George S. L. Hayward

Flying Officer George Searle Lomax Hayward MC (1 November 1894 – 16 August 1924) was an English World War I aerial observer credited with 24 victories. He served as an observer/gunner for fellow aces Frank Weare, Ernest Elton, and William Lewis Wells. Hayward scored the bulk of his wins, 22 of them, between 6 March and 22 April 1918, usually scoring two or three times in the same fight.[1]

George Searle Lomax Hayward
Born(1894-11-01)1 November 1894
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Died16 August 1924(1924-08-16) (aged 29)
Digby, Lincolnshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Royal Air Force
RankFlying Officer
Unit3rd Hussars
Royal West Kent Regiment
No. 22 Squadron RFC/RAF
Battles/warsWorld War I
 • Western Front
AwardsMilitary Cross

World War I service

Hayward originally enlisted in the 3rd Hussars, becoming a lance corporal. On 28 September 1916 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal West Kent Regiment.[2][3] In late 1917 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, being appointed a flying officer (observer) on 6 December, with seniority from 23 October.[4] Posted to No. 22 Squadron RFC, he scored twenty-four victories as an observer in the Bristol F.2 Fighter, between November 1917 and April 1918.[1]

List of aerial victories[1]
No.DateOpponentLocationPilot
129 November 1917Two-seaterNorth-west of Lille2nd Lieutenant W. G. Pudney
26 December 1917Albatros D.VHaubourdin
36 March 1918Albatros D.VDouaiSergeant Ernest Elton
4Albatros D.VSouth-east of Douai
511 March 1918Albatros D.VVendeville–Faches
6Albatros D.VKnokke
713 March 1918Pfalz D.IIISouth-west of Lille
8Pfalz D.III
916 March 1918Pfalz D.IIIOigniesLieutenant William Wells
10Pfalz D.III
11Albatros D.VBeaumont
1218 March 1918Albatros D.VCarvin2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
1324 March 1918Albatros D.VChérisy
14Albatros D.VVis-en-Artois
1526 March 1918Pfalz D.IIIEast of Albert
16Pfalz D.III
1729 March 1918Albatros D.VGuillaucourt
182 April 1918Albatros D.VVauvillers
19Fokker Dr.I
2012 April 1918Pfalz D.IIISouth-west of Sailly
21Pfalz D.III
22Pfalz D.IIISailly
2322 April 1918Albatros D.VEast of Merville
24Albatros D.V

In July 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross. His citation read:

Temporary Second Lieutenant George Searle Lomax Hayward, Royal West Kent Regiment, attached Royal Flying Corps.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. On three separate occasions when engaged with large hostile formations, he has attacked and sent crashing to earth two hostile machines on each occasion. He has displayed consistent skill, courage and determination in dealing with hostile aircraft.[5]

Post-war career

Hayward left the Royal Air Force on 17 May 1919, when he was transferred to the unemployed list.[6] However, on 24 October 1919 he was granted a short-service commission in the RAF as an observer officer.[7][8]

By early 1920 he was in India surveying the main civil air route between Delhi and Karachi.[9] On 1 December 1923 Hayward, by now a Flying Officer, was posted to the RAF Depot, pending assignment,[10] and on 1 March 1924 he was posted to No. 2 Flying Training School at RAF Duxford.[11]

Death

No.2 FTS moved to RAF Digby, Lincolnshire, in June 1924.[12] There, on 15 August, Hayward was instructing Pilot Officer Charles Victor Breakey in an Avro 504K, when their aircraft suffered an engine failure and plunged into the ground. Both men died later that day from their injuries.[13]

References
Citations
  1. "George Searle Lomax Hayward". The Aerodrome. 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  2. "No. 29803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 October 1916. p. 10405.
  3. "No. 30539". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 February 1918. p. 2401.
  4. "No. 30566". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 March 1918. p. 3064.
  5. "No. 30813". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 July 1918. p. 8807.
  6. "No. 31427". The London Gazette. 1 July 1919. p. 8234.
  7. "No. 31616". The London Gazette. 24 October 1919. pp. 13032–13033.
  8. "Royal Air Force: Appointments". Flight. XI (574): 1666. 25 December 1919. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  9. "Air Routes In India". Flight. XII (590): 415. 15 April 1920. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  10. "Royal Air Force: Appointments". Flight. XV (781): 757. 13 December 1923. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  11. "Royal Air Force: Appointments". Flight. XVI (796): 183. 27 March 1924. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  12. "RAF Digby : Station History, 1924". RAF and Airfield History in Lincolnshire. 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  13. Barrass, M. B. (2015). "RAF Casualties, 1924". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
Bibliography
  • Guttman, Jon & Dempsey, Harry (2007). Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War I. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-201-1.
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