Beauchamp-Proctor VC at Upavon

[Owen D]

Down in Upavon today getting some RAAF graves for a friend on a.n other Forum.

Whilst there thought I saw a VC's grave but it turns out it wasn't.

I should have guessed he wasn't still there as it's not a offical CWGC gravestone.

He may have died there but is buried in South Africa.

I assume he was originally buried there and later returned to his Mother Country.

Anyone have any idea how long he was buried at Upavon for?

EDIT Just found this.

Beauchamp-Proctor then disappeared from sight until 1922, when he returned to England and rejoined the Royal Air Force. Because of his special flying skills, he was appointed to the RAF aerobatic squadron, then based at Upavon, Wiltshire. Then, while practising for an air display, he lost control of his SE 5A and was killed in the resultant crash. He was buried in the village churchyard. On hearing of the war hero's death, Jan Smuts, then Prime Minister of South Africa, cabled Churchill and asked that the remains be shipped to South Africa for a state funeral. The coffin was duly delivered some six weeks later, and finally interred in Beauchamp-Proctor's hometown of Mafeking. All this is recorded fact.

http://www.fictionwise.com/eBooks/eBook27780.htm?cached

Also, noticed quite a few graves of Airmen who'd fought in Belguim, France, Gallipoli some for three years, only to die in a training accident, quite ironic and a great pity.

http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/safrica/beauchamp.php

[Adrian Roberts]

Owen

I'd take the "fictionwise" article with a pinch of salt - firstly Beauchamp-Proctor was killed in 1921 not '22, as the gravestone says; secondly he was in Sopwith Snipe E8220, not an SE5a (which had almost entirely been withdrawn from service by 1921).

And why, in 1921, would Smuts have asked Churchill, a discredited backbencher at the time, to repatiate B-Ps body? Why not Trenchard, or P-M Lloyd-George?

However, Cooksleys "Air VCs" confirms that he was reburied in South Africa but doesn't say when. It must be very unusual to have a gravestone kept in place when the person had been reburied elsewhere, leading anyone without specialist knowledge to assume the person was still there.

He may have died because of being very short in stature and so not reaching the rudder pedals properly; also having been used to SE5as in the war he may not have been so used to the torque from the rotary-engined Camel and Snipe, in which case not being able to reach the rudder pedals would have been even more of a problem.

Adrian

[alex revell]

There seems to be some confusion over whether Beauchamp-Proctor's christian name was Andrew or Anthony. I did quite a bit of digging on this when writing my VC book and satisfied myself that it was Andrew, but in a late publication it is still given as Anthony. Any comments.

[Terry Denham]

There is still some doubt in some quarters as to whether B-P was actually repatriated. I believe this is based on there being no records of an exhumation. However, CWGC accepts that he was and his official commemoration is now in South Africa.

The headstone pictured above is the Non-World War (RAF) pattern as normally supplied by the MoD. Obviously here it is being used as a commemoration stone.

[Owen D]

Adrian,

I didn't really want to post the fiction article but it was all I could find.

Not exactly a great source.

I read that he was 5' 2" tall, but a fierce little chap wasn't he?

I think that must be the most gallantry awards I seen to one man.

Sure I'll be proven wrong now.

Thanks for the replies.

[per ardua per mare per terram]

Beauchamp-Proctor VC, DSO, MC & Bar, DFC

JTB McCuddenVC, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM

[Adrian Roberts]

There seems to be some confusion over whether Beauchamp-Proctor's christian name was Andrew or Anthony

Cooksley, Aerodrome.com, and the CWGC website all say "Andrew" - not that they are primary sources of course.

However, the CWGC website says he was 23 years old when he died, but the other two of these sources give DOB as 4th Sept 1894, which would make him 26 and 9 months. According to Cooksley he had served in Namibia as a signaller in 1914-15, so the earlier date makes sense.

Adrian