John Gamon | |
---|---|
Born | Chester, Cheshire, England | 25 July 1898
Died | 5 December 1976 | (aged 78)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1916–1919 1940–1945 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | No. 5 Squadron RNAS/No. 205 Squadron RAF |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Distinguished Service Cross |
Captain John Gamon DSC (25 July 1898 – 5 December 1976) was an English World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.[1]
Gamon was the second of three sons born to John Percival Gamon (1865–1934), a solicitor and notary, and his wife Margaret Alice (née Geddes), of Chester, Cheshire.[2] His elder brother, Captain Sydney Percival Gamon (1895–1918) served in the Cheshire Regiment before joining the Royal Flying Corps. Posted to a Home Defence squadron, he was killed in a flying accident, aged 23.[3] The youngest brother, Geoffrey Alexander Percival Gamon (1901–1934), was also killed in an accident in Cairo.[4]
Gamon entered the Royal Naval Air Service as a probationary temporary flight sub-lieutenant, being commissioned as a flight sub-lieutenant on 30 July 1916,[5] five days after his 18th birthday. Assigned to No. 5 Squadron RNAS, flying the DH.4, Gamon gained his first victory on 8 December 1917 forcing down an Albatros D.V over Aertrycke airfield.[1] He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 31 December 1917.[6] Gamon's next victory came on 30 March 1918 when he destroyed a Fokker Dr.I during the First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux,[1] and a result he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. His citation reads:
Two days later, on 1 April, the Royal Naval Air Service and the Army's Royal Flying Corps were merged to form the Royal Air Force, and No. 5 Squadron RNAS was renamed No. 205 Squadron RAF. Gamon was promoted to captain on 4 April.[8] He accounted for two more enemy aircraft on 23 April, and shared two more on 3 May, all over Chaulnes. His seventh and final victory came on 20 May, destroying a Pfalz D.III over Mericombe.[1]
Gamon left the RAF after the war, being transferred to the unemployed list on 11 June 1919.[9]
Gamon returned to military service during World War II, being commissioned as a probationary pilot officer "for the duration of hostilities" in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 27 September 1940.[10] He was confirmed in his appointment, and promoted to the war substantive rank of flying officer on 27 September 1941.[11] He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 January 1944.[12]
He remained in the Air Force Reserves after the war, finally relinquishing his commission on 10 February 1954, being permitted to retain the rank of flight lieutenant.[13]
Gamon died on 5 December 1976, and he, alongside his father and brothers, is commemorated in a window in the cloister of Chester Cathedral.[2][14]