Jeffrey Batters Home-Hay
| Jeffery Batters Home-Hay | |
|---|---|
| Born |
2 February 1887 Alloa, Scotland |
| Died | 14 June 1953 (aged 66) Kelvington, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Allegiance | Canada United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Canadian Expeditionary Force British Army Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1914–1919 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | |
| Commands held | No. 106 Squadron RAF |
| Awards |
Military Cross Distinguished Flying Cross Mentioned in Despatches |
| Other work | Pioneering aviator in central Canada |
Captain Jeffery Batters Home-Hay MC, DFC (2 February 1887 – 14 June 1953) was a Scottish-born Canadian who became a flying ace during World War I. He was a bomber pilot when he was credited with seven aerial victories. He was shot down and captured toward the end of World War I. After being repatriated, he became a pioneering Canadian bush pilot. By the end of his aviation career, he was the oldest pilot still flying in Canada.
Jeffrey Batters Home-Hay was born in Alloa, Scotland on 2 February 1887. He was schooled in Scotland until 1904; he then apprenticed as an engineer. He also apparently served in the military, probably in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regiment, as he was commissioned into it later. He was orphaned in his youth, and emigrated with his widowed mother and his five siblings from Scotland to Canada prior to World War I, in 1908. He farmed at Wadena, Saskatchewan.
He enlisted into the 32nd Battalion, CEF at Winnipeg, Saskatchewan on 29 December 1914 as a private, with the regimental number 81404. On his enlistment attestation paper, he gave his residence as Kamsack, his occupation as steam fitter, and claimed prior military experience. His next of kin listing of his mother, Margaret Batters Home-Hay as residing in Alloa, indicates she had re-emigrated. The enlistee's physical stated he was 5 feet 8 1⁄2 inches (1.74 m) tall.
Although Home-Hay was originally assigned to the Machine Gun Section of the 32nd Battalion, he served in France with the 2nd Battalion from April to December 1915. Towards the end of this duty, he was appointed a second lieutenant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders effective 23 November 1915, with pay and allowances to begin 6 January 1916.
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