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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0735.PDF
JULY 19, 1917. A marriage has been arranged, and will shortly take place, •between ARTHUR CHARLES CHAMPION RAWLINS, lieutenant, * R.F.C., third son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles_Rawlins, of Dunedin, New Zealand, and Sydenham Hill, S.E., and PHYLLIS YVONE MARION, elder daughter of Mr. SIDNEY H. BAKER, of 6, Marine "Square, Brighton. Items. News has been received from New York of the death of Mr. HENRY FIELD, who, although an American, joined the R.N.D. early in 1915 and was transferred thence to the armoured cars. He was in charge of a squadron in France for some months and was then transferred to the R.N.A.S. On attaining the age of 21 in June, 1916, he was compelled to return to the United States. He was the second son of Mrs. Maldwin Drummond and a grandson of the late Marshal Field, of Chicago, and was educated at Eton. He married last February Miss Nancy Perkins, a granddaughter of Mr. Langhorne, of Virginia. Mr. Field's elder brother, Mr. Marshall Field, has joined the Illinois Cavalry as a trooper;. Lieutenant WILFRED GRAHAM SALMON, who was killed in action during the July 7th air raid, was buried in Dartford Cemetery, with full military honours, on July nth, the coffin being conveyed from the church to the grave on a gun carriage, draped with the Union Jack and drawn by six horses. The band of the Orchard Military Hospital attended, and the members of the Dartford Council and Mr. James Rowlands, M.P. for the division, were present at the service. A large number of members of the R.F.C. andjmany patients from the hospital were there. NATIONAL LIABILITY FOR AIR RAID DAMAGE. THE Lord Mayor of London, on July 13th, headed the deputation, which comprised, among others, the Lord Mayor of York, the Mayor of Tynemoulh, the Mayor of Ramsgate, the Mayor of Walsall, various Metropolitan mayors, and the chairmen of local councils and representatives of chambers of commerce and other bodies, from the Committee on War Damage, representing 718 municipalities with a population of over 28,000,000, which waited upon the Premier to put forward their case for the State assuming liability for damage done by aircraft raids to life or property. The Premier was accompanied by Dr. Addison (the Minister of Munitions) and Sir David Henderson (Director of the Air Service). Gen. Smuts was also present. The Lord Mayor of London, in introducing the deputation, said they desired to urge upon the Government the necessity of providing, out of national funds, compensation to those who had suffered damage from the air and other attacks of the enemy. The Lord Mayor of York urged that the Government should accept full and unqualified responsibility for damage and injury arising out of the defence of the country as the authorities did in the case of riot. The Premier asked if he could be told something about the scheme, and not the general principles. Why was the present scheme not adequate ? That was what he really wanted to know. The Mayors of Walsall and Ramsgate then spoke as to the damage done in their areas, and stated that the scheme was not adequate for them. They were followed by the Mayor of Tynemouth. The Prime Minister, replying to the deputation, sard : ** You have presented your case with great moderation, and with great force. You represent towns, some of which have sustained a good deal of damage through these insensate and barbarous raids. There is at the present moment, I understand, an insurance scheme on fairly generous and liberal lines for dealing with this problem, but I am not sure that it is completely applicable to the facts of the case, for many reasons. First of all, there is always a difficulty in making such schemes known to smaller people, and it is not always that they can protect themselves against such attacks. There are not merely tradesmen and factory owners and owners of big properties who are suffering, but there are poor people who have got their all destroyed in these air raids, and it is just as important to them as the great factories must be to the people who are in more prosperous conditions, and they are just as entitled to protection. " I am not sure that it is always a complete answer to them to say, ' You could have insured under some scheme.' It takes a long time, as any one of you who is acquainted with insurance companies knows, to bring the benefits of insurance to every class. You want an army of agents and an army_ of persuasive tongues. We have no time for that sort of thing in this war. I think myself that in principle you have certainly made out a case. I should like to consider the details carefully, and my suggestion to you is that you appoint, say, two or three, at the outside, of your number, to be in communication with me or any particular department or departments in the Cabinet who are ordered to deal with the question, for further consultation. The French Govern- ment had given a general pledge that the devastated areas should be restored. The devastation there is on a more wholesale and a more deplorable scale, and the losses inflicted are terrible. The burden which rests on the French Govern- ment will be all the greater. But whether great or small, the principle is the same. We must protect our people as far as we can against the consequences of these barbarities, and we ought to do so without distinction of rich or poor. Therefore, in principle, I accept the case you have put before me on behalf of the Government, but 1 should like to consider the details further, and I invite you to meet and give me the names of three of your number with whom I can have further consultation." R.N.A.S. Work. THE following announcements have been made by theAdmiralty :— " July nth. "' A report has been received from the Vice-Admiral, Eastern Mediterranean, that on the night of July 9th a successful attack was carried out by the R.N.A.S. against the Turkish-German fleet lying off Constantinople (Golden Horn). When the ' Goeben,' surrounded by warships including submarines) had been located, the attack was made from a height of 800 ft. Direct hits were obtained on the ' Goeben ' and on the other enemy ships near her. Big explosions took place on board them, and several fires were observed. The War Office was also attacked and a direct hit obtained. The enemy appeared to have been completely surprised, as until the bombs had been dropped no anti-aircraft batteries opened fire. Our force returned safely without any casualties." " July 12th. " Whilst on patrol on Wednesday, July nth, a flight of five machines of the R.N.A.S. met and engaged a formation of-10 Albatros scouts and three large two-seater machines south-west of Nieuport. Three of the enemy scouts were driven down completely out of control and two others were driven down. One of our machines is missing." " The Vice-Admiral, Eastern Mediterranean, reports that in the course of attacks on the enemy positions on the Gallipoli Peninsula, R.N.A.S. machines sank a tug lying off Chanak." . ...-, ,;. " Bombing raids were carried out by the R.N.A.S. last night (nth-i2th) on the following military objectives:— Varssenaere, St. Denis Westrem, Ghistelles, Ostend rail- way lines and electric power station. The railway siding at Zarren was attacked by gunfire from the air, and bombs were dropped on a train near St. Denis Westrem. A fire was caused by bombs near Ostend electric power station. A heavy explosion was also caused at Varssenaere railway dump, followed by an intense conflagration, which was still burning half an hour later. Several tons of bombs were dropped. All machines returned safely." " July 13th. " Bombing raids were carried out by the R.N.A.S. last night (i2th-i3th) on the following military objectives :— Aertrycke Aerodrome ; Houttave-Nieuwmunster Aerodrome ; Ghistelles Aerodrome ; railway junction north of Thourout Station ; Bruges dock and canal bank dumps; railway junction south of Ostend Harbour. The visibility was generally very poor, and in consequence observation of results obtained was difficult. A bombing attack was also made on Solway Works, Zeebrugge, and root of Zeebrugge Mole. In all several tons of bombs were dropped. All machines returned safely." " July 16th. " During last night, July I5th-i6th, several tons of bombs were dropped by the R.N.A.S. on the following military objec- tives : Solway Works, Zeebrugge, railway junctions and sidings at Ostend, railway sidings and dumps at Middelkerke, railway junction at Thourout, motor transport convoys, and railway sidings at Lichtervelde. All our machines returned safely." 73$ ••*..•.-• r--'-—.
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