RAF honours First World War flying ace killed in plane crash
By Stephen Hayward
A First Word War flying ace who was killed when his plane crashed 100 years ago has been honoured by the RAF on the anniversary of the accident.
Flying instructor George Hayward, 29, whose family lived in Brownhill Road, Catford, died alongside his student pilot, Charles Brealey, 27, when the Avro 504 biplane came down near the training school airfield where they were based.
Now the airmen have been given a permanent memorial at RAF Digby, Lincolnshire, where their families met for the first time on August 17, the centenary of the ill-fated flight.
Specially framed photographs of the pair were presented to the RAF base by family members. The presentation followed an illustrated talk about the officers’ military service.
The families were brought together after one of Mr Hayward’s grandsons, Nick Hayward, traced and contacted relatives of Mr Brealey using newspaper archives and electoral records.
Nick said: “We wanted to commemorate the centenary in some way so we got in touch with RAF Digby and they invited our family to the base.
“But we were aware there were two families bereaved as a result of this tragic accident, so it was an honour for us to meet Charles Brealey’s family for the first time.”
Engine failure was blamed for the crash in August 1924. Eye witnesses said the dual control aircraft appeared to lose power at 150ft.
The plane stalled and nose-dived into a field about two miles from Digby. Mr Hayward left a widow, Dorothy, then eight months pregnant with a daughter, and two young sons. He was laid to rest with full military honours at Hither Green cemetery.
A cattle dealer’s son, Mr Hayward, went to Catford’s former Brownhill Road school and later served as a second lieutenant in the Royal West Kent Regiment on the Western Front before volunteering for the Royal Flying Corps and joining its 22 Squadron – nicknamed the Biff Boys because of their two seater Bristol Fighter planes – in mid 1917.
Mr Hayward and his fellow squadron members are believed to be the first unit to fly operationally on the day the RAF was formed in 1918.
He remained with the air force after the war and qualified as a pilot and then as a flying instructor with the RAF’s No 2 Training Flying School.
Mr Hayward was an observer and rear gunner in the RAF and was awarded the Military Cross for “conspicuous gallantry” in the skies over northern France.
He was the third highest scoring observer of the war, shooting down 24 enemy aircraft between November 1917 and April 1918.
Mr Brealey, from Tottenham, joined the Royal Navy at just 15 and transferred to the RAF in May 1918.
He saw action in the Royal Navy on board the battleship Monarch at the 1916 battle of Jutland and ended the war as a leading signaller.
Lucille Baker, a great niece of Mr Brealey, said: “We can all be proud that RAF Digby wanted to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this tragic event and remember George and Charles.”
Flight Lieutenant Colin Dobinson, of RAF Digby, added: “It was very exciting for us that these two families were meeting at Digby for the first time. We are always very keen to welcome former personnel who have served at Digby or anyone who has connections with its history.”
Pictured top: Nick Hayward and Lucille Baker presenting photos to RAF Digby (Picture: Stephen Hayward)