Americans Trained in Canada, flying for Britain

[logilby]

My great uncle 2nd Lt. LYMAN H. CUNNINGHAM (102nd Squadron) and three of his American friends were billeted in Salisbury with a woman whose own sons were off fighting. Her name was Charlotte Fawcett. The Americans flew with the British out of Old Sarum, and were often listed as either British or Canadian. Lyman was killed in a flying accident there 13 Jan 1918, and I have a great deal of information about him. I have his death certificate, his casualty card, obituaries, and also all the letters he wrote home to his sister. He is buried in Chilton Foliat. Of the other three, two were killed in France and the remaining pilot survived the war in a German POW camp. I wonder if any of you experts have come across any information about these four Americans. I have information on those killed in France from the CWGC. Lyman's three close friends were:

Lt. REGINALD WILLEY, RAF 57th Squadron, killed 20/05/1918, buried Huby St. Leu British Cemetery, France.

Lt. WILLIAM HENRY TOWNSEND, RAF 57th Squadron, killed 23/04/1918, buried Huby St. Leu British Cemetery, France.

(He was also at times called "Stephan". He died some days later of wounds caused in battle)

CHARLES FREDERICK WESTING (aka Fred), Graudenz POW camp, West Prussia. Released and returned to UK January 1919.

I am writing from Los Angeles.

Thank you for any help and guidance you can offer. This is my second posting on the site.

[Ken S.]

All three who died are also listed on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, which essentially contains the same info as the CWGC. There is however a link on each listing for the page of the First World War Book of Remembrance on which they are listed. Also, for Lt. Willey, someone has posted a newspaper clipping giving notice of his death. I don't know if it will provide much new info, but it does include a small photo of him.

Lyman Cunningham

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm...casualty=406303

William Henry Townsend

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm...casualty=591546

Reginald Willey

http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm...casualty=591548

[Dolphin]

Lois

First of all, a belated welcome to the Forum.

You probably already have this information, but in case you don't . . .

Lt R Willey was flying DH 4 A7406 of No 57 Sqn RAF, with 2Lt H S G Palmer as his observer, when he was killed in an accident on 20 May 1918. The aeroplane collided with a wind gauge during take off from Fienvillers aerodrome, then hit the ground and caught fire. 2Lt Palmer was injured.

Lt W H Townsend was flying DH 4 D8406 of No 57 Sqn RAF, with 2Lt Charles Campbell Souchotte from Glasgow as observer, when killed in action on 23 April 1918. The engine caught fire when returning from a raid on Bapaume and the aeroplane crashed. Both crew members were killed.

2Lt C F Westing was flying DH 4 A7562 of No 55 Sqn RFC, with Sgt H Hodge as observer, when they failed to return from a raid on the Mannheim Chemical Works on 24 March 1918. They were last seen in combat with a large number of enemy aircraft over the target. Both airmen were taken Prisoner of War. Leutnant Otto Creutzmann of Kest 4b was credited with a DH 4; it was the 2nd of his eventual 8 victories.

I hope that this is useful.

Gareth

[logilby]

Thank you Gareth and Ken so very much for your replies. Yes indeed this is most helpful. I forgot to mention that I have some photos in my grandmother's memory album of the four men, and can only recognize my great uncle. They are unlabeled. I will check out the link for Lt. Willey. That should help me identify them. I had not thought to check the Canadian site, and thank you so much for providing that information. I know that Townsend was a graduate of Dartmouth, so I will be able to find his photo in a yearbook. That will mean the fourth man in my photos must be Westing... I am really thankful for your help.

Lois

[Ken S.]

Thank you Gareth and Ken so very much for your replies. Yes indeed this is most helpful. I forgot to mention that I have some photos in my grandmother's memory album of the four men, and can only recognize my great uncle. They are unlabeled. I will check out the link for Lt. Willey. That should help me identify them. I had not thought to check the Canadian site, and thank you so much for providing that information. I know that Townsend was a graduate of Dartmouth, so I will be able to find his photo in a yearbook. That will mean the fourth man in my photos must be Westing... I am really thankful for your help.

Lois

I'm not sure that there would have been a year book, or if there was, there would be a photo; I'm basing this on my local university for which there is only a course/student directory published during this period (yearbooks came about in the 1930s, I believe); so I may be wrong. Most schools did, however, publish some sort of memorial book, which usually contains information on both men who served and ment who died; for the latter there is usually more information and a photo.

Here is the reference for Dartmouth's from the school's online library catalogue:

Author: Clark, Eugene Francis, 1879-1930.

Title: War record of Dartmouth College, 1917-1918; an account of the part taken by Dartmouth College and by its officers, alumni and undergraduates in the world war. Comp. in the Office of alumni records, ed. by Eugene Francis Clark ... and pub. by authority of the trustees

Imprint: Hanover, N.H. 1922

Description: 254 p. front., ill. (incl.ports) 24 cm

[logilby]

I'm not sure that there would have been a year book, or if there was, there would be a photo; I'm basing this on my local university for which there is only a course/student directory published during this period (yearbooks came about in the 1930s, I believe); so I may be wrong. Most schools did, however, publish some sort of memorial book, which usually contains information on both men who served and ment who died; for the latter there is usually more information and a photo.

Here is the reference for Dartmouth's from the school's online library catalogue:

Author: Clark, Eugene Francis, 1879-1930.

Title: War record of Dartmouth College, 1917-1918; an account of the part taken by Dartmouth College and by its officers, alumni and undergraduates in the world war. Comp. in the Office of alumni records, ed. by Eugene Francis Clark ... and pub. by authority of the trustees

Imprint: Hanover, N.H. 1922

Description: 254 p. front., ill. (incl.ports) 24 cm

I think there will most likely be a yearbook, and I will contact the university library archives to find out. Townsend actually graduated from Dartmouth before enlisting so I imagine there will be a usual senior entry. My great uncle was in the class of 1919 from Yale, but never finished as he was killed in 1918. I have a great memorial entry from the Yale yearbook of 1919 for him. In addition, I have the page from his high school yearbook (1915) for him. That entry is wonderful as it lists all his nicknames, what he studied, and his extracurricular activities and sports. It underscores for me what a young and vibrant guy he was just 2 short years before he went to war. I now see also (thanks to you) that Willey went to Cornell and graduated. That is listed in the newspaper clipping you showed me. I imagine there is a yearbook there to search...

Thank you again for your kind help.

I am very appreciative!

Lois

[Dolphin]

Lois

I should have included this in my earlier post:

2Lt L H Cunningham was flying DH 4 A7755 of No 103 Sqn RFC, based at Old Sarum, when he was killed in an accident on 14 January 1918.

Best wishes

Gareth

[logilby]

Lois

I should have included this in my earlier post:

2Lt L H Cunningham was flying DH 4 A7755 of No 103 Sqn RFC, based at Old Sarum, when he was killed in an accident on 14 January 1918.

Best wishes

Gareth

Gareth,

Thank you so much.

Please excuse me if I am repeating myself. I am just getting used to how this forum works. I thought I had made a response earlier, but perhaps didn't post it properly...

I am curious about the fact that all four of these men were flying DH4s when they crashed. They all flew out of old Sarum at some point. Yet they were part of different squadrons (except Willey and Townsend). Do you think they only flew DH4s, or that it was coincidence that it was in DH4s that they crashed? Would they have been trained in other planes too? I just finished reading The Price of Honor , The World War One Letters of naval Aviator Kenneth MacLeish, and he seemed to fly quite a number of different planes. He was a Naval aviator and not RFC... does that matter?

I am also curious about the communication of Lt. Westing from the Graudenz POW camp. He wrote to my grandmother, and she wrote to him. He knew that both Willey and Townsend had been killed, but he was captured BEFORE they had crashed. How did my grandmother (in NYC) know that Westing's plane had gone down, that he was a POW, and that she could write him?

I should note that the date of death of my great uncle, Lyman Cunningham, is in fact the 13th of January, not the 14th. I have his Casualty Card and his death certificate. May I ask where you have gotten the information above citing the date he was killed as the 14th?

Thanks so much for all your help and information.

I do appreciate it very much,

Lois

[Ken S.]

According to the source that I have:

*No. 103 Squadron was formed on Sept. 1, 1917 at Beaulieu, moved to Old Sarum on Sept. 8 where it remained until May 12, 1918 and eventually moving to France in May 1919. Initially it was equipped with "various" aircraft, went over to the DH.9 in December 1917.

*No. 55 Squadron was formed on April 27, 1916 at Castle Bromwich, moved to Lilbourne on June 10, 1916 and to France at Fienvillers on March 6, 1917, Boisinghem on May 31, 1917, Ochey on October 11, 1917, Tantonville on November 7, 1917, Azelot on June 5, 1918. Initially the squadron was equipped with BE.2c, BE.2e, FK.8, and Avro 504 aircraft, and in January 1917 went over to the DH.4--the first squadron to do so.

*No. 57 Squadron was formed on June 8, 1916 at Copmanthorpe, moved to Tadcaster on August 20, 1916, to France at St. Andre-aux-Bois on December 16, 1916, Fienvillers on Jan. 22, 1917, Droglandt on June 12, 1917, Boisdinghem on June 27, 1917, Ste. Marie Cappel on Nov. 23, 1917, Le Quesnoy on March 29, 1918, Vert Galand on Sept. 19, 1918. Initially flew Avro 504A and BE.2c, then FE.2d; in May 1917, went over to the DH.4 and flew this for the remainder of the war.

Source:

James J. Halley "The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force"

[Dolphin]

Lois

It looks like there's a conflict of dates between sources relating to 2Lt L H Cunningham's death: Airmen Died in the Great War has 13 January, while The DH 4/DH 9 File has 14 January. It seems that 13 is the correct date.

I don't know how all four airmen came to be posted to DH 4 units, but perhaps they were categorised as 'day bomber pilots' while in training. The type was the standard RFC day bomber in 1917 (it was a better machine than the DH 9 that was to replace it in 1918) and the design was so good that it was selected for mass production in the USA, though with the excellent Liberty engine.

We can only guess about the means by which Lt Westing learned of the fates of Lts Willey and Townsend, but I suggest that he may have had contact with other captured airmen from No 57 Sqn while in his PoW camp.

Regards

Gareth

[logilby]

Dear All,

Upon closer examination of the photos I have, it looks like ONE photo is labeled, and in it is a new name and face to add to my great uncle's list of friends:

DONALD WATEROUS

Can anyone help me with information about him?

The back of the photo is labeled "Taken in front of our tent, Sept. 1917 Armour Heights, North Toronto, CANADA"

In the photo are Lyman Cunningham, Rex Willey and Donald Waterous.

Lois

[logilby]

Dear All,

Upon closer examination of the photos I have, it looks like ONE photo is labeled, and in it is a new name and face to add to my great uncle's list of friends:

DONALD WATEROUS

Can anyone help me with information about him?

The back of the photo is labeled "Taken in front of our tent, Sept. 1917 Armour Heights, North Toronto, CANADA"

In the photo are Lyman Cunningham, Rex Willey and Donald Waterous.

Lois

Here is the photo...

L to R: Rex Willey, Lyman Cunningham and Donald Waterous.

Lois

[Dolphin]

Lois

Lt D J Waterous flew DH 4s with No 55 Sqn in the Independent Force, RAF, the strategic bombing formation based behind the French sector of the Front. He was involved in many raids, including that on Strasbourg on 14 August 1918 in DH 4 F5703, with 2Lt C L Rayment as observer, when they were credited with sending down an enemy aeroplane out of control (what would be called a 'probable' victory in later conflicts).

On 7 September 1918 he flew DH 4 A7942, again with 2Lt Rayment, on a reconnaissance mission to Sarrebourg they were attacked by three Fokker D.VIIs and a Hannover two-seater. One Fokker was sent down out of control but the DH 4 was very badly shot up in a running fight, especially after 2Lt Rayment had exhausted his ammunition. The aeroplane made it back to the Allied lines and both airmen were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, gazetted on 29 October 1918.

For more information, see Independent Force by Keith Rennles, ISBN 1 902304 90 X.

I hope this helps you.

Gareth

[Ken S.]

Here is the photo...

L to R: Rex Willey, Lyman Cunningham and Donald Waterous.

Lois

There is a Donald Waterous who enlisted with the 125th Battalion in Brantford, Ontario:

http://data2.archives.ca/cef/gpc017/658129a.gif

If you go to page 18 of this document there are two photos of men from Brantford, both of which contain the Donald Waterous above:

http://66.207.114.162/genealogy/pdfs/BX1916.pdf

[logilby]

Ken and Gareth,

I can't thank you enough for all your help. This is amazing.

Unfortunately Lyman's letters don't mention Waterous, but at least I know they were together by this photo.

I have just added another great piece of information to my puzzle of who Lyman's group of four were. They called themselves "les quatre jongleurs"... the four jugglers... and I have discovered that the brother of W. H. Townsend (one of the four) was Harry Townsend, one of the eight official US artists sent to France in 1917 to draw the war! There are a number of books with his work that I will look up, and his sketches are in the Smithsonian. I have found a couple on line, but none of airmen. Do you by any chance know of such artwork done of the fliers?

Lois

[Ken S.]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with Harry Townsend or any of his works, so I don't know.

I checked the 1911 census at Automatedgenealogy.com and the Waterous surname is not that common and is only found in Brant county. If you Google "Waterous Brantford" there is some interesting information about the family's contribution to the industry of that city.

[Dolphin]

Lois

Alas, I fear that I'm well out of my depth when it comes to war artists.

Sorry that I can't help.

Gareth

[logilby]

Dear Gareth and Ken,

Thank you again for your unfailing responses to my queries.

I wanted to let you know that my search for photos and information at the alma maters of the men I am researching has been fruitful!

I have been told that for Lt. Townsend, not only do they have his yearbook page (including photo), but the file contains a photo of him standing next to his plane! Photocopies of these are free, but they do charge for scanned images. I will finally be able to begin putting faces to the names of my "quatre jongleurs"!! Amazing.

Lois

[Ken S.]

Lois,

That's great to hear. I'm afraid that the Donald Waterous from Brantford is likely not the man we're interested in. As per Gareth's post, the middle initial should be a "J" and therefore the person in question is Donald Jayne Waterous, from Independence, Iowa. There is an entry for him on this webpage:

http://www.airforce.ca/wwi/GONG-9.U-Z.html

You may want to contact the Buchanan County Genealogical Society:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~iabuchan/gensociety.htm

[Dolphin]

Lois

I must apologise for having the incorrect date for the gazettal of Lt Waterous's DFC; it was actually in the Gazette of 21 September 1918.

The citation is below.

Regards

Gareth

[logilby]

Gentlemen,

Can we assume Lt. D J Waterous survived the war?

Lois

[Dolphin]

Lois

His name isn't in Airmen Died in the Great War, so he was certainly alive to see the Armistice.

Regards

Gareth

[Ken S.]

Gentlemen,

Can we assume Lt. D J Waterous survived the war?

Lois

I believe this may be him:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?p...d=22656603&

[logilby]

I believe this may be him:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?p...d=22656603&

Wow, Ken.

Amazing.

Many, many thanks.

I will contact the submitter...

Lois

[ejcmartin]

There is a painting, at the Canadian War Museum I believe, entitled "Coming Home Armour Heights", by Frank Johnston. It shows the picture of a Curtis Jenny(?) about to land at dusk. Frank Johnston later went on to be a founding member of the "Group of Seven", who are quite well known in Canada painting circles. I will see if I can post a copy.