Captain Henry Arthur Richard Biziou was a World War I flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 credited with eight aerial victories.

Early life

Henry Arthur Richard Biziou was born on 18 September 1896, birthplace unknown. He would become known as "Weegee" in later life.

World War I

Biziou was already serving in the Yorkshire Regiment

Yorkshire Regiment

The Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...

 on 31 May 1916, when he was posted to the army's General List as a temporary second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 to meet wartime needs. He began duty as an aerial observer

Aerial observer

Aerial Observer- Air Force Reconnaissance.An Aerial Observer is the functional position of gathering information visually from an airborne platform for use by military or commercial purposes. This history started when the first balloons were flown in Europe...

, probably with 42 Squadron, on 6 October 1916, and was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

 General List on 23 November 1916. On 1 April 1917, he was promoted to temporary lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

.

He then trained as a pilot, including the course at the School of Special Flying at Gosport

Gosport

Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...

. He was then posted to 87 Squadron and landed in France in April 1918. He flew a Sopwith Dolphin, and scored the squadron's first victory on 6 May 1918. Over time, he ran off a tally of two reconnaissance planes and five fighters destroyed, and another fighter driven down out of control by 22 September 1918.

In the midst of this string of victories, Biziou was promoted to temporary captain on 2 July 1918.

Post World War I

Biziou remained in the Royal Air Force after the war. The Distinguished Flying Cross he had won for his exploits was finally gazetted on 3 December 1918:

A most successful leader of marked gallantry. During recent operations he has destroyed four enemy aeroplanes and driven down one out of control; two of these he accounted for in one engagement on September 15th with a number of Fokker biplanes. In addition he has driven down a hostile balloon.

Bizou was stationed at RAF Farnborough postwar. He was killed in a collision with a Bristol F.2 Fighter

Bristol F.2 Fighter

The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...

 on 14 July 1919. He is buried in Aldershot Military Cemetery

Aldershot Military Cemetery

Aldershot Military Cemetery, is a burial ground for military personnel, or ex-military personnel. It is located in Aldershot Military Town, Hampshire...

.

Reference

• Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman Franks
  Norman Franks
  Norman Leslie Robert Franks is an English writer who specialises in aviation books on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.-Biography:...
  
  , Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0948817194, 9780948817199.

Endnotes

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