The first VC to be won by an airman in WW1 was awarded on 26th April 1915. By the end of the War, a total 25 VCs had been won by the RFC, RNAS and RAF.
The first DSOs awarded were dated 25 November 1886, having been instituted on 6 September 1886 by Queen Victoria in a Royal Warrant published in the London Gazette on 9 November of that year. It is typically awarded to officers ranked major (or its equivalent) or higher, but the honour has sometimes been awarded to especially valorous junior officers. During the First World War, 8,981 DSOs were awarded, each award being announced in the London Gazette.
One thousand and twenty five Distinguished Flying Crosses were won in just 7 months after the award was instituted by King George V in May 1918. The story of the airmen and their machines and their sacrifice needs to be understood by current and future generations, and placed in context.
The stories we hold
Twenty-five Victoria Crosses were won by the RFC, RNAS and RAF during the Great War. Ten of them have their story here.
- Capt. John Aidan Liddell VC MC
- 2nd Lt William Rhodes-Moorhouse VC
- Flt Sub Lt Rex Warneford VC RNAS
- 2nd Lt G S M Insall VC RFC
- Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies VC
- Grp Capt Lionel Rees VC OBE MC AFC
- Lt William Leefe Robinson VC RFC
- Sgt Thomas Mottershead VC RFC
- Lt Francis McNamara VC AFC
- Maj. Lanoe Hawker VC DSO
And one airman whose story is here not because of a medal but because his family shared it: Lt/T/Capt Allan Churchman RAF, awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Captain Liddell’s own war diary — eighty-seven entries in his hand, from the retreat of 1914 to his last days flying with No. 7 Squadron — is published here in full.
Share your family story
If you have the story of a relative who flew, serviced aircraft, or served alongside them in the Great War, the Trust would be glad to hear it. Allan Churchman’s story is on this site because his family sent it to us. Yours can be too.
We cannot promise to publish every story. The Trust is a small team of volunteers and some accounts need research before they can go on the site. We will always reply, and we will always ask your permission before publishing anything.