via Imperial War Museum
Alexander Allan Gray M.C.
Born in 1895 in Spike Island Harbour Cork.
2nd Lieut. Alexander Allan Gray arrived in France with the 15th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry on 9 October 1915.
Posted to No. 2 School of Military Aeronautics, at Oxford, on 11 September 1916.
Posted to the Central Flying School, at Upavon, on 29 October 1916.
Posted to 42 Reserve Squadron, in U.K., on 6 December 1916.
Granted his Royal Aero Club Pilot Certificate (# 3921) on 2 December 1916.
At No. 2 School of Military Aeronautics, pilot trainees received 2 months of basic
military training and ground school instruction. At C.F.S., Gray would have received
a course of elementary flying instruction, including a minimum of 25 hours of flying
time. He would have received a further 35 hours of flying time and advanced
instruction at 42 Reserve Squadron. When he qualified as a pilot, he was granted
his Royal Aero Club Certificate (2 December 1916 and commissioned as a R.F.C.
Flying Officer (dated 10 January 1917). Not all R.F.C. pilots qualified for the Royal
Aero Club Certificate this late in the war, so Lieutenant Gray's flying proficiency
warrented this licensing.
Born in 1895 in Spike Island Harbour Cork.
2nd Lieut. Alexander Allan Gray arrived in France with the 15th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry on 9 October 1915.
Posted to No. 2 School of Military Aeronautics, at Oxford, on 11 September 1916.
Posted to the Central Flying School, at Upavon, on 29 October 1916.
Posted to 42 Reserve Squadron, in U.K., on 6 December 1916.
Granted his Royal Aero Club Pilot Certificate (# 3921) on 2 December 1916.
At No. 2 School of Military Aeronautics, pilot trainees received 2 months of basic
military training and ground school instruction. At C.F.S., Gray would have received
a course of elementary flying instruction, including a minimum of 25 hours of flying
time. He would have received a further 35 hours of flying time and advanced
instruction at 42 Reserve Squadron. When he qualified as a pilot, he was granted
his Royal Aero Club Certificate (2 December 1916 and commissioned as a R.F.C.
Flying Officer (dated 10 January 1917). Not all R.F.C. pilots qualified for the Royal
Aero Club Certificate this late in the war, so Lieutenant Gray's flying proficiency
warrented this licensing.
Photo via RAF Museum