Charles Rumney Samson
Charles Rumney Samson | |
---|---|
(France) |
Early life
Samson was born in Crumpsall, Manchester, on 8 July 1883, the son of Charles Leopold Samson, a solicitor, and his wife Margaret Alice (née Rumney).[1]
Samson entered
In 1906 Samson was appointed Officer Commanding of Torpedo Boat No. 81 and in February 1908 he was posted to
In 1911 he was selected as one of the first four Royal Navy officers to receive pilot training, and obtained his
Samson took part in several early naval aviation experiments, including the development of
When the Royal Flying Corps was formed in May 1912 Samson took command of its Naval Wing, and led the development of aerial wireless communications, bomb and torpedo-dropping, navigational techniques, and night flying.
In 1914 the Royal Navy separated the Naval Wing from the Royal Flying Corps, naming it the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). In July Samson was appointed Officer Commanding the Eastchurch (Mobile) Squadron which was renamed No. 3 Squadron RNAS by September 1914.
In 1914, while Samson was in command of the Royal Naval Air Station at Eastchurch, he led a flight in the
First World War
When the First World War broke out, Samson took the Eastchurch RNAS Squadron to France, where it supported Allied ground forces along the French and Belgian frontiers. In the late summer of 1914, with too few aircraft at his disposal, Samson instead had his men patrol the French and Belgian countryside in the privately owned cars some of them had taken to war. The first patrol comprised two cars, nine men, and one machine gun. Inspired by the success of the Belgians' experience of
Aggressive patrolling by Samson's improvised force in the area between Dunkirk and Antwerp did much to prevent German cavalry divisions from carrying out effective reconnaissance, and with the help of Belgian Post Office employees who used the intact telephone system to report German movements, he was able to probe deeply into German-occupied territory. Closer to Dunkirk, Samson's force assisted Allied units in contact with the Germans, and at other times made use of their mobility and machine guns to exploit open flanks, cover retreats, and race German forces to important areas.[6]
Samson's aircraft also bombed the Zeppelin sheds at Düsseldorf and Cologne,[7] and by the end of 1914, when mobile warfare on the Western Front ended and trench warfare took its place, his squadron had been awarded four Distinguished Service Orders, among them his own, and he was given a special promotion and the rank of commander. He spent the next few months bombing gun positions, submarine depots, and seaplane sheds on the Belgian coast.
In March 1915 Samson was sent to the
On 14 May 1916, Samson was given command of
From November 1917 until the end of the War, Samson was in command of an aircraft group at Great Yarmouth responsible for anti-submarine and anti-Zeppelin operations over the North Sea, during which time his group shot down five Zeppelins. In order to bring fighter aircraft into action near the enemy coasts, he developed with John Cyril Porte an adapted seaplane lighter which could be towed behind naval vessels and used as a take-off platform by fighter aircraft. This system led to the destruction of Zeppelin L53 on 11 August 1918 by Lieutenant S. D. Culley, who was awarded the Military Cross.[18] The Sopwith Camel flown by Culley in the attack can be seen at the Imperial War Museum.[19]
In October 1918 the group became 73 Wing of the new
Marriage
Samson was married in Colombo on 7 April 1917 to Miss Honor Oakden Patrickson Storey, the only daughter of Herbert Lushington Storey, and his wife, Emily Muriel Storey.[20] They had one daughter.
Samson was granted a decree nisi against his wife by the Divorce Court in London in December 1923. Their divorce became final in 1924.[21]
He was married again, in 1924, to Winifred Reeves, the daughter of Mr and Mrs Herbert K. Reeves, who survived him.[22] They had two children, John Louis Rumney born 19 June 1925 and Priscilla Rumney born after her father's death on 24 March 1931.
Postwar
During 1920 Samson served as Chief Staff Officer in the Coastal Area, and in 1921 became Air Officer Commanding for RAF units in the Mediterranean, based at
In June 1926 he became Chief Staff Officer of the RAF's Middle East Command, in September 1926 he led a flight from Cairo to Aden: the flight left Cairo on 15 September 1926 and was flown by two Vickers Victoria biplanes and returned to Cairo on 29 September.[23][24] He later flew an RAF formation of four Fairey III biplanes from Cairo to the Cape of Good Hope.[25] He remained with the Middle East command until August 1927.
Samson was placed on the retired list on account of ill health in 1929 and died of heart failure at his home near
Honours and awards
- 21 October 1914 – Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in recognition for service between 1 September and 5 October 1914 in command of the Aeroplane and Armoured Motor Support of the Royal Naval Air Service at Dunkirk.[26]
- 1914 – Croix de guerre (France)
- 1915 – Knight of the Legion of Honour (France)
- 14 March 1916 – Mention in Despatches for service in action during the landing and evacuation on the Gallipoli peninsula.[27]
- 23 January 1917 – Bar to the Distinguished Service Order for continued gallantry as a Flying Officer.[28]
- 1 January 1919 – Air Force Cross[29]
- 3 June 1919 – Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in recognition of distinguished service during the war.[30]
See also
- List of firsts in aviation
- Eugene Burton Ely, the first pilot to take off from a ship and land on a ship
- Mustafa Ertuğrul Aker, the first officer to sink an aircraft carrier
- Force Z#Origins.2C Destruction.2C Vindication, on Samson's unheeded warnings
References
- ^ 1891 Census of Salford, RG12/3214, Folio 160, Page 27, Charles R Samson, Carmona, Cavendish Road, Broughton, Salford.
- ^ "Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Biography on Charles Samson". Archived from the original on 26 September 2008.
- ^ RAeC Notices Flight 29 April 1911
- ^ Naval Officers at EastchurchFlight 28 January 1912
- ^ The Naval Review and the AviatorsFlight 18 May 1912
- ISBN 0-275-95020-4.
- ^ Pollard, Bridget, The Royal Naval Air Service in Antwerp, September–October 1915 (PDF), The British Commission for Military History, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012
- ISBN 0-333-62952-3p.346
- ^ Moorehead 1956, p. 122
- ^ Moorehead 1956, p. 123
- ^ Moorehead 1956, p. 143
- ^ Moorehead 1956, p. 213
- ^ Moorehead 1956, p. 233
- ^ Moorehead 1956, p. 331
- ^ Moorehead 1956, p. 347
- ISBN 978-0-7146-4382-3.
- ^ "1914-1923". Archived from the original on 19 September 2012.
- ^ Chilton, Air Marshal Sir Edward. "John Cyril Porte (1884–1919) Naval Officer, Pilot and aircraft designer extraordinary". Imperial War Museum. Private Papers of Air Marshal Sir Edward Chilton KBE CB FRIN.
- ^ "Sopwith Camel". Imperial War Museums. IWM. 2018. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
Flown by Lieutenant S.D. Culley during a sweep by the Harwich Force in the southern area of the North Sea on 11th August 1918. It took off from a lighter H.5 which was being towed by the destroyer 'Redoubt' and shot down the Zeppelin L.53. The Camel was recovered almost undamaged after landing in the water alongside the lighter.
- ^ See The Dundee Evening Telegraph and Post (Wednesday, 11 April 1917), p. 2.
- ^ Northern Daily Mail (Friday, 7 December 1923), p. 8.
- ^ Western Daily Press (Tuesday, 16 September 1924), p. 10; Marriage registered in the Registration District of St. George Hanover Square in the last quarter of 1924.
- ^ "Cairo-Aden-Cairo Flight Ends". Flight: 647. 7 October 1926.
- ^ "News in Brief." Times [London, England] 30 September 1926: 11. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 14 November 2013.
- ^ "The Service African Flights". Flight: 647. 28 April 1927.
- ^ "No. 28948". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 October 1914. p. 8501.
- ^ "No. 29507". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 March 1916. p. 2868.
- ^ "No. 29913". The London Gazette. 23 January 1917. p. 843.
- ^ "No. 31098". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1919. p. 98.
- ^ "No. 31378". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1919. p. 7026.
Bibliography
- Samson, Charles Rumney (1930). Fights and flights. E. Benn Limited.
- Samson, Charles Rumney (1931). A Flight from Cairo to Cape Town and Back. E. Benn Limited.
- Moorehead, Alan (1956). Gallipoli. Hamish Hamilton Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84513-239-2.
- Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Commodore C R Samson
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – Samson, Charles Rumney
External links
- A 1913 photograph of Samson and Cecil Malone with other pioneering officers of the RFC
- A 1915 photograph of Charles Samson taken at Gallipoli (image not available as of September 2022)
- Felixstowe, Suffolk: Pioneering Sea Plane Base Audio recording of George Edward Brice who recalls Charles Rumney Samson testing a seaplane during the First World War.
- 58ft Towing Lighters Information and photographs on seaplane lighters including Samson's test flight and Culley's attack on Zeppellin L53.
- Flying boats over the Heligoland Bight: Article exploring the use of seaplane lighters in combined operations with the Harwich Force.