Flight Sub Lieutenant Geoffrey William Hemming, DSC

Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)

The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...

, RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 (3 April 1898–26 February 1926) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 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 six aerial victories.

World War I service

Hemming joined 4 Naval Squadron just after its foundation. It was equipped with 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...

s, and based at Ostend

Ostend

Ostend  is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

, Belgium. Hemming piloted Pup No. N6177 to victory over a Siemens-Schuckert D.I

Siemens-Schuckert D.I

The Siemens-Schuckert D.I was a German single-seat fighter built by Siemens-Schukert Werke.A number of captured Nieuport 17 fighters were given to German aircraft manufacturers to study, the Siemens-Schukert Werke produced the D.I based on the captured fighter. The D.I was a biplane powered by...

, destroying it on 12 May 1917. He switched to No. N6199 for his victories on 6 June, when he destroyed another Siemens Schuckert D.I, and drove a third one down out of control. He then upgraded to 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...

 No. B3841 for his triple win on 22 August 1917, when he drove down three 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....

s out of control.

Family

Geoffrey Hemming married Dorothy May Woods, daughter of Mr. and Mrs R. J. Woods, of Princetown Lodge, Bangor, County Down

Bangor, County Down

Bangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...

, on 7 February 1923 at St. Comgall's Parish Church, Bangor, County Down. Dorothy Hemmings' son, Desmond Wettern, was Naval Correspondent of The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...

.

Geoffrey William Hemming perished in a flying accident with a Fairey III.D at RAF Calshot

RAF Calshot

RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly an RAF marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hampshire, England, at...

on 26 February 1926.

Honors and awards

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)

Flt. Sub-Lieut. Geoffrey William Hemming, R.N.A.S.

In recognition of his services with a Wing of the R.N.A.S. at Dunkirk between March and September, 1917, during which period he has been continuously employed on the Belgian coast, and on many occasions has been in charge of a flight. On the 22nd September, 1917, he led his flight against a formation of twenty enemy aircraft, and engaging three consecutively, brought them all down.

External links

• http://www.theaerodrome.com/guestbook/EGuest-PRO_show.php
• http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1923/1923%20-%200112.html