Erroll Chunder Sen
Erroll Suvo Chunder Sen | |
|---|---|
 Erroll Chunder Sen on a 2019 stamp of India | |
| Born | 13 March 1899 Bengal Presidency, British Raj |
| Died | Unknown (c. December 1941?) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ | British Army (Royal Flying Corps) Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | No. 70 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War I • Western Front |
| Other work | Indian Imperial Police |
Erroll Suvo Chunder Sen (13 March 1899
Family and early life
Sen was born in
First World War
Sen applied for a commission in the Royal Flying Corps in November 1916, but his application was rejected as he was under age.[5] After a period working in a bank,[2] and having now turned 18, he made a second attempt in early 1917.[4] This time he was successful, and he was awarded a temporary honorary commission in the RFC as a second lieutenant, with effect from 24 April 1917.[6] He was ordered to report to the No. 1 School of Military Aeronautics at Reading from the same date.[5]
After two months at Reading, followed by 25 hours of elementary flying training and 35 hours in front-line aircraft, Sen was posted to the Western Front.[4][5] He was assigned to No. 70 Squadron RFC, based at Poperinge in West Flanders, Belgium and equipped with the Sopwith Camel.[5] On 7 August 1917, he was appointed a Flying Officer in the RFC with the temporary rank of second lieutenant.[7] A month later, on 14 September, while taking part in an offensive patrol, Sen experienced engine failure and dropped behind the rest of his patrol. As he stated later in a deposition for the War Office, "...in attempting to catch up [with the remainder of the patrol, I] was lost in a cloud. Coming out [I] was attacked by 4 enemy machines. Both [fuel] tanks [were] hit & [I] crashed outside Menin. Unwounded."[5]
He was interned in Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp for the remainder of the war. He was a participant in the attempted mass escape from the camp on 23/24 July 1918, but was in the escape tunnel when it partially collapsed, resulting in the abandonment of the enterprise.[2][8] He was eventually repatriated to the UK on 14 December 1918.[5]
Postwar years
Following his repatriation, Sen was promoted lieutenant on 17 April 1919,[9] and was transferred to the unemployed list of the RAF on 23 May.[10] He returned to India and joined the Indian Imperial Police as an assistant superintendent (junior scale, on probation) with effect from 20 September 1921.[11] By 1925, he was serving in eastern Bengal in the Comilla District (now in Bangladesh).[11]
Sen and his brother subsequently relocated to
References
- ^ [Quarterly Civil List for Bengal 1922 p.267]
- ^ ISBN 9780857981141.
- ISBN 978-93-83649-25-9.
- ^ a b c "Kingston Aviation: A diary of the Sopwith Aviation Company and its products through 1917". kingstonaviation.org. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Richards, Clive (2008). "The Origins of Military Aviation in India and the Creation of the Indian Air Force, 1910–1932 (Part Two: The RAF in India and the Creation of the Indian Air Force, 1918–1932)". Royal Air Force Air Power Review. 11 (1): 20–49. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ "No. 30058". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 May 1917. p. 4449.
- ^ "No. 30257". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 August 1917. p. 8968.
- ^ a b "Holzminden Internee List (Sept 1917 – Dec 1918" (PDF). facesofholzminden.com. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ "No. 31332". The London Gazette. 9 May 1919. p. 5798.
- ^ "No. 31449". The London Gazette. 11 July 1919. p. 8857.
- ^ a b The Combined Civil List For India: A List of the Civil Services and Higher European Services under the Government of India (July–September 1925). Allahabad: The Pioneer Press. 1925. p. 394.