W R French RFC Eddie Grange RAF

toofatfortakeoff · 22 February 2005, 05:42 AM

I know this is a long shot but can anyone tell me what these two did in their service years? W R French came from barton upon Humber and was probably a chemist. I have a photo of Grange in uniform.
I thank you in advance and would be pleased to correspond.

Graeme · 22 February 2005, 04:11 PM

Toofatfortakeoff

There was an Edward Rochefort Grange who served with No 8 Squadron RNAS, claimed five victories and received the Distinguished Service Cross.

Graeme

stevedrew · 22 February 2005, 06:45 PM

There is an excellent book with several references to E R Grange..."Naval Eight" edited by E G Johnstone. E R Grange served in Naval 8 in "B" flight, alongside Robert Alexander Little, Australia's highest scoring pilot (historically...it may not be so...stand by for the book on R S Dallas by Forum regular Adrian Hellwig).

There is a great deal of information on his Squadron, but I am unsure how much information on E R Grange there is in the work.

The Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon has a Sopwith Pup aircraft (Serial No N5182) on display. (This aircraft is not a replica constructed and painted up as an aircraft that was flown in combat...this is the original aircraft). The first recorded flight of this aircraft was on 8 September 1916, by Canadian Flight Lieutenant (later Captain) E R Grange, DSC...escorting Sopwith 1 1/2 strutters on a reconnaissance flight over Ostend. This aircraft was the mount in which R A Little scored his first victories, and may have also been the platform from which E R Grange scored his initial victories. For more information, Museum accession No. 82/A/1067. The war log of N5182 is held in DoRIS Ref B2013/2014, and is made up of entries by E R Grange and R A Little.

E R Grange was wounded in action on January 7, 1917 (according to Naval Eight's appendix, but not so according to Trevor Henshaw's The Sky Their Battlefield) and was awarded the DSC on February 16, 1917 (further details would be available from the London Gazette of that date).

I hope that I have supplied sufficient information, or the means to find what you require.

Frank_Olynyk · 23 February 2005, 05:48 AM

Does anyone have the date and place of death of ER Grange? And his place of birth (I have him as "from" Toronto, but that is not necessarily where he was born.

Frank.

Graeme · 23 February 2005, 10:32 AM

Frank

Information provided by Hugh Halliday:

Born 11 January 1892 in United States (the "Aces" section on this website says Lansing, Michigan)
Home in Toronto (engineering student at university)
Passed tests at Toronto Curtiss School, 1915
Appointed Probationary Flight Sub-Lieutenant, RNAS, in Ottawa, 30 September 1915
Sailed on Athenia from Montreal, 5 October 1915
To No 1 (N) Wing, Dunkirk, January 1916
With No 8 (N) Squadron, attached to 22 Wing, RFC, October 1916
Promoted to Flight Lieutenant, October 1916
Wounded at Bapaume, 7 January 1917
To Eastbourne, August 1917
Appointed Flight Commander, December 1917
Possibly Mentioned in Despatches, August 1919
A Canadian Air Board examiner in 1921.

Above the Trenches states "In 1981 he attended the Aces' Reunion in Paris, and at the time of writing [1990] was still alive."

Graeme

toofatfortakeoff · 24 February 2005, 07:21 AM

Thnanks very much for all your help.