Harry Gosford Reeves

Coordinates: 50°44′17″N 2°44′36″E / 50.73806°N 2.74333°E / 50.73806; 2.74333
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For other people with the same name, see Harry Reeves.

Harry Gosford Reeves
Born(1896-09-30)30 September 1896
Staines, Middlesex, England
Died24 January 1918(1918-01-24) (aged 21)
Buried
Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul, Nord, France
50°44′17″N 2°44′36″E / 50.73806°N 2.74333°E / 50.73806; 2.74333
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1917–1918
RankCaptain
UnitNo. 1 Squadron RFC
Battles/warsWorld War I
 • Western Front

Captain Harry Gosford Reeves (30 September 1896 – 24 January 1918) was a British World War I flying ace credited with 13 aerial victories while flying various models of Nieuport aircraft. He was killed in a crash while flight testing a Nieuport 27.[1]

Biography[edit]

Reeves was born in Staines, Middlesex,[1] and educated at St. John's College, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex.[2]

He joined the Royal Flying Corps in early 1917 as a temporary second lieutenant (on probation), and was appointed a flying officer on 19 May.[3] Reeves was then posted to No. 1 Squadron, flying a Nieuport 23, where he quickly began to gain success in the air, accounting for two enemy aircraft in June, one in July and three in August. Another three victories come in September,[1] and he celebrated being appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 9 October 1917,[4] by accounting for another enemy aircraft, bringing his total to eight. He then flew a Nieuport 27, gaining five more victories, the last being on 18 November 1917.[1]

On 24 January 1918 Reeves was flight testing a new aircraft behind the British lines in France, when it crashed and he was killed.[2] He is buried in the Communal Cemetery Extension, Bailleul, Nord, France.[5]

List of aerial victories[edit]

Combat record[1]
No. Date/Time Aircraft/
Serial No. 		Opponent Result Location Notes
1 18 June 1917
@ 1145		 Nieuport 23[6]
(B1650)		 Albatros D.III Destroyed Oosttaverne Shared with Lieutenants
Louis Jenkin & Charles Lavers.
2 26 June 1917
@ 2100		 Nieuport 23
(B1630)		 Albatros D.III Driven down out of control Becelaere
3 31 July 1917
@ 1425		 Nieuport 23
(B1672)		 Albatros D.V Destroyed South of Terhand
4 13 August 1917
@ 0920		 Nieuport 23
(B1672)		 Albatros C Driven down out of control Houthem Shared with Captain Thomas Hazell.
5 14 August 1917
@ 1910		 Nieuport 23
(B3558)		 Albatros D.V Destroyed South of Moorslede
6 21 August 1917
@ 1910		 Nieuport 23
(B1672)		 Albatros D.V Driven down out of control Houthoulst
7 4 September 1917
@ 1115		 Nieuport 23
(B1672)		 DFW C Driven down out of control South of Polygon Wood
8 9 September 1917
@ 1035		 Nieuport 23
(B1672)		 Rumpler C Driven down out of control East of Polygon Wood
9 11 September 1917
@ 1815		 Nieuport 27
(B3630)		 Albatros D.V Driven down out of control Houthoulst Forest
10 9 October 1917
@ 1515		 Nieuport 27
(B6774)		 Albatros D.V Destroyed in flames South of Polygon Wood
11 15 October 1917
@ 1200		 Nieuport 27
(B6774)		 DFW C Destroyed Comines
12 17 October 1917
@ 1430		 Nieuport 27
(B6774)		 Albatros D.V Driven down out of control Geluwe
13 18 November 1917
@ 0815		 Nieuport 27
(B6774)		 DFW C Driven down out of control Becelaere

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Harry Gosford Reeves". The Aerodrome. 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Personals: Casualties". Flight. X (478): 210. 21 February 1918. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  3. ^ "No. 30141". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 June 1917. p. 6138.
  4. ^ "The British Air Services: Appointments". Flight. IX (462): 1146. 1 November 1917. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  5. ^ "Casualty Details: Reeves, H. G." Commonwealth War Graves Commission. 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Royal Flying Corps – Nieuport serials". airhistory.org.uk. 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
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