Just shy of 20 talented, brave and – on occasion – lucky pilots received Britain’s most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy during World War One. This is the story of those gallant airmen.
Bravery Over the Western Front
Following on from Lieutenant William Rhodes-Moorhouse (see page 6), a further 18 airmen would be awarded the Victoria Cross before the Great War ended on November 11, 1918.
The first of these was Reginald Alexander John Warneford, who was born in Bengal, India on October 15, 1891 as the son of a British civil engineer. He was trained, variously, in England and India but at the age of 13 began an apprenticeship with the Merchant Marines before joining the British-India Steam Navigation Company.
