PERCY BRAITHWAITE was born in Scalthwaiterigg, Westmoreland, in 1901. He was the son of George William Braithwaite his wife Ethel Braithwaite (nee Tanner), and had a younger brother named Roger.
On 1st July 1928, the R.A.F. lost one of it's finest aerobatic pilots in a freak accident when Avro 504N (H2534) of the RAF Practice Camp at Sutton Bridge, dived into the ground not far from RAF Henlow, killing Flight Lieutenant Harold Charles Calvey of No.23 Squadron, Kenley and Flight Sergeant William Charles Hollier, a carpenter/rigger.
On 22nd November, 1926, No.24 squadron tragically lost two of its officers in a flying accident at 1.30pm, when their De Havilland DH9A, serial number 7310, stalled on take-off from Kenley.
On 4th November, 1920, Flying Officer Harold Oliver Prout AFC and his observer, Flying Officer Horace Edgar Fenwick, were on the return leg of a trip to Winchester when they arrived back at Kenley, at 5pm, to find the airfield shrouded in thick fog.
Alfred Percy Hall was born on 18th May, 1901, and baptised at St. Matthew's, Northampton. For reasons unknown, he went absent without leave from 31st July, 1924, and it appears that he drowned in unknown circumstances, sometime around 5th August.
On 24th October, 1922, Pilot Officer Matthew Charles Hayter became the first of roughly half a dozen members of No.24 squadron to be killed in flying accidents during the squadron's long stay at Kenley, between 1920 and 1927.
On 16th May, 1927, luck ran out for one of 32 squadron’s most daring and colourful characters – 21 year old Pilot Officer Arthur Leslie Holden.
In February, 1915, William enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps, mustering as an Aero Rigger. Six months later, he married Ruth Margaret Rogers, in Gravesend - the couple had four children, two girls and two boys, between 1915 and 1921.
On 14th August 1929, Flying Officer Charles Henry Jones of No.23 squadron, RAF Kenley, was killed when his Gloster Gamecock Mk.I (J7914) stalled off a steep turn shortly after take-off from RAF Sutton Bridge.
On 7th July, 1923, Tragedy struck No.24 Squadron, when two of their pilots were killed in an Airco DH.9a (H3431) shortly after take-off from Kenley.
On 20th July, 1927, Pilot Officer Richard Griffith Pace of 32 squadron, Kenley, became the first pilot to lose his life at Holbeach ranges, The Wash, Lincolnshire, when his Gloster Gamecock (J7907) crashed during target practice. He was only 22 years old.
On 4th November, 1920, Flying Officer Harold Olver Prout AFC and his observer, Flying Officer Horace Edgar Fenwick, were on the return leg of a trip to Winchester when they arrived back at Kenley, at 5pm, to find the airfield shrouded in thick fog....
VICTOR OLIVER REYNOLDS was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire in 1892. His Father Acton Reynolds was a journeyman butcher. By 1901, the Reynolds family were living at 22 Castle St, Reading. Victor had two sisters, Cordelia and Dora, and one brother Charles.
On 25th March 1925, Pilot Officer Ian Malcolm Scott lost his life on the eve of his 21st birthday, when his Sopwith Snipe crash landed at Tilling Down.
On 1st March 1929, Flying Officer Patrick Nelson Sealy-Allin, of No.23 squadron, lost his life when his Gloster Gamecock collided with another flown by Ft/Sgt James Guy Freeman
Leroy served with distinction during the Great War and was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1919. Air Chief Marshal Sir James Robb remembered Trapagna Leroy as a "remarkable character."
On 22nd May 1925, No.32 Squadron had flown from Kenley to Northolt, to take part in an event entitled 'London Defended.' Among them was 21 year old, Arthur Reinagle Woodyatt.
On 22nd November, 1926, No.24 squadron tragically lost two of its officers in a flying accident at 1.30pm, when their DH9A, serial number 7310, stalled on take-off from Kenley.
