Eustace Loraine
| Eustace Broke Loraine | |
|---|---|
| Born |
3 September 1879 London, England |
| Died | 5 July 1912 (aged 32) Bulford Camp Hospital, Wiltshire |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1899-1912 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Grenadier Guards Royal Flying Corps |
Eustace Broke Loraine (3 September 1879 – 5 July 1912) was a pioneer British aviator and the first Royal Flying Corps officer to be killed in an aircraft crash.
Eustace Loraine was the first child of Rear-Admiral Sir Lambton Loraine, 11th Baronet and his wife Frederica Mary Horatia (née Broke). His younger brother Percy was born in 1880. He was the great grandson of Rear Admiral Sir Philip Broke a distinguished naval officer.
Loraine was gazetted as a Second Lieutenant on 5 July 1899 with the Grenadier Guards. He was promoted to Lieutenant in May 1900 a month after his arrival in South Africa where he served until to May 1902 when he returned to England. He served as adjutant, Grenadier Guards from July 1905 until September 1906. Promoted to Captain in July 1907 he was selected for the West African Frontier Force in October 1908. He later served in Nigeria on the headquarters staff in Lagos and as a section commander on Colonel Trenchard's 1907 / 1908 expedition to the Munshi tribe. In 1909 whilst Loraine was still in Nigeria, reports reached him of Louis Blériot's flight across the English Channel. This news stirred Loraine's curiosity and he decided to find out more about flying.
The War Office was content to pay for Loraine's flying training and he was seconded from the Grenadier Guards in order that he might learn to fly. Loraine successfully completed his flying training and was granted Royal Aero Club certificate number 154 which was dated 7 November 1911.
Loraine was in correspondence with Trenchard, who was serving in Ireland, and he kept Trenchard informed about his progress as an aviator. On one occasion in Spring / Summer 1912, Loraine wrote to Trenchard urging him to learn to fly. Trenchard was greatly impressed by Loraine's words which read "You've no idea what you're missing, ... Come and see men like ants crawling." At that time Trenchard was looking for a new direction and after reading Loraine's letter he decided to try to learn to fly. Trenchard went on to command the Flying Corps in France during World War I and then serve as the Royal Air Force's first Chief of the Air Staff.
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