225485 Lt. Arthur William Hammond MC.British Army Royal Flying Corps from:Walton-on-the-Haill, Lancs Arthur Hammond was born on 29 August 1890 in Walton on the Hill, Lancashire. He was the son of Henry and Alice (née Kincaid) Hammond. His father was a Master Mariner. Hammond joined the Royal Horse Guards as a trooper, but in October 1915 he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers and was attached to the Royal Flying Corps as an observer in the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 biplane. Whilst the prime purpose of his duties was reconnaissance, he was also the aircraft's gunner and engaged in ground attack.
Hammond received the Military Cross for action on the 22nd of April 1918 “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. When acting as observer on photographic work, though his machine was attacked by six enemy aeroplanes, he with great coolness shot down two of these. On two later occasions a large number of hostile battery positions were photographed, engaged and successfully silenced, as well as some of our long range batteries calibrated on hostile targets. The eminently satisfactory manner in which all these tasks were accomplished is due to this officer's keenness, conscientiousness and devotion to duty."
He was awarded a bar to his Military Cross for action on the 26 July 1918: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial fighting. Whilst attacking hostile troops at about 500 feet he was encountered by eight triplanes, which dived from all directions, firing their front guns. He fired bursts at each machine in turn, shooting three of them down out of control. He was wounded himself six times, but continued the action until his machine caught fire. The pilot, although wounded five times, with great skill and coolness managed to climb to the left hand bottom plane and controlled the machine from the side of the fuselage, side-slipping to the ground. The machine crashed in "No Man's Land," and the pilot managed to extricate Hammond from the flames and dragged him to a shell-hole, from which they were rescued by the infantry."
His pilot on this mission (mentioned in this citation) was Alan McLeod, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for the same action. Hammond lost a leg due to his wounds and left the RFC. At the end of the war, he emigrated to Canada. In the Second World War, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
He died in Victoria, British Columbia, on 22 December 1959, aged 69
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