Two brothers- casualties of Bloody April 1917

[clive_hughes]

I wonder if anyone has come across the Watson brothers, who were both casualties of "Bloody April" 1917?

When researching the history of Christ Church, Carmarthen I found that the elder brother, ARTHUR WATSON, was a Lieutenant (Pilot) in 59 Squadron RFC. On 13 April six of its RE8 fighters were surprised by Richthofen's Jagdstaffel 11 squadron and all shot down. Watson's plane was the only one from which survivors emerged (badly injured). Arthur was taken POW and held at Aachen, but was repatriated by May 1918 and was photographed with the Church Choir (both brothers had been choristers). I don't know his subsequent history, but his sister was still living in Carmarthen in about 1987.

On 25 April a force of Handley-Page bombers took off from Coudekerke for a daylight raid on Ostend. In the crew of Lieut. Hood's Handley-Page 3115 of 7 Squadron RNAS was F/3307 Leading Mechanic (Gunlayer) RICHARD HENRY ("Dick") WATSON, Arthur's younger brother. The aircraft strayed and was shot down by a German seaplane near Nieuport. In a dramatic rescue bid, two French seaplanes tried to help: one took off with a survivor aboard, but the other was captured by enemy speedboats, together with the remaining RNAS survivor, who died of wounds some months later. But Lieut. Hood and Dick Watson were already dead, and are listed on the Chatham Memorial to the Missing. Dick is commemorated on his grandparents' grave in nearby St.Davids Churchyard, Carmarthen, as "drowned off Zeebrugge by enemy action". It was apparently the first Handley-Page lost to enemy action?

Both brothers had become casualties in a space of 12 days. I pieced together their stories some years ago from the usual sources such as Trevor Henshaw and Chris Hobson (for aerial casualties & graves), CWGC, and a brief article from the local newspaper with photo of Arthur.

Has anyone got any observations on these incidents; or on the brothers?

LST_164

[Dolphin]

LST

This is probably stale news to you, but the victory over RE 8 A3199, flown by 2/Lts A Watson and E R Lane, credited to Vizefeldwebel Sebastian Festner was the 9th of the 12 he was credited with before he was killed in action on 25 April 1917.

Regards

Gareth

[clive_hughes]

Gareth,

No, I didn't know about Festner's death or "score". Odd, too, that he should have himself been killed on the same day as his victim's brother. I did this bit of research some years ago and haven't even read the recent book Bloody April, which might put the casualties in context.

Thanks for responding,

LST_164

[Dolphin]

LST_164

If you're interested in a brief biography and photograph of Vzfw Festner, both are in Above the Lines by Norman Franks, Frank Bailey and Russell Guest; ISBN 0 948817 73 9.

Festner's greatest claim to fame is as the pilot who brought down A3337, the Bristol F.2a flown by Capt William Leefe-Robinson VC (the conqueror of German Army airship SL11 on 2/3 September 1916) when Jasta 11 encountered a flight from No 48 Sqn RFC on 5 April. Capt Leefe-Robinson, who was made PoW along with his observer 2Lt E D Warburton, was Festner's 4th victory.

Regards

Gareth

[Guest]

LST_164

If you're interested in a brief biography and photograph of Vzfw Festner, both are in Above the Lines by Norman Franks, Frank Bailey and Russell Guest; ISBN 0 948817 73 9.

Festner's greatest claim to fame is as the pilot who brought down A3337, the Bristol F.2a flown by Capt William Leefe-Robinson VC (the conqueror of German Army airship SL11 on 2/3 September 1916) when Jasta 11 encountered a flight from No 48 Sqn RFC on 5 April. Capt Leefe-Robiobson, who was made PoW along with his observer 2Lt E D Warburton, was Festner's 4th victory.

Regards

Gareth

Hi LST_164

Attached is a few details of all four members of Handley Page 3115.

Regards DuncanHP3115.doc

[clive_hughes]

Gareth and Duncan

It's good of you to offer more details about Festner (and his link to Leefe-Robinson VC), and the crew of Dick Watson's Handley-Page bomber.

It's the little details like these which build up a better picture of an event or the characters involved in it, and I'm grateful to you both.

Regards,

LST_164

[larney]

Hi,

I have a couple of newpaper clippings about these two men. If you want to e-mail me off-list, I can send you copies.

I have a website on Carmarthenshire men-

www.laugharnewarmemorial.co.uk

All the best,

Steve

[Guest Pennie]

I was delighted to find this posting as Arthur Watson is my grandfather and in 1914 my he trained as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. On April 13th 1917 they were sent in Avro RE8’s to photograph German lines. The fighters, which should have escorted them never arrived, and when they were attacked by German fighters all six aircrafts were shot down.

My grandfather got four machine gun bullets in his left shoulder. He was taken out of his aircraft by some German nuns, and was the only one of the twelve crew to survive. My father’s brother Dick, was a mechanic in The Royal Naval Air Service, and was shot down in the sea, off Ostend, in the same week. Being a strong swimmer he started to swim for the shore, but the Germans machine gunned him in the sea.

My grandfather was a prisoner of war for eighteen months and repatriated just before the war finished. When he looked back at his bank account he could hardly believe the balance ; for when he was in France and Germany his pay had gone into his account. So he decided to study medicine at St. Mary’s in Paddington.

He became a doctor Scarborough and married my grandmother, also a doctor and had two children the youngest being my father. If anyone has anymore information about him or his brother I would be delighted know. The Watson Brothers

[Dolphin]

Pennie

First of all, welcome to the Forum.

The authoritative accounts tell us that the arranged fighter escort for No 59 Sqn's RE 8s [not Avro R E 8s] were delayed or diverted due to other events, so the squadron had to provide its own escort of other RE 8s. For a detailed account, you could look at Bloody April . . . Black September by Norman Franks, Russell Guest and Frank Bailey, ISBN 1 898697 08 6.

Best wishes

Gareth

[clive_hughes]

SteveJ and Pennie,

another member kindly drew my attention to your posts, since for some reason I am no longer notified of additions to this thread (?time limit).

I will pm you, but thanks very much for adding to the available information.

LST_164

[per ardua per mare per terram]

Here's the link to the RNAS service register (free to download at Kew):

Name Watson, Richard Henry

Official Number: F3307

Place of Birth: Hong Kong, China

Date of Birth: 10 September 1895

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documen...p;resultcount=1