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| 17 Apr 2019 | |
| History |
2nd Lieut. S. E. Booth PH (1909-12) was the only son of Mr and Mrs Edwin Booth of Manor Grove, Beckenham. Soon after the outbreak of war he enlisted as a Private in the 3rd London Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (Territorial Force). In March 1915 he went to France to the 85th Field Ambulance, with which he served at the second battle of Ypres and elsewhere, until his Division was sent to Salonica in November 1915. He served there for two years before receiving a commission in the Royal Flying Corps. He was sent to No. 3 Cadet Wing, R.F.C. in Egypt, where he would be confirmed as 2nd Lieutenant. He returned to England on leave in July and married his wife, Hilda, on September 21st. Two months later, he went out once more to France where he joined No. 20 Squadron. He died on December 3rd during a flying accident. His Captain gave the following account: " The weather was very bad for flying, as there was a strong gusty wind which made the machines difficult to handle. Your son, who was a very good pilot, had made one attempt to land at the new aerodrome - a very small one - but had not succeeded owing to interference by another machine also endeavouring to land, and whilst making a circuit preparatory to coming in again, his machine became unmanageable. As he was close to the ground at the time, he was unable to regain control before his machine struck the ground, and he was killed instantly.” To find out more about Tonbridge and The Great War, visit our online archives at: www.tonbridgeschoolheritage.co.uk Or, contact Archivist, Bev Matthews at: E: beverley.matthews@tonbridge-school.org |
