Throughout the First World War, the many announcements of British and Commonwealth gallantry awards appeared in the various issues of The London Gazette. As part of our major monthly series covering the period of the Great War commemorations, we examine some of the actions involved and summarise all of the awards announced in June 1917.
ON 18 MAY 1917, the world was shocked by the news that the ‘Ace of English Aces’, the ‘wonder boy of the Flying Corps’, Albert Ball, was officially being listed as missing by the British Government. The pilot who had shot down forty-three enemy aircraft and one German balloon had become Britain’s most famous aviator - his exploits lauded in newspapers around the globe.
