LORD ASHCROFT ADDS 200TH VICTORIA CROSS

Powered flight was little more than a decade old when Flight Lieutenant Andrew Beauchamp Proctor took part in life-or-death dogfights in the skies over Europe. By the end of the Great War, he was a veteran.

Such was his brilliance and courage in the air during the first eight months of 1918 that Beauchamp Proctor ended the war as the sixth highest-scoring Allied ace of the conflict, with 54 victories. He was also one of the war’s most decorated pilots.

So I am delighted to have become the privileged custodian of the gallantry and service medals awarded to Flight Lieutenant Andrew Beauchamp Proctor VC, DSO, MC & Bar, DFC.

Even as a member of a “club” where the minimum qualification for membership is to be the “bravest of the brave”, Beauchamp Proctor’s wartime exploits are quite extraordinary. Keen “to do his bit’ as the war dragged on, he responded to a British recruiting campaign and volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). On March 12 1917, he attested as an air mechanic, 3rd class, before sailing to England for pilot training, eventually joining 84 Squadron, RFC.

Proctor, just 5ft 2ins tall and at this time preferring to be called “Frederick” rather than “Andrew”, played a full part in the German South-West Africa campaign which saw the enemy defeated and Proctor demobbed in August 1915 so he could resume his studies.

His lack of height caused problems: he was too short to reach the rudder bar and sat too low in his seat for a cockpit view. However, he overcame these issues with a few adjustments to his aircraft.

Victoria Cross Heroes: Volume II, by Michael Ashcroft, is published next month by Biteback (£25). To order your copy for £20 plus free P&P, call 0844 871 1514 or visit books.telegraph.co.uk.

To read the complete article, see:
The tragic story of the First World War flying ace behind the 200th Victoria Cross in my collection (www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/the-tragic-story-of-the-first-world-war-flying-ace-behind-the-20/)

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