Trevor Henshaw TSITB look-up request
 

Gentlemen of the Forum

Anyone with a copy of Trevor Henshaw's THE SKY IS THEIR BATTLEFIELD
is requested to look-up the following: Charles Firth, observer (rank, pilot &
squadron unknown) whose aircraft crashed behind German lines in
mid-1916. Firth was taken prisoner and was repatriated in 1919.
Please provide all the details Henshaw includes about this event.
Thank you.
UPDATE: A Forum member informed me that Henshaw's book does
not contain any loss listings for Lt. Firth in 1916 because TSITB only
lists losses due to enemy action and Firth's AC went down due to
mechanical/structural failure. So, the search for Firth's capture
will now center upon ORBs, squadron histories, and the like.
regards josquin

Nothing in RFC communques that i saw.

Ron F

Thanks for checking the communiques about Lt. Firth's capture.

josquin

Jpsquin,

I can find no mention of your Charles Firth in TSTB. Sorry!

Greg

Greg

Thank you for checking Henshaw's book. Once I can determine which
of about 10 men named Charles Firth who were born at Bradford, Yorkshire
is the RFC man, I will see if service records survive. Thanks again.

Josquin

josquin

Henshaw's work - The Sky Their Battlefield - carries details of a number of aircraft that went down behind the enemy's lines due to mechanical failure, running out of fuel etc (at least until August 1916) so the infomation you have received is not entirely correct.

One thing that puzzles me is that Firth is, on one occasion, apparently listed as ABC Firth J185122; AB would suggest Able Seaman but naval personnel had the prefix "F". Could be a typo for AM - Air Mechanic.

An on-line search of the London Gazette has provided no clues either.

Graeme

Graeme

This is, indeed, a puzzling one. Thank you for the clarification concerning
Henshaw's book, which I have never seen; rather only seen the details
cited by others. Firth's absence from the London Gazette is a further
complication, but I appreciate your investigating this avenue. My survey
of the Medal Roll Index Cards yielded a number of soldiers named
Charles Firth with artillery postings, so it was impossible to tell which
may have been the right man since none also listed the RFC (probably
because he was "attached" rather than formally enlisted). There were
no MIC listings for Charles Firth with any service numbers matching the
numbers given by his granddaughter. If he was RFC (or RNAS) there
should be some means to determine his squadron posting. Thank you, again, Graeme.

Josquin