Captain Cecil James Marchant was an English 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...

 during World War I. He was credited with nine aerial victories.

Early life

Cecil James Marchant was born in London, England on 15 July 1895. He enlisted in the British Army when he was 18 years old.

World War I

Marchant served about 18 months in the trenches in the early stages of World War I. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

.
On 28 July 1916 second lieutenant C. J. Marchant of the Middlesex Regiment

Middlesex Regiment

The Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On 31 December 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...

 was appointed a Flying Officer

Flying Officer

Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...

, as was customary at graduation from pilot training. He was transferred to the General List of the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

.

After training, his first assignment was as a Sopwith Pup

Sopwith Pup

The Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...

 pilot in 46 Squadron in early 1917. That combat tour ended in June.

On 1 January 1918, Marchant was promoted to temporary captain while serving as a Flight Commander. He returned to 46 Squadron in February 1918. He scored his first aerial victory on 22 March, and ran his tally to nine over the next 45 days. He was awarded the Military Cross, gazetted on 22 June 1918.

His award citation for his Military Cross appeared in Flight magazine, on 27 June 1918. It read:
On 2 July 1918, Marchant was severely enough wounded to require removal from combat duty for hospitalization.

He was temporarily appointed as a 3rd Class Staff Officer originally on 6 October 1918 and again on 10 February 1919. On 20 March 1919, he was appointed as an Adjutant

Adjutant

Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

; this time, he was an acting captain, though drawing pay and allowances as a lieutenant.

List of aerial victories

See also Aerial victory standards of World War I

Aerial victory standards of World War I

During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best...

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	22 March 1918 @ 1500 hours	Sopwith Camel Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...  serial number C1554	LVG LVG Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H. was a German aircraft manufacturer based in Berlin-Johannisthal, which began constructing aircraft in 1912, building Farman-type aircraft. The company constructed many reconnaissance and light bomber biplanes during World War I.The raid on London in 1916 was...  reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Bullecourt Bullecourt Bullecourt is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in France.-Geography:Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. This shows Bullecourt just north of centre. Quéant is the larger of the two...	Victory shared with Donald Roderick MacLaren
2	23 March 1918 @ 1015 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B9211	Reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Croisilles Croisilles, Pas-de-Calais Croisilles is a village and commune in the Pas-de-Calais department of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A small farming village located 8 miles south of Arras at the junction of the D5 and D9 roads...
3	23 March 1918 @ 1030 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B9211	Reconnaissance plane	Set afire; destroyed	Mory Mory Mory is the name or part of the name of three communes of France:*Mory in the Pas-de-Calais département*Mory-Montcrux in the Oise département*Mitry-Mory in the Seine-et-Marne départementMory is also the name of two locations in Poland:...
4	23 March 1918 @ 1410 hours	Sopwith Camel	Albatros D.V Albatros D.V |-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....	Driven down out of control	Morchies Morchies Morchies is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Population:-Places of interest:* The church of St.Vaast, rebuilt, as was all of the village, after World War I....
5	3 April 1918 @ 1245 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B9211	Albatros reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Map grid 57 D L32	Victory shared with Maurice Freehill Maurice Freehill Captain Maurice Michael Freehill was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.-Reference:...
6	20 April 1918 @ 1000 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B9211	Albatros reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	Harnes Harnes Harnes is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Harnes is an ex-coalmining and light industrial town situated some northeast of Lens, at the junction of the D162e and the D39...	Victory shared with Maurice Freehill
7	25 April 1918	Sopwith Camel	LVG LVG Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H. was a German aircraft manufacturer based in Berlin-Johannisthal, which began constructing aircraft in 1912, building Farman-type aircraft. The company constructed many reconnaissance and light bomber biplanes during World War I.The raid on London in 1916 was...  reconnaissance plane	Destroyed	West of Lens Lens -Optics:*Lens , an optical element which converges or diverges light**Lens , a part of the eye**Corrective lens for correction of human vision***Contact lens, placed on the cornea of the eye**Photographic lens, a lens designed for use on a camera...	Victory shared with Philip Tudhope Philip Tudhope Lieutenant Philip Murray Tudhope was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories....
8	2 May 1918 @ 1700 hours	Sopwith Camel s/n B9211	Pfalz D.III Pfalz D.III |-See also:-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1.* Grosz, Peter M. Pfalz D.IIIa . Berkhamsted, Herts, UK: Albatros Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-94841-425-1.* Guttman, Jon. Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 ...	Driven down out of control	Estaires Estaires -References:*...	Victory shared with John Henry Smith John Henry Smith John Henry Smith was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
9	6 May 1918 @ 1800 hours	Sopwith Camel	DFW DFW DFW may refer to:*Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport*Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, a metropolitan area in north Texas*Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources*Division of Fisheries and Wildlife...  reconnaissance plane	Captured	Saint-Venant Saint-Venant Saint-Venant is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Saint-Venant is situated some northwest of Béthune and west of Lille, at the junction of the D186 and D916 roads and by the banks of the Lys River.-Population:-Places of interest:* The...	Victory shared with Victor Yeates, John Henry Smith, Donald Roderick MacLaren, H T W Manwaring

Post World War I

Marchant worked in his family's business postwar. He was also a prime mover in organizing squadron reunions.

Cecil James Marchant died on 30 May 1965.

Reference

• Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman Franks
  Norman Franks
  Norman Leslie Robert Franks is an English writer who specialises in aviation books on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.-Biography:...
  
  , Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0948817194, 9780948817199.

Endnotes