Percy Blackburn - War Story - Royal Naval Air Service (1916-19)

 A Normal Life.

At the beginning of 1917 Percy Blackburn was thirty four years old and gainfully employed in Huddersfield as a Tailor’s Cutter, which he had been for the previous twenty years. He was also the head of a young and expanding family. His wife Nora was expecting to give birth to their third child in March and his growing responsibilities were uppermost in his mind.

{Percy & family late 1917 - L to R Lawrence, Percy, Annie, Nora & Marjorie}

The growing demands of the war, which had been raging in Europe since 1914, was, however, making demands on the wider population. Throughout 1914/15 the armed services had relied on volunteers to fight the "Great War". The sheer scale of the conflict and weight of casualties meant that this method of recruitment was no longer enough to maintain the effort required. In an effort to satisfy this need, compulsory conscription was introduced by the government on 4th January 1916 for all males aged 18 to 41. 

 The nation’s call for Percy came in the summer of 1917.

 

Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS)

In August 1917 Percy, age 34, is enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service. He began his engagement on 14th August 1917 as number 36555 (F35512) Air Mechanic II Class.

 RNAS Air Mechanic Patch

His engagement form describing him as 5ft 3in tall with a 35in chest, he has brown hair, grey eyes and possesses a fresh complexion.

Enlisted on the same day as Percy is Thomas Baum, a Bookbinder from Leicester. Percy did not possess any distinguishing marks but Mr Baum had a collection of scars, one over his right eyebrow and one on the back of his neck. He would spend a long time with Percy as their service records are identical.

Percy Blackburn RNAS Engagement Form and Service Record

 Percy is assigned initially to HMS President II, a training establishment in London. He has two days at Crystal Palace and then spends his training time up to 11th October at RNAS Wormwood Scrubs.

To get a feel for the activity after enlistment here are shown RNAS recruits training at Sheerness June/July 1915 (Percy is not in the photo, which is courtesy of the memoirs of Bill Pollard Air Mechanic RNAS)

  

 Posting To The Front

On 12th October 1917 Percy is posted to the Eastern Mediterranean. The military activity in this area was centred on the Salonika campaign, following the end of the ill fated Gallipoli expedition against Turkey. Although Percy and Thomas Baum are officially stamped as "For Service In Land Operations" they make their way to the Salonika Front by ship, sailing through the Corinth Canal. It was during his time on this posting that Percy allegedly learnt much foul language.

To put the posting in perspective, after the withdrawal of the allies from Gallipoli, the RNAS maintained 2 Wings in the Aegean to guard the Dardanelles Straits for the duration of the war.

In Macedonia, British forces joined the Greek and French troops in the fight against Germanys ally, Bulgaria, on the Salonika front. RNAS, RFC and later RAF squadrons supported the British Army along its 90-mile front from Monastir via Lake Doiran and the River Struma to the Aegean Sea. A small scale but fiercely fought air war mounted from inadequate aerodromes over inhospitable terrain eventually assisted in the defeat of Bulgarian forces in September 1918.

Moudros Air Station 1917 - Note Naval uniforms on the right

 The main RNAS base in the Eastern Mediterranean Theatre was on the island of Limnos at Moudros and was known as “2 Wing”. From here they were in range to bomb the Turkish capital of Constantinople (Istanbul). The bases for the RNAS in the Salonika arena were air stations on the island of Thassos or at a town called Stavros on the mainland. Squadrons (Flights) from 2 Wing were detached there for periods of time to serve the Salonika battlefields. Percy could have spent time in any of these three locations during his service.

The main aircraft for the RNAS in the Aegean was the De Havilland Airco DH4. This was an all wooden biplane which served as a light bomber. Although it had a synchronised forward facing Vickers machine gun it also had one or two Lewis guns mounted at the rear for the observer to use in defence from airborne attack. The bomb payload of 460lb was mounted externally.

De Haviland Airco DH4

    Handley Page O/100 Bomber

Moudros also took delivery of one Handley Page O/100 Biplane Bomber. Known as the first “Heavy Bomber” it could carry a bomb payload of 1792lb. It carried out a number of successful bombing raids on Constantinople and other parts of Turkey until being forced to ditch in the sea on 30^th September 1917 following engine failure. The pilot of the plane was John Alcock who found fame as part of the Alcock & Brown team who carried out the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919.

On 14th February 1918 Percy is promoted to Air Mechanic 1st Class. He remains in service with the RNAS in the Eastern Mediterranean until 31st March when momentous changes take place

Birth Of The Royal Air Force

On 1st April the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps were merged to form the Royal Air Force (RAF). All members of the RNAS, including Percy were transferred with an "Engagement to RAF". Percy was given the rank of a Private First Class, and his number was prefixed with a "2" making him 235512 in the new service. The change was in name only and he remained in the Eastern Mediterranean until 24^th January 1919.

Above - Circa 1918 – Percy Blackburn in new RAF uniform

Momentous, yet tragic, changes had happened at home in Huddersfield during this time. Percy’s wife Nora had fallen victim to the Spanish Flu epidemic which was sweeping the country. Nora recovered but passed the bug on to her youngest child. Marjorie died in the Spring of 1918 having just passed her first birthday.

 The old structure of 2 Wing was simply merged into the new RAF structure. E.g. “A” Squadron on Thassos of the RNAS became 222 Squadron of the RAF on 1^st April. They continued attacking Turkish targets in the Balkans until the end of the war and were disbanded on 27^th February 1919.

The distinctive squadron insignia was adopted in September 1918 and rather confusingly has a Zulu motto and South African regional connections. The motto of “Pambili Bo” meaning “Go Straight Ahead” in Zulu, and the badge is allegedly a “Wildebeest in full charge”.

Demobilisation & Home

With the war coming to its end Percy started being processed back into civilian life. Leaving the Aegean area in January 1919 Percy had made his way to Harrowby Dispersal Camp by 21^st March 1919. Harrowby was near Grantham in Lincolnshire and was part of a nationwide network of camps set up to process the demobilisation of the armed forces following World War One. He was transferred to the RAF Reserve on 26^th April 1919, which is the date he left Harrowby for Huddersfield. But he was not deemed as fully discharged until 30^th April 1920.

In due course Percy is awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. For him the “Great War” experience is now over.

 

Medal Notes:

 British War Medal was awarded to both servicemen and civilians that either served in a theatre of war, or rendered service overseas between 5 August 1914 and 11 November 1918. It was also awarded for service in Russia, and post-war mine clearance in the Baltic, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea between 1919 and 1920.

 Allied Victory Medal (Victory Medal) was awarded for service in any operational theatre between 5th August 1914 and 11th November 1918. It was issued to individuals who received the 1914 and 1914-15 Stars and to most individuals who were issued the British War Medal. The medal was also awarded for service in Russia (1919-1920) and post-war mine clearance in the North Sea (1918-1919).