John Lightfoot Trollope
| John Lightfoot Trollope | |
|---|---|
| Born |
30 May 1897 Wallington, Surrey, England |
| Died | 21 October 1958 (aged 61) Hove, Sussex, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1915–1920 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit |
Royal Engineers No. 70 Squadron RFC No. 43 Squadron RFC |
| Battles/wars | World War I • Western Front |
| Awards | Military Cross & Bar |
Captain John Lightfoot Trollope MC* (30 May 1897 – 21 October 1958) was a British First World War flying ace, credited with eighteen aerial victories, including seven on one day, the first British pilot to do so.
Trollope was born in Wallington, Surrey, the seventh of nine children, and the second surviving son of Howard Woollright Trollope and his wife Caroline Lydia (née Hodgson). He was educated at Banstead Hall, and was attending Malvern College when the war broke out.
Trollope enlisted in early 1915, before his 18th birthday, to serve as a despatch rider in the Royal Engineers Signal Service. He served in France from June, but was invalided back to England in September. He was serving as a corporal in the Royal Engineers, when on 17 June 1916 he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on the General List to serve in the Royal Flying Corps. He trained as a pilot, being granted Royal Aero Club Aviators' Certificate No. 3772 after soloing a Maurice Farman biplane at Shoreham on 1 August, and was appointed a flying officer on 2 September.
Trollope served in France from September 1916, flying a Sopwith 1½ Strutter reconnaissance aircraft in No. 70 Squadron. He returned to England in March 1917 to serve as an flying instructor and in a Home Defence squadron. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1917, and was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 28 July 1917, to serve in No. 43 Squadron in France. Soon after his arrival No. 43 Squadron replaced its 1½ Strutters with Sopwith Camels, and was converted from a reconnaissance to a ground attack unit.
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