on photographic escort Polygon Wood; again, too far north to have come down near Arras.

Graeme

 

[battle of loos]

thank's for your job.

michel

[Perth Digger]

Is this a photo or a postcard? If the latter, was there a demand for such sights?

 

Mike

[GreyC]

57 minutes ago, Perth Digger said:

If the latter, was there a demand for such sights?

Yes a RPPC. There are loads of photos taken by Germans like this sold as postcards. With or without showing the bodies of soldiers KIA . If there are as many of Germans KIA I don´t know.

GreyC

Edited 17 March , 2022 by GreyC

[Perth Digger]

I don't think I'd pay even 5 pfennigs for a picture of a corpse, enemy or not. To each his or her own, I suppose.

[Turner]

On 17/03/2022 at 10:13, Perth Digger said:

I don't think I'd pay even 5 pfennigs for a picture of a corpse, enemy or not. To each his or her own, I suppose.

I wouldn't disagree for a second, but they deserve to be seen to remind people of the absolute horror and folly of war.

[Madmeg]

Me neither, but even today there are plenty who post and watch videos and images of war on the internet

[FROGSMILE]

A lot is down to cultural differences.  All of continental Europe are and were less squeamish about the earthy matters of birth, sex and death.  The Anglo-Saxons across the world often struggle with it.  There were plenty of photos of corpses in the British media, but not generally sold as postcards. 

Edited 9 June , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[GreyC]

4 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

There were plenty of photos of corpses in the British media, but not generally sold as postcards. 

Though rarely (if any) of their own soldiers?

GreyC

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, GreyC said:

Though rarely (if any) of their own soldiers?

GreyC

I have seen entente soldiers, including British, but I agree that they are more rare and never very gruesome.

Edited 9 June , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[GreyC]

Thank you for filling me in .

GreyC

[FROGSMILE]

1 hour ago, GreyC said:

Thank you for filling me in .

GreyC

There were, however some stark photos of ‘enemy’ dead, perhaps the most famous I can remember from my grandfather’s ‘Great War Illustrated’, that seemed subsequently to appear as a still in just about every TV documentary about the war, is this one (as a child I often wondered who he might have been). 

Edited 10 June , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[GreyC]

It was featured in German schoolbooks after the 2WK, too. Good thing we don´t know who he was. This way he stands for all those poor souls with a similar fate without his relatives having to live with this image of him.

Thank you for posting this grim photo.

GreyC

[FROGSMILE]

On 10/06/2022 at 13:34, GreyC said:

It was featured in German schoolbooks after the 2WK, too. Good thing we don´t know who he was. This way he stands for all those poor souls with a similar fate without his relatives having to live with this image of him.

Thank you for posting this grim photo.

GreyC

Yes I think that for a long time he must have been the most famous cadaver of WW1.  An odd claim on posterity to have.  May he be resting in peace.