Reginald Morse Charley | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Reg |
Born | Blakeney, Gloucestershire, England | 2 August 1892
Died | 1986 (aged 93–94) Yorkshire, England |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1916–1919 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | No. 59 Squadron RFC No. 54 Squadron RFC |
Awards | Military Cross Croix de Guerre (France) |
Captain Reginald Morse Charley MC (2 August 1892 – 1986) was a British World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.[1]
Charley was born in Blakeney, Gloucestershire, the son of James Smith and Eva (née Morse) Charley.[1] He attended Bristol University[2] qualifying as an electrical engineer in 1911.[3] He eventually travelled to the United States to accept a job in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, arriving in New York City on 1 February 1914.[1]
Charley received his flying training in the United States, being awarded Aero Club of America Certificate No. 486[2] on 2 May 1916 from the Atlantic Coast Aeronautic School at Newport News, Virginia, flying a Curtiss biplane.[1] He then travelled to England, where he was appointed a probationary second lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps on 14 June 1916,[4] and was posted to No. 59 Squadron.[3] He was appointed a flying officer on 30 September,[5] was confirmed in his rank on 17 October,[6] and in December was transferred to No. 54 Squadron, and sent to France.[3]
Flying the Sopwith Pup, Charley gained his first victory on 5 April 1917, destroying an observation balloon over Gouy, shared with Capt. R.G.H. Pixley, Capt. Frank Hudson and Lt. Maurice Scott; his second came on 26 April when he shot down an Albatros D.III over Prémont.[1] Charley was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July.[7] On 13 July he shot down another D.III, and on 5 September destroyed an Albatros D.V near Slype. On 11 September he shot down another D.V near Ostend, and claimed another D.III (unconfirmed).[1] The same day he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain.[8] On 12 November he shot down an Albatros D near Westende, for his sixth and final victory.[1] He then returned to England, and was transferred to Home Establishment to serve for the remainder of the war at the Armament Experimental Station.[3]
On 18 January 1918 Charley was awarded the Military Cross.[9] His citation read:
In April 1918 he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre.[11]
On 10 December 1919 Charley relinquished his commission on account of ill-health contracted on active service, and was permitted to retain his rank.[12]
After his discharge, he returned to America to work as a Transformer Sales Manager for the English Electric Company. He retired in 1960, and died in 1986, shortly after his 94th birthday.[3]
Charley married Mary Elizabeth Slawter, of East Pittsburgh, in November 1917.[13] Their son, David James Charley (1918–2008), qualified as a doctor, served in the Royal Navy during World War II, and later became a noted specialist in respiratory disease, being elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) in 1973, and made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1977.[14]