Hero's HomecomingBritain's first aviator VC, William Henry Rhodes-Moorhouse, dutifully completed his final mission despite being mortally wounded. Today news reports that he has been laid to rest on the grounds of Parnham House in Dorset - his family's five-hundred-year-old home.
(from the Daily Sketch, 6 May 1915):
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On 22 April 1915, the Germans launched their first gas attack on Allied troops and for the next four days they took the initiative in battles in and around St. Julien and Ypres. ...the RFC was ordered to bomb the enemy’s railway network to prevent reinforcements reaching the front lines. Rhodes-Moorhouse, who had been due leave, was instructed to bomb the strategically vital railway junction at Courtrai – one of three targets for four aircraft. He took off alone from Merville at 15.05 hours, having been asked to release his 100lb bomb from just below cloud level. To accurately bomb his target, the railway line to the west of Courtrai Station, William flew at a height of 300ft.
His aircraft came under intense enemy fire from a machine-gun located in the belfry of Courtrai Church and from the ground. He was hit by a burst of machine-gun fire and his aircraft was peppered by bullets and struck by shrapnel from the bomb explosion. However after making the thirty-two-mile flight, he dropped right down to 300 feet to ensure a direct hit. He was greeted instantly with a volley of rifle and machine-gun fire, and when he was directly over the target a burst of machine-gun fire perforated his aircraft’s fuselage and smashed into his thigh. At the same time, fragments from his own bomb ripped through the wings and tailplane.
Rhodes-Moorhouse, badly wounded and in great pain, had two options: land behind enemy lines, receive urgent medical attention and become a Prisoner of War; or try to limp back to base with his aircraft and the valuable intelligence he had gathered. Choosing the latter option, he dropped a further 200 feet to gain some extra speed and again encountered heavy fi re from the ground. This led to two new wounds to his hand and abdomen. He landed at Merville airfield at 1615 hours and had to be lifted out of the cockpit by his mechanics. William insisted on reporting the success of his mission to his Flight Commander before being taken to a Casualty Clearing Station where he died. As a result of his action, the German reinforcements were delayed for a critical 16 hour period." (via westernfrontassociation.com)
Footnote:
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"William’s son, also named William but known as Willie, went on to become a Battle of Britain pilot. From May 1940, he served at Merville, France, where his father had been killed in action twenty-five years earlier. He was shot down in a dogfight over Kent on 6 September 1940 and he was buried beside his father at Parnham House."
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In April 2017 the house was badly damaged by fire, the cause of which is still undetermined. The entire interior and contents were lost." (via wikipedia)
(image via bridportnews.co.uk)
Here's a documentary on this aviator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIel5HsZzq0
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