Army Book 152

ARMY BOOK 152.
Correspondence Book.
(FIELD SERVICE.)

2/Lt MSC Gordon
70 Squadron
BEF
France

70 Squadron
Royal Flying Corps
BEF
France

Opened on Monday 8^th Oct 1917.
Closed on

The Squares in this book are ¼ inch.
4   Squares in this book are    1 inch.
16   Squares in this book are   1 sq inch.
48   Squares in this book are   1 foot
2304   Squares in this book are   1 sq foot
243440   Squares in this book are   1 mile

(S.O. 1222-3) W1134/M1702. 150,000. 5/17. – McC. & Co. Ltd. – (E 1224.)

FLIGHT LIEUTENANT MICHAEL SCOTT CAMPBELL GORDON

ROYAL FLYING CORPS

EXTRACTS FROM FLYING LOG
TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION AS A PILOT
– 23/06/1917 – 08/10/1917 – ENGLAND

OPERATIONAL DIARY
WESTERN FRONT FRANCE AND BELGIUM
– 08/10/1917 – 02/05/1918

EXTRACTS FROM FLYING LOG
TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION AS AN INSTRUCTOR
ENGLAND – 12/06/1918 – 16/07/1918
INSTRUCTING MOSTLY CADET PILOTS
– 19/07/1918 – 30/10/1918

EXTRACTS FROM PILOT’S LOG BOOK – UNDER INSTRUCTION AS CADET PILOT IN 24 TRAINING SQUADRON, ENGLAND.

23/6/1917 – First entry – Captain Blackwood in dual flight. Continued dual instruction under Captain Blackwood to 5th July 1917.

5/7/1917: First solo, including landing, under Captain Blackwood.

5/7 to 11/7/1917: Various instruction under Captain Blackwood, part dual; 6 hours 10 min solo.

26/7/17 to 31/7/17 – 3/8/17 to 7/8/17: Dual instruction under Lieutenant’s Couter (??) and McKenzie, No. 10 Training Squadron R.F.C. Total solo 12 hours, 20 mins.

9/8/17 to 13/8/18: Solo in arvo – Air Test. Total time solo 8 hours, 25 mins.

3/9/17 to 8/10/17: No. 10 T.S.R.F.C. Formation flying, spins and stalls, camera practice and numerous landings, mostly solo. Total time solo to date of passing out 34 hours, 40 mins.

Signature of bearer: Michael SC Gordon

NEW ZEALAND.

Permit to Leave New Zealand.
UNDER THE WAR REGULATIONS.

IN pursuance of the War Regulations, permission is hereby given to the person hereinafter described to leave New Zealand for Great Britain by S.S. “Remuera,” on 30th November, 1916.

DESCRIPTION OF APPLICANT.

Full name: Michael Scott Campbell Gordon.
Nationality and birthplace: British; Hastings, New Zealand.
Occupation: Farmer  Sex: male  Age: 18.
Personal description: Height, 5 ft. 10in.;  Weight, 10 stone 9 lb.
Colour of eyes, grey;  Colour of hair, light brown
Complexion: fair.
Dated at Wellington, this 13th day of November, 1916.

Signed ES Hodgkins
for Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Under-Secretary of Internal Affairs.

2,500/9/16-14913]

Top: Photocopy of photograph of Michael Scott Campbell Gordon, newly enlisted.

Bottom: Flight Lieutenant Michael Scott Campbell Gordon in coat with goggles, standing beside Bi-plane ?36.

Monday 8^th Oct.

Went for flight on Sop [Sopwith] Camel 2313 at 9.30 am landed at 10.30 a.m. after stunting over Andersons. My orderly gave me my reporting notices. Left Shrewsbury by the 2.15 and arrived in London that night.

Tuesday 9th Oct.

Did some shopping in town, & went to Chu Chin Chow in the evening, which l enjoyed very much.
At 3 p.m. I reported to […….] yard then to Hotel Cecil finished at 5 pm.

Wednesday 10th Oct.

Missed the 7.30 am, on purpose had a good time in the morning. Aunt Mary and Mrs Wenby were at the train to see me off. Seem very cheery. Arrived at Folkston [Folkestone] 2.30 pm, boarded boat & felt very small fry beside all the Majors

Colonels & Generals. Arrived at Boulogne and had a ripping time out for all the sport going. We had a great fight for our bit. Had dinner at the Folkstone [Folkestone] and messed round generally.

Thursday 11th Oct

Left for St. Omar [Omer] at 1.20 am in an over crowded train the night was fairly chilly. Arrived at 5 am but could not get our kit out. I went into the RTOs office & went to sleep in a chair by the fire till 7.30 when a tender met us. The remainder of the day I spent in looking round, there were a great many machines at the Drome such as.
AW: SEs: BE2E: BE12: FE2B: FE2D: RE8: RE9: DH4: DH5, Sop [Sopwith] Camels, Sop [Sopwith] Pups, Sop [Sopwith] 2 Seaters (French), Spads, Martinsydes, Bristol Fighters, Nieuports, Morane Saulnier.

Friday 12th Oct.

Messed about the Drome in the morning & went into St Omar [Omer] in the afternoon.

Saturday 13th Oct.

Saw a Hun machine try & get over, but each time we turned it with archy.

Sunday 14th Oct.

Went to Poperinghe, which is about eight miles behind the lines, for the purpose of getting our kits. On inquiry we found they had gone to Calais, so we had a joyride for nothing. On my way to the station I saw a Hun bring down one of our KBs in flames, the Observer escaped by parachute. Later on we watched a Hun bomber come over in the beam of a searchlight but we forced him back.

Monday 15th Oct.

Saw a Hospital train come in, it took ages to clear, most of the men were just out of the trenches that day & the mud was still wet on them. Many of the poor devils were shaking & shivering with the cold, but all were very cheery.

Tuesday 16th Oct.

Nothing much doing, went to St Omar [Omer] in the afternoon & ran across Stephen Wood, & had tea at the Y.M.C.A. As I write I am in the Adjutant’s office on duty, & keeping my ears open for air raid warnings, which I have to phone round, & see that all lights are out.

Wednesday 17 Oct.

Watch our archy in the morning turn a Hun twice. The machine was brought down later near Calais. Saw Catchpole who had come from 25 to get on RE8 .

Thursday 18 Oct.

Met Evans who had just come over from England, & is flying RE8s. My posting came through at 10.15 a.m. Started off in the tender & passed all sorts of transport on the road, & guns, armoured cars, cavalry (Sikh), arrived here at 4.30 & filled in my papers. Met a lot of my old friends in the mess. Aircraft alert in the evening.

Friday 19 Oct.

The day was pretty dud & no flying going at all. Spent the morning on the range with a Vickers & my pistol. Weather cleared in the evening & the Huns came over again.

Saturday 20 Oct.

We had orders to bomb Abeele Aerodrome. A patrol of DH4s were to start off at daybreak & drop their

eggs. When it was light enough a DH4 was to photograph the result, then we were to go over at 10.30. As it was the weather was very misty & dud, but we started off, 6 machines laden with 4, 20lb Cooper bombs, and an escort of 12 other Camels, we were to have a further escort of 12 Spads, which owing to the mist could not find us. In the mist the leader (Mickey) missed Abele [Abeele] and dived at Rumbeke Aerodrome. They dived in succession & laid their pills as they went, right the full length of the hangars at from 400 to 200 feet. Some were seen to hit the hangars, Mickey, seeing a 2 seater taking off, dived at it & opened fire causing it to crash, in doing so his petrol tank was shot through from a machine gun on the ground, he touched the ground before the engine picked up on gravity. The others after dropping all their bombs, straffed [strafed] houses, troops & a train. All the bombers returned safely but two of the escorts are missing, Wilson and Farquerson [Farquharson?].   I had a flight in the afternoon & after two attempts to land, I finished up in a huge pool of water not 3 yards from a large drain. The Hun was over again in the evening.

Sunday 21 Oct.

The others went out on ground straffing [strafing] & O.P. work, but there was no fighting done. Night was quite quiet.