M. Johnstone

[kmpres]

Do any of you gents know who M. Johnstone was? Here's his picture (attached) taken in Oct 1915 at the Ruffy-Baumann field. He may or may not have been Australian, but I know he was not either of the more famous Australian Johnstons who spelled their surnames without the last 'e' (Philip Andrew Johnston and Edgar Charles Johnston). His name is not on any of the ace lists that I could find so maybe he had an early exit? If so, what were the circumstances?

Thanks in advance for any info you can share.

[Graeme]

kmpres

A Mr Melville Johnstone received RAeC certificate number 3078 on 18 June 1916.

A 2nd Lt Melville Johnstone, No 27 Squadron RFC, was killed in action on 5 April 1917 in Martinsyde G102 A1578; I have no record of any claims made by this 2nd Lt Johnstone.

Graeme

[errolmartyn]

Bruce,

From my For Your Tomorrow - A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services since 1915 (Volume Three: Biographies & Appendices) :

JOHNSTONE, 2nd Lieutenant Godfrey Gleeson.
13435; b Waipukurau 10 Mar 95; ed?; occ? Emb for UK, RFC [& to OCW?] as Cadet [e.17?], [postings wanting], [No.?]SoMA, Comm 30 May 17, [Ruffy-Baumann School of Flying - civil], [civil RAeC Cert 22 Jun], Pilots Badge 22 Aug 17, 49 Sqn (various a/c types) c.27 Aug 17, 56 Trg Sqn (various a/c types) c.7 Sep 17, emb for France & 1AS Depôt Pool 15 Dec 17, 22 Sqn (Bristol Fighter) 29 Dec 17, crashed due e/f on t/off (uninj) 18 Jan 18, kao 30 Jan 18. Merville Communal Cemetery - VII.A.36, Nord, France. Son of Robert & Anastasia Johnstone (née Gleeson), Motoutaraia, Waipukurau. Note: brother of Melville, below.

JOHNSTONE, Captain Melville.
4212; b Waipukurau 22 Jun 88; ed?; farmer - father's sheep Stn, Motuotaraia, Waipukurau. Emb for UK, Ruffy-Baumann School of Flying late Apr 16, RAeC Cert 18 Jun 16; RFC & Comm & [No.?] Sch of Instr 22 Jul 16, [postings wanting], [No.?] Res Sqn, Pilots Badge 27 Oct 16, 49 Sqn (various a/c types) c.31 Oct 16, emb for France & 27 Sqn (Martinsyde G100) 10 Jan 17, f/ldg during patrol 26 Jan 17, f/ldg during bombing raid 18 Mar 17, e/f & f/ldg during bombing raid 5 Apr 17, kao 16 Jul 17. Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery - IV.C.58, St Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France. Son of Robert & Anastasia Johnstone (née Gleeson), Motoutaraia, Waipukurau. Note: Brother of Godfrey, above.

And from Vol Two (Fates: 1915-1942):

Mon 16 Jul 1917
Western Front
Bombing raid on Moorslede, Belgium
27 Squadron, RFC (Clairmarais North, France - 9th HQ Wing)
Martinsyde G100 7499 - successfully returned from the raid but still carrying a single bomb which had failed to drop clear; hanging vane down, it had caught on the landing gear. The pilot chose to ditch in Lake Arques, rather than on the airfield to the north, presumably to lessen the risk of an accidental explosion. Having carried off the ditching, however, he was drowned upon leaving the aircraft and is buried at Longuenesse, to the SW of St Omer.
Pilot: Capt Melville JOHNSTONE, RFC - Age 29.
Johnstone’s brother, Godfrey Gleeson Johnstone, died on 30 January 1918 while flying with 22 Squadron, RFC.

Wed 30 Jan 1918
Western Front
Offensive patrol
22 Squadron, RFC (Auchel, France - 10th Army Wing, 1st Brigade)
Bristol Fighter F2B C4832 - took off at 1035 and seen to fall in flames during an aerial engagement in area of map reference Sheet 36 M.6.d. The pilot was killed and his observer, Air Mechanic 3rd Class R A Duff, died of injuries later in the day. Both are buried at Merville, 17km NE of the base.
Pilot: 2nd Lt Godfrey Gleeson JOHNSTONE, RFC - Age 22.
Johnstone’s brother, Melville Johnstone, died on 16 July 1917 while flying with 27 Sqn.

Errol

[AV8R]

It seems unclear - speculative at best - that the "M. Johnstone" in the photo is in fact Melville Johnstone. Do you have any evidence, kmpres, that the fellow in the photo, dressed in civilian clothes, actually ever served in a naval or military air service? I ask this because he is wearing eyeglasses. Although I'm certainly not an expert in RNAS/RFC/RAF medical standards during 1914-18 (or on how rigourously or flexibly these standards in practice were applied), I nevertheless would be surprised if somebody could have passed an aircrew medical examination without perfect, or at least near perfect, vision - and I'd be astounded if somebody who wore prescription eyeglasses could have made the cut. But I could be wrong.

As Graeme points out, a Melville Johnstone received a Royal Aero Club aviator's certificate in 1916. If you check Melville Johnstone's RAeC index card and photograph (through, for example, ancestry.co.uk), you could see whether he looks like the same person as the "M. Johnstone" in your photo.

[AV8R]

Attached are copies of two pages from 1916 issues of Flight, the journal of the Royal Aero Club. Each of these pages includes a photo of M. Johnstone, a student and then graduate of the Ruffy-Baumann Flying School at Hendon. This, I believe, would be Melville Johnstone, the New Zealander, who attended that school and then received his aviator's certificate in 1916.

My conclusion, from comparing the photos, is that the "M. Johnstone" in kmpres's photo is not Melville Johnston, the New Zealander. What do others think?

[kmpres]

Thank you, one and all, for this info.

I tend to agree that the M. Johnstone in my photo is not the Melville Johnstone who got his ticket on 18 June 1916 for these reasons:

. He does not look like the man in the Flight Mag images, nor is he wearing spectacles in them

. My photo was taken at Ruffy-Baumann on 11 Oct 1915 by professional photographer Birkitt from London. He'd have to have been in flight training for 8 months for him to be Melville Johnstone, which even in English weather would have been an awfully long time. I suppose he could have been a really bad pilot, but he'd also have had to have been rich enough to stay there from New Zealand or Australia on his own dime for that long without a commission.

. DE Harkness made only two entries in his diary, on 23 and 25 Sep 1915 mentioning Johnstone, the later one referring to him indirectly as being Australian, and both were about some after-hours entertainment they were after. He made no further mention of him having passed his ticket or how his flying was progressing even though he (DEH) stayed at R-B through the end of 1915.

The spectacles are interesting. It is my guess that this M. Johnstone is one of the forgotten many who took flying lessons out of personal interest but never completed them, or was killed in training, or was never accepted into the air corps because of bad vision or a failed check ride. He could also have simply been at the right place and right time to have had his picture taken with the current group of students only to drop out two weeks later.

[errolmartyn]

For 1915 there is but a single mention of a 'Johnstone' (no initial) at the Ruffy-Baumann school, on p761 of Flight for 8 Oct 15. He was doing straights at the time.

Two weeks later there is mention on p811 of a 'Johnson' (no initial) at the Ruffy-Baumann school. He is one of the pupils 'with instructor' at the time. So Johnstone and Johnson may well be one and the same man.

The thumbnail pic, in the first post, above, appears also as part of a group photo of Ruffy-Baumann pupils on p830 of Flight of 29 Oct 15. The complete group is named, thumbnail man being described as 'Johnson' (no initial). There are no other Ruffy-Baumann mentions of a Johnstone, Johnston or Johnson during the rest of 1915, nor is one recorded as having been granted an aviator's certificate with the school at the time, so it would seem that he must have dropped out early on. So he certainly seems to have absolutely nothing to do with New Zealander Melville Johnstone.

Errol

[kmpres]

Thanks Errol.

I see you found my picture. In the original photo, the name is handwritten neatly in a draftsman's hand as "Johnstone", and the name of the man sitting to his left, Lt. McBean, is spelled without the last "e" as it is in the Flight Mag photo. So spelling errors now add to the confusion. We may never know whose. As DEH made no mention of M. Johnstone again in his diaries, and Melville Johnstone appears to have come on the scene a year later than the M. Johnstone in the photo, I will assume that the M. Johnstone of 1915 washed out for some reason. DEH would have reported a crash if one had occurred. It never occurred to me until now that one or more of the men in that photo may not have become a pilot due to choice or some other non-accident reason.

[normanf]

Errol - I am STILL trying to get hold of your Vol 2. Any chance yet? Norman Franks

[errolmartyn]

Originally Posted by normanf

Errol - I am STILL trying to get hold of your Vol 2. Any chance yet? Norman Franks

Norman,

Still out of print, I'm afraid. A pre-loved copy on the likes of BookFinder.com: Search for New & Used Books, Textbooks, Out-of-Print and Rare Books might be your best chance of obtaining one in the meanwhile.

Errol