Arras Flying Services Memorial

In the central courtyard of the Arras Memorial is the Memorial

to the Flying Services, which commemorates by name almost

1,000 Commonwealth airmen of the Royal Flying Corps, the

Royal Naval Air Service, and the Royal Air Force, who died

on the Western Front and have no known grave. Hailing from

several Commonwealth countries and representing many ranks,

they took to the air in all manner of machines, from balloons

to biplanes, reconnaissance aircraft, and combat fighters. The

memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, with sculpture by

Sir William Reid Dick, and was unveiled by Lord Hugh Trenchard,

Marshal of the Royal Air Force, on 31 July 1932.

The Air War on the Western Front Military aviation was in its infancy at the outbreak of war. The

British formed the Royal Flying Corps in 1912, and the Royal

Naval Air Service in early 1914, with aeroplanes that were

unreliable, expensive and fragile. In the earliest battles their main

role was valuable reconnaissance, but as the trench lines of the

Western Front were formed, observation for artillery became

crucial. Tethered balloons were linked to batteries by telephone

cables, and observers in aircraft reported back through

rudimentary radio sets, helping to direct gunners on the ground.

The development of aerial photography provided a vital view of

enemy lines from above.

Vulnerable balloons and slow reconnaissance aircraft had to

be protected from raiders, and pilots began to actively pursue

and attack their enemies with pistols, machine guns and Mills

bombs. In the summer of 1915, the German manufacturer Fokker

perfected a French design enabling front-mounted machine

guns to fire through an aircraft’s propellers, synchronizing with

the turn of the blades. This advantage resulted in what airmen

referred to as the ‘Fokker scourge’ into early 1916, until Allied

technology matched the advance.

During the Somme offensive, Commonwealth pilots sought to

fight over enemy territory and attack infantry troops in the

trenches, and more than 80 of those commemorated on this

memorial were lost between July and November 1916. In the

spring of 1917, during the Battle of Arras, well-organised and

tactically astute German fighter groups, known as ‘circuses’,

caused heavy casualties among the novice pilots who had

replaced those lost the previous year. Nearly 70 of those named

on this memorial were killed in ‘Bloody April’, and more than 380

over the course of the year. Eventually, advances in design and

industrial production created new aircraft, including the S.E.5, the

Sopwith Camel, and the French-built Spad, which helped to give

Commonwealth pilots a numerical and technological advantage

over their German counterparts.

In April 1918, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air

Service merged to create a new Royal Air Force. By this time,

the battle in the air was being fought ferociously by advanced

aeroplanes operating in large formations, and the RAF eventually

grew to some 4,000 front-line aircraft and over 100,000

personnel. Although their primary role throughout the war was

to support ground forces, pilots on both sides increasingly used

bombs and explosives to attack supply lines, industrial facilities,

and civilians. The majority of those named on this memorial –

more than 500 men – were lost in the final year of the conflict,

and the heaviest losses in a single month marked here occurred

in September 1918, when more than 90 airmen went missing.

Fighter aces were portrayed in propaganda as ‘knights of the air’,

yet their war was physically and psychologically demanding, and

human or mechanical error often had fatal consequences. Flying

was among the most dangerous forms of service, and half of all

Commonwealth pilots had become casualties by the war’s end.

The Commission is responsible for the commemoration of almost 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who gave their lives in the two world wars. The graves and memorials of these men and

women, who came from all parts of the Commonwealth and who were of many faiths and of none, are found around the globe in 153 countries. For more information about the Commission, our work and how

to search our records online visit www.cwgc.org Enquiries are also welcome at our offices: CWGC Head Office Tel: + 44 (0) 1628 507200

E-mail: casualty.enq@cwgc.org CWGC France Office Tel: + 33 (0) 3 21 21 77 00 E-mail: france.area@cwgc.org

Commonwealth War Graves CommissionFor more information about this location

and some of those commemorated here,

scan the QR code (right).

Photographic plates being handed to the gunner of a DH4 aircraft, Serny airfield,

February 1917

Plaques photographiques en train d’être données à l’artilleur d’un bombardier DH4, au

champ d’aviation de Serny, en février 1917

Ground and air crew with their Handley Page O/400 bombers, Coudekerque field near

Dunkirk, April 1918

Équipages au sol et de bord avec leurs bombardiers Handley Page O/400, champ de

Coudekerque près de Dunkerque, en avril 1918

IWM Q 11980

IWM Q 12033