FlyBoys - Part 2

I found him.  Thanks to the gracious help of Jerome Lee at Caribbean Roll of Honour, we found the listing for the death of Malcom Shepherd at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website. 

R.M.S. Shepherd was the first of the two sons that Dean Shepherd lost in World War I to die.  He was killed in action on the 9th August 1916 while flying for Squadron 70.  He was an early casualty for this squadron that was formed in April of that year.  They transferred one flight at a time from Farnborough to Fienvillers, France between May and August 1916 , due to the gravity of the situation according to the squadron's history. 

The grave situation was more than likely the Battle of the Somme.  On the first day of this battle (1st July 1916) the British army sustained the loss of 58,000 men (one third of them killed).  After months of fighting the offensive was finally called off with the total British casualties being 420,000 men.

Squadron 70 flew the Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter.  An aircraft so named because of the arrangements of its cabane struts. 

Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter

This aircraft was formidable at the time but soon lost its advantage against the newer German fighters.  Such was the nature of the airwar in those days, where an aircraft could go from superiority to obsolescense within six months.  The squadron would be re-equipped a year later with the ubiquitous Sopwith Camel.

So, to date, we know of three fliers of World War One that were from Antigua.  Malcolm Shepherd, Arthur Shepherd and Ian McDonald.  Their names all appear on the WWI memorial plaque on the right hand side.  The Shepherds fourth and fifth from the bottom, McDonald fifth from the top.  May they rest in peace.