Albert Gregory Waller
| Albert Gregory Waller | |
|---|---|
| Born |
15 October 1890 Galway, Ireland |
| Died | 1967 (aged 76–77) Beechmount, Rathkeale, County Limerick, Ireland |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1914–1919 1940–1943 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit |
Army Service Corps No. 55 Squadron RFC No. 18 Squadron RFC/RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War I • Western Front World War II |
| Awards | Military Cross |
Captain Albert Gregory Waller MC (15 October 1890 – 1967) was an Irish flying ace of the First World War, credited with eleven aerial victories. He would return to Britain's military service during the Second World War.
Waller was born in Galway, Ireland. His family were descendants of Richard Waller, a lieutenant in Cromwell's New Model Army during the conquest of Ireland, who was awarded Castle Cully and its lands near Newport, County Tipperary in 1666. Richard Waller's great-grandson William Thomas Waller married Eliza Augusta Guinness, the granddaughter of Arthur Guinness. His eldest son George Arthur Waller became Guinness' Chief Brewer and Engineer, while his fourth son Francis Albert Waller was the managing director of Banagher Maltings (F.A. Waller & Co. Ltd.) in Shannon Grove, County Galway, near Banagher, County Offaly. Francis Albert Waller married Frances Otway on 7 September 1872, and they had nine children, of whom Albert Gregory Waller was the youngest.
Waller was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant to serve in the Army Service Corps on 7 September 1914, alongside his brother William Hastings de Warrenne Waller (who also became a pilot, eventually retiring from the RAF with the rank of wing commander in 1935.) He was promoted to lieutenant on 6 November 1914, and to captain on 5 September 1915. Waller transferred to the Royal Flying Corps to train as a pilot, being granted Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 4015 after soloing a Henri Farman biplane at the Military School, Joyce Green, on 3 December 1916. He was appointed a flying officer and transferred to the General List on 10 February 1917.
Waller served in No. 55 Squadron RFC for three months before being posted to No. 18 Squadron RFC in early 1918, where he was appointed a flight commander on 12 February 1918. Flying an Airco DH.4 two-seater Waller was credited with eleven aerial victories between 6 March and 30 May 1918, though he shared three of those wins with other air crews that contained such luminaries as Herbert Gould and Alfred Atkey. Waller's final victorious sortie brought his observer, Basil Blackett, to acedom. Overall, Waller destroyed three enemy aircraft (including one shared triumph) and drove down eight others down out of control while accomplishing his missions.
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