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decorations. Everyone is getting ready to shoot a good line of bull. Conditions at the landing strips were not good and that is quite apart from the difficult landing and take off conditions. The Crew lived in tents, had earth latrines and were constantly surrounded by dust and insects. One pilot wrote if you were eating jam, you had to wave your hand over it all the way from your plate to your mouth, to make sure you were not eating flies. The only time to use the latrines as just before lunch. As soon as the gong sounded the flies left the latrines and went over to the mess tent. He was automatically in the Royal Air Force, when it took over the R.N.A.S and the R.F.C. from its establishment on April 1st 1918. He held from May 1918, the wartime rank of rank of Captain. Number 222 Squadron came back to England to be disbanded on the 27th February 1919. From that time he had no further active duties In September 1919 he appears on the Air Force Register as unemployed. By June 1920 he was off the register. On the formation of the Royal Air Force on the 1st April 1918, an interdepartmental/service committee was set up to consider if internally the new service should have its own special decoration. In March 1918, the committee advised that a decoration should be instituted for the Royal Air Force, corresponding to the Distinguished Service Cross for the Navy and the Military cross for the Army. On the 6th May 1918 the King approved the creation of the Distinguished Flying Cross and three other lesser air force decorations. The Victoria Cross would be the highest award for all three services. Notice of the institution of the decorations with notices of the first four awards appeared in the London Gazette on the 3rd June 1918. However the formal Royal Warrant was not published until the 5th December 1919. It read in part: "Whereas we are desirous of signifying our appreciation of acts of valour courage and devotion to duty performed by officers and men in our Air Force ...... We do hereby for Us, Our heirs and successors institute and create ..... The Distinguished Flying Cross ...... . It is ordained that the Distinguished Flying Cross shall be granted only to such Officers and warrant Officers of Our said Forces as shall be recommended to Us for an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty performed whilst flying in active operations against the enemy ." His award of the D.F.C .was recorded in the 7th supplement of the London Gazette dated 31/12/1918 which was published Wednesday 1st January 1919. It states under the heading "Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross "Captain John Arthur Yonge" There were several hundred such medals issued at this time. |
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