Albert Gregory Waller
Encyclopedia
Captain Albert Gregory Waller MC was an Irish-born World War I flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 credited with 11 confirmed victories. He would return to Britain's military service during World War II.

Personal life

Waller was born on 15 October 1890 to Frances Otway and Francis Albert Waller at Shannon Grove, Banagher
Banagher
Banagher is a town in Ireland, located in the midlands on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The name Banagher comes from its Irish name which translates to English as "the place of the pointed rocks on the Shannon"...

, County Tipperary, Ireland. Waller resided at his family's ancestral seat at Beechmount, Rathkeale
Rathkeale
Rathkeale is a town in west County Limerick, Ireland. It is located 30 km southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, and lies on the River Deel. Rathkeale has a significant Irish Traveller population....

, County of Limerick, Ireland.

In 1920, Waller married Marjorie Harrison at Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...

, Gloucestershire, England. They would have four children.

Albert Gregory Waller died in 1967.

World War I

During World War I, Waller was posted to 206 Squadron while it was still No. 6 Naval Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...

; he was assigned as an Airco DH.4 bomber pilot in France. While flying bombing missions, he and his observer often had to defend themselves against enemy fighter planes. Waller was credited with 11 aerial victories between 6 March and 30 May 1918 during these engagements, though he shared three of those wins with other air crews that contained such luminaries as Herbert Gould
Herbert Gould
Captain Herbert Ruska Gould was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.-Reference:...

 and Alfred Atkey
Alfred Atkey
Alfred Clayburn Atkey MC & Bar was a Canadian First World War pilot.-Early life:Atkey was born in Toronto, Ontario. His family headed west to a town called Minebow, Saskatchewan in 1906. He returned to Toronto to work at the Toronto Evening Telegram as a journalist...

. Waller's final victorious sortie brought his observer, Basil Blackett
Basil Blackett (aviator)
Lieutenant Basil John Blackett was a World War I flying ace credited as an observer and rear gunner with five aerial victories while being piloted by fellow aces Albert Gregory Waller and Conrad Lally....

, to acedom. Overall, Waller destroyed three enemy planes (including one shared triumph) and drove down eight others down out of control while accomplishing his missions. His courage won him a Military Cross, which was not gazetted until 18 September 1918. As his award citation stated:

Post World War I

On 6 January 1921, Captain A. G. Waller resigned from the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

's Indian Army.

World War II

Waller returned to service in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the Royal Air Force as World War II erupted. On 12 December 1940, he was commissioned as a probationary Pilot Officer. He was discharged for ill health on 8 November 1943, retaining the honorary rank of Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...

.

Endnotes

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