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Ronald Thornely

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Ronald Roscoe Thornely
Born(1889-06-10)10 June 1889
Cambridge,England
Died21 August 1984(1984-08-21)(aged 95)
Buried
Putney Vale Cemetery,London
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Navy
Royal Air Force
Years of service1914–1919
RankCaptain
UnitRoyal Naval Armoured Car Division
No. 8 (Naval) Squadron RNAS
Battles/warsWorld War I
•Gallipoli campaign
•Western Front
AwardsDistinguished Service Cross

CaptainRonald Roscoe ThornelyDSC(10 July 1889 – 21 August 1984[1]) was an English World War Iflying ace.He was credited withnine aerial victorieswhile flying for theRoyal Naval Air Service.[2]

Early life

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Thornely was born inMerton Hall,Cambridge, England,[2]the son of Thomas Thornely (1855–1949), a historian, poet andFellowofTrinity Hall, Cambridge,[3]and his wife Mabel Martha Thornely.

Military service

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Thornely was commissioned as a temporary sub-lieutenant in theRoyal Naval Volunteer Reserveon 12 December 1914.[4]He served in theRoyal Naval Armoured Car Divisionduring theGallipoli campaign.In May 1916, he transferred to theRoyal Naval Air Service,[5]being confirmed as a flight sub-lieutenant on 5 May,[6]and grantedRoyal Aero ClubAviator's Certificate No. 3290 after soloing a Maurice Farman biplane at the Royal Naval Air Station,Chingford,on 29 July 1916.[2]

He joined No. 8 Squadron RNAS in March 1917,[5]gaining his first aerial victory on 4 June, and then two more[2]before being promoted to flight lieutenant on 30 June.[7]Two more victories followed in July, three in August, and his ninth and last on 11 September.[2]

His award of the Distinguished Service Cross wasgazettedon 30 October 1917. His citation read:

Flight Lieutenant Ronald Roscoe Thornley, RNAS.
"For gallantry and skill in aerial combats, notably on the following occasions:
On the 16th June, 1917, whilst on patrol, he attacked a two-seater Aviatik, which fell to the ground, inside our lines.
On the 15th August, 1917, he attacked an Albatross scout and shot it down out of control.
On the 19th August, 1917, he attacked an Aviatik and drove it down out of control.
On the 11th September, 1917, he engaged one of three enemy machines, firing about fifty rounds when quite close, apparently wounding the observer at once, and shortly afterwards the enemy machine fell out of control. "[8]

Thornley was promoted to thetemporary rankof captain on 7 May 1918.[9][note 1]

List of aerial victories

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See also:Aerial victory standards of World War I
Combat record[2]
No. Date/Time Aircraft/
Serial No. 		Opponent Result Location Notes
1 4 June 1917
@ 0945 hours 		Sopwith Triplane
(N5465) 		German reconnaissance aircraft Set afire; destroyed East ofLens Shared with Flight Sub-LieutenantsRobert Compstonand E. A. Bennetts.
2 7 June 1917
@ 1015 hours 		Sopwith Triplane
(N5465) 		Albatros D.V Driven down out of control Henin-Liétard[2][10]
3 16 June 1917
@ 0830 hours 		Undetermined[2][10][note 2] German reconnaissance aircraft Captured Loos,east of Lens Shared with Flight Lieutenant Robert Compston. German pilotKIA,observerWIA.[5]
4 22 July 1917
@ 0630 hours 		Sopwith Camel
(B3845) 		Albatros D.III Driven down out of control Southeast ofGavrelle
5 28 July 1917
@ 0915 hours 		Sopwith Camel
(B3845) 		Albatros D.III Driven down out of control Lens–La Bassée
6 9 August 1917
@ 0915 hours 		Sopwith Camel
(B3845) 		Albatros D.V Driven down out of control East of Henin-Liétard Shared with Flight Sub-LieutenantWilliam Jordan.
7 15 August 1917
@ 2015 hours 		Sopwith Camel
(B3845) 		Albatros D.III Driven down out of control Lens
8 19 August 1917
@ 0850 hours 		Sopwith Camel German reconnaissance aircraft Driven down out of control East of Lens Shared with Flight Sub-Lieutenants William Jordan, Roderick McDonald, and J. H. Thompson.
9 11 September 1917
@ 1150 hours 		Sopwith Camel
(B3845) 		German reconnaissance aircraft Driven down out of control Pont-a-Vendin

Post World War I

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Thornely received amention in dispatches"for distinguished service in war areas" on 1 January 1919,[5][11]and was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force on 1 March 1919.[12]

On 29 April 1949 Ronald Roscoe Thornely was named asexecutorof the estates of his parents Thomas and Mabel Martha Thornely, who both died in January 1949.[13]

Thornely died on 21 August 1984, and is buried atPutney Vale Cemetery,London.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^Such promotion usually accompanied an appointment asflight commander.
  2. ^Sources disagree as to whether Thornely was flying a Triplane or a Camel for his third victory.

References

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  1. ^abLampert, R. L. (19 August 2011)."Ronald Roscoe Thornely (1889–1984)".Geni.com.Retrieved2 March2016.
  2. ^abcdefgh"Ronald Roscoe Thornely".The Aerodrome.2016.Retrieved2 March2016.
  3. ^"Books for adoption"(PDF).Oxford Union Library.June 2015. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 26 September 2015.Retrieved2 March2016.
  4. ^"No. 29007".The London Gazette(Supplement). 15 December 1914. pp. 10689–10690.
  5. ^abcdFranks (2003),p. 23.
  6. ^"No. 29786".The London Gazette(Supplement). 17 October 1916. p. 9953.
  7. ^"No. 30156".The London Gazette(Supplement). 29 June 1917. pp. 6413–6415.
  8. ^"No. 30363".The London Gazette(Supplement). 30 October 1917. p. 11320.
  9. ^"No. 30694".The London Gazette(Supplement). 21 May 1918. p. 5995.
  10. ^abShores, Franks & Guest (1990),p. 264.
  11. ^"No. 31098".The London Gazette(Supplement). 31 December 1918. p. 103.
  12. ^"No. 31251".The London Gazette(Supplement). 25 March 1919. pp. 3887–3889.
  13. ^"No. 38598".The London Gazette(Supplement). 29 April 1949. p. 2155.

Bibliography

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