OTD 23 Nov 1916: Lanoe Hawker, KIA

[Graham Broad]

The claim that Hawker flew often, despite Trenchard's prohibition on squadron majors flying offensive patrols, is repeated in many works. As near as I can tell, however, the sole source for the claim is the only biography of Hawker, the highly affectionate Hawker, VC, written by his brother Tyrrell.

24 Squadron's record book shows that Hawker flew patrols infrequently after the beginning of the Somme Battle –*by my count about eight in all before his death in November. It could be that he was flying patrols but not entering them in the book, but we have no way of knowing if this is the case. I think it is unlikely. 24 saw a lot of action July-November. Is it really probable that Hawker, if he was flying often, was involved in none of them, or deliberately kept his name out of any combat reports if he had been? It's notable that Jock Andrews, speaking at the RAF Staff College in 1924, criticized the policy of not permitting squadron majors to fly by means of utilizing Hawker as an example, arguing that he was out-of-practice when he met MvR on 23 November.

So why did Hawker fly that afternoon? I can't say for certain, but I've wondered if it didn't have something to do with 24's otherloss that day: "C" Flight's Lt. Henry 'Bernie' Begg, who had been with the squadron for less than a month. Did the loss of one of his 'chickens', their second in a week (Crawford had been killed on the 17th), provoke Hawker to join the patrol?