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Remembered Today:

2nd Lieut. J Farquhar, RAF


gnr.ktrha

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Hello,

Does anyone have any information on the above named officer of the RAF. I have his BWM in my collection, which I bought in a shop in Perth about 7 years ago. I can find no trace of him in local newspapers or rolls, and I do not have access to any Air Force officer lists.

Any help would be great.

Regards,

Stewart

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Stewart

A Lt J Farquhar, an 18 year old from Alexandria, Dumbarton, was flying Sopwith Camel D8182 of No 204 Sqn RAF on 31 July 1918 when he was shot down by ground fire after combat with 10 Fokker D.VIIs over Roulers; he died of his wounds the next day.

A victory was credited to Unteroffizier Paul Hüttenrauch of Jasta 7. It was the second of his eventual eight victories.

Could this Lt J Farquhar be your man?

Gareth

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Gareth,

There is a Lt. J. FARQUHAR buried at Tyne Cot Cem, Passendale.

dow 1/8/1918. Will be the same person.

See pic,

Regards,

Cnock

post-7723-1127292807.jpg

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Hello,

Thanks for all this information. I suppose this could be the right Officer. Is it possible that they have put the wrong rank on his medal ? I have hear of this happening and then being offically corrected.

Once again, many thanks for your time.

Regards,

Stewart

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31/7/1918 204 Sqn based at Teteghem

All The Best

Chris

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Interestingly SNWM have him as a pow which I suppose he was but not in Germany.

Surname FARQUHAR

Firstname John

Service number

Date of death 01/08/1918

Decoration

Place of birth

Other 204 Sq.

SNWM roll THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

Rank Lieut

Theatre of death Germany.

Name: FARQUHAR

Initials: J

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Lieutenant

Regiment: Royal Air Force

Unit Text: 204th Sqdn.

Age: 18

Date of Death: 01/08/1918

Additional information: Son of William and Margaret Farquhar, of India St., Alexandria, Dumbartonshire.

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: LIX. E. 33.

Cemetery: TYNE COT CEMETERY

Aye

Malcolm

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Hello Malcolm,

Yes, taken prisoner on 31/7/1918, after he was downed, he died of wounds on 1/8/1918 in Flanders.

Regards,

Cnock

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Hello All,

Thanks for all this information, however I think this must be the wrong man, the medal I have is named to a 2nd Lt.

I have been sent the following information from the Feb 1919 AFL -

2nd. Lt.

Farquhar, J.

A.

1 Apr. 1918.

I understand that the letter 'A' stands for Aeroplane Officer.

Does anyone have a copy of the RAF communiques book 1 April- 11 Nov 1918, by C. Cole ?

Once again, Thanks for all your time and help.

Regards,

Stewart Coupar

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  • 2 months later...
Hello,

Does anyone have any information on the above named officer of the RAF. I have his BWM in my collection, which I bought in a shop in Perth about 7 years ago. I can find no trace of him in local newspapers or rolls, and I do not have access to any Air Force officer lists.

Any help would be great.

Regards,

Stewart

hello,

John joined 204 Sqdn on 14th July 1918 and during that month flew a total of 17 hours before his death.

07/02/18 Temp 2nd Lt.

12/05/18 2nd Lt.

14/06/18 SE area 61st Wing(Camel)

28/06/18 Hospital

Prior to joining his occupation is listed as an engineering apprentice with United Turkey Red Co. Ltd. Alexandria, Dunbartonshire.

204 Sqdn was formed from 4 (Naval) Sqdn on 1st April 1918 when the RAF was formed. $(Naval) was formed on 31st December 1918.

I am resdearching the WW1 history of the Sqdn. and if I unearth any further info re John I will let you have it. I have visited Tyne Cot cemetary and seen Johns grave.

Should you ever consider selling the medal please let me have first refusal due to my interest in the sqdn. My email noel_campbell@bathnes.gov.uk

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:) Hello All,

Thanks for all this information, it's very interesting. However, the medal is named to a 2nd lieut. and not a Lieut. The grave has Lieutenant on it, as does the CWGC site and the SNWM site. Noel has done research into the Sqdn, which seems to show 2nd Lt as the rank. Also there is the Feb 1919 Air Force List which has a 2nd Lt J. Farquhar listed.

Could it be that the Germans, when they buried him, put the incorrect rank on his grave ? He was promoted after death ? That he had not been confirmed as killed when the Feb 1919 AFL came out ? Does anyone know if there were two 2nd Lt J. farquhar's ? One promoted and died, the other not.

I have done a couple of MIC checks, but cannot find any J. Farquhar's who became 2nd Lt's in the RAF. The AFL states that he [if it's the same one] became that rank in the RAF on 1st April 1918. It is most probable that he had served in the Army or Navy prior to this date.

I've also tried a check on the Kew web site under AIR for his records, but can't find them.

I do not know a massive amount about the RAF and where to search now, can someone please help ? I'm stuck. :huh:

Thanks for looking.

Regards,

Stewart

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  • 3 weeks later...

As he is an officer, he should have a file in the WO series for his RFC service if any and as he transferred to the RAF, (as long as he didn’t continue to serve long post war) he should also have a file in AIR 76, both at the PRO/ National Archives.

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  • 2 months later...

:) Hello,

I thought members might be interested in Lt John Farquhar's entry in de Ruvigny's RoH,

It adds something when you see a photo of the poor fellow who is buried at Tyne Cot. Do we have anymore details on his service with 204 Sqdn or on the German who shot him down ?

Regards,

Stewart

post-3488-1140557037.jpg

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Do we have anymore details . . . on the German who shot him down ?

Stewart

Thank you for posting the information on Lt J Farquhar. The photograph makes a lot of difference, doesn't it?

Unteroffizier Paul Hüttenrauch of Jasta 7 seems to be one of the more obscure aces of the War. He served with Jasta 7 from February 1918 to the Armistice, and was credited with eight victories: Camels on 20 July and 31 July (Lt Farquhar), an SE 5a on 13 August and an A-W FK 8 on 19 September. The identity of his 5th and 6th victories aren't known, his 7th, probably on 4 October, was perhaps a SPAD, while his eighth and last on 14 October was another Camel. He was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.

I hope this is interesting.

Gareth

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:) Hello,

Thanks for the reply. Would any documentation still survive relating to Unteroffizier Paul Hüttenrauch ''Victories'' ? Has anyone got a photo of him ?

Saddly, it seems that the medal I have was awarded to the next of kin of John Farquhar. His service documents show that he did not serve as a rank higher than 2nd Lieutenant. The man who carried out the research also states that he can find no other record of a 'J Farquhar' being an officer in the RAF. So it must be him.

He still appeared in the Feb 1919 AFL, he was only classed as Missing at this point. In the July 1919 A.F.List, he is classed as having died on the 31st July 1918, the date used for offical purposes. His final, official, date of death being 1 Aug 1918 is noted on his service papers, and the entry is dated from 1921. It seems that he did not become a Lieutenant. His family, according to the Roll of Honour entry, belived he was one, but the date corrasponds to his rank being a 2nd Lt [Flying officer].

The CWGC and the SNWM have him listed as a Lieutenant, should I contact them with these findings ?

What other record can I expect to find regarding his service?

Thanks for looking,

Stewart

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Stewart

As I indicated, Unteroffizier Paul Hüttenrauch is one of the more obscure aces. The compilers of the authoritative Above the Lines, which has data on all the German aces, clearly couldn't find much on him at all. There's a couple of sentences on him in Fokker D.VII Aces of World War I Part 2, but they only suggest that he may have flown a black D.VII (black was the distinguishing colour of Jasta 7) with a white H on the upper wing and fuselage.

You might try posting on the Forum at http://www.theaerodrome.com where there's a horde of specialists on the German aspects of the War in the Air. One of them might know more about Jasta 7 and its activities.

Good luck

Gareth

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Stewart

As I indicated, Unteroffizier Paul Hüttenrauch is one of the more obscure aces. The compilers of the authoritative Above the Lines, which has data on all the German aces, clearly couldn't find much on him at all. There's a couple of sentences on him in Fokker D.VII Aces of World War I Part 2, but they only suggest that he may have flown a black D.VII (black was the distinguishing colour of Jasta 7) with a white H on the upper wing and fuselage.

You might try posting on the Forum at http://www.theaerodrome.com where there's a horde of specialists on the German aspects of the War in the Air. One of them might know more about Jasta 7 and its activities.

Good luck

Gareth

:) Thanks Gareth,

I will give that a try. I think this must be the web site I found today which did have a fair bit of info on Jasta 7. I never noticed that they had a forum.

Regards

Stewart

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Saddly, it seems that the medal I have was awarded to the next of kin of John Farquhar. His service documents show that he did not serve as a rank higher than 2nd Lieutenant. The man who carried out the research also states that he can find no other record of a 'J Farquhar' being an officer in the RAF. So it must be him.

Did you try any other spellings of the name Farquhar? It's a name that's easily misspelled, even by authorities.

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:) Hello,

I understand that the researcher did check to see if there was anyone who served under a similar name. It appears there was not.

Regards,

Stewart

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