Thomas Baker ( aviator ) Thomas Charles Richmond Baker DFC , MM & Bar ( 2 May 1897 – 4 November 1918 ) was an Australian soldier , aviator , and flying ace of the First World War . Born in Smithfield , South Australia , he was an active sportsman in his youth and developed a keen interest in aviation . He was employed as a clerk with the Bank of New South Wales , before he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915 , for service in World War I . Posted to an artillery unit on the Western Front , he was awarded the Military Medal for carrying out numerous repairs on a communications line while subject to severe artillery fire . In June 1917 , Baker was awarded a bar to his decoration for his part in quelling a fire in one of the artillery gun pits that was endangering approximately 300 rounds of shrapnel and high explosive . In September 1917 , Baker applied for a position as a mechanic in the Australian Flying Corps . He was instead selected for flight training , and was posted to courses in the United Kingdom . He graduated as a pilot and was commissioned a second lieutenant in March 1918 . Posted for active duty in France that June , Baker joined the ranks of No . 4 Squadron AFC . Over the next four months , he rose to the rank of captain and was credited with bringing down 12 German aircraft . He was shot down and killed on 4 November 1918 . In February 1919 , he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . Early life . Thomas Charles Richmond Baker was born in Smithfield , South Australia , on 2 May 1897 , the eldest son of Richmond Baker , a schoolmaster and farmer , and his wife Annie Martha ( née Gardner ) . He was educated at St Peter ' s College in Adelaide . During his school years Baker was an active sportsman , taking part in rowing , tennis and football , in addition to being a member of the cadet corps . In his youth , he acquired an avid interest in aviation , and the construction of model aeroplanes became " his chief hobby " . Graduating from secondary school in 1914 , he gained employment as a clerk with the Adelaide branch of the Bank of New South Wales . During this time , he joined the 11th Royal Australian Engineers of the Citizens Military Force . First World War . Australian Imperial Force . On 29 July 1915 , Baker enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force for service during the First World War . Allocated as a reinforcement to the 6th Field Artillery Brigade with the rank of gunner , he embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT " Persic " on 22 November , bound for Egypt . On arrival , Baker was posted to the 16th Battery before moving to France for service on the Western Front . Disembarking in France on 1 July 1916 , Baker took part in the Somme offensive . On 11 December 1916 , Baker was engaged in battle with his unit near Gueudecourt . During the action , he was posted as a telephonist with the forward observation team sent to record the fall of the artillery and secure the range for a bombardment . Their position during this time was on a forward slope of the Australian frontline , which was subject to constant observation and the attention of German snipers . Attempting to maintain communications , Baker ventured out on four occasions during the engagement , each time subject to the heavy artillery barrage from the German forces , and repaired the telephone line in thirty separate places . As a consequence , the 16th Battery was able to align its artillery barrage and destroy the Germans ' forward trench . Commended for his " great gallantry " as well as " good service and . . . great devotion to duty " , Baker was awarded the Military Medal . The announcement for the decoration was published in a supplement to the " London Gazette " on 19 February 1917 . In 1917 , the 16th Battery was relocated to the Messines sector of the frontline in Belgium . On 16 March , Baker was admitted to hospital suffering from an illness ; he returned to his unit six days later . During the afternoon of 21 June , the unit ' s position was subject to a severe bombardment of artillery shelling , resulting in an order for all men to evacuate the gun pits and seek cover . As a consequence of the barrage , the camouflage covering one of the gun pits caught fire , endangering approximately 300 rounds of shrapnel and high explosives . The battery sergeant major immediately called for men to assist him in quelling the blaze ; Baker and three others volunteered . Despite the continuous shellfire , the four men promptly set about retrieving water from a nearby well and shellholes with buckets " at great personal risk " , dousing the fire . The camouflage had been completely destroyed , several sand bags had caught fire , and a few rounds of ammunition were charred . As a result of their actions , Baker ' s three companions were recommended for the Military Medal , and Baker for a bar to his . The announcement of the decorations was promogulated in a supplement to the " London Gazette " on 21 August 1917 . Australian Flying Corps . In September 1917 , Baker followed his ambition of joining the Australian Flying Corps and applied for a transfer to become an air mechanic when the opportunity arose . His application proved successful , though he was instead selected to become a pilot and was posted for flight training . Embarking for the United Kingdom the following month , he was posted to No . 5 Training Squadron as a cadet pilot for his initial aviation instruction . On 27 March , Baker graduated as a pilot in the Australian Flying Corps and was commissioned as a second lieutenant ; he had completed his first solo flight earlier that month . In May , he was posted for a course at No . 2 School of Aerial Fighting and Gunnery . Baker proceeded overseas to France on 15 June 1918 and , on arrival the following day , was posted to No . 4 Squadron AFC piloting Sopwith Camel s . On 23 June , he flew his first operational sortie over the German lines ; he was promoted to lieutenant four days later . On 31 July , Baker was among a formation of seven Camels tasked with carrying out a patrol over German - held territory . The group crossed over into German lines near Nieppe Forrest , and flew towards Estaires . The Camels soon intercepted a formation of seven Fokker D . VII s , and the entire patrol immediately dived at the German aircraft . In the ensuing melee , Baker managed to force one of the aircraft down to the ground , thus scoring his first aerial victory . Throughout August 1918 , No . 4 Squadron " maintained a high operational tempo " as the Allies launched a new offensive on the Western Front . On 7 August , Baker and two others took off from their squadron aerodrome at Reclinghem ; all three machines were carrying a heavy load of bombs . Airborne over Pont - du - Hem , the trio released their bombs over German billet s in the area , before spotting two Albatros D . V s . The three Australians closed in on the two aircraft . Baker engaged an Albatros , his fire severing the left wing of the aircraft , effectively destroying the machine . Nine days later , a formation of 65 aircraft was assembled from No . 88 Squadron RAF , No . 92 Squadron RAF , No . 2 Squadron AFC and Baker ' s No . 4 Squadron AFC to execute a mass raid on the German aerodrome at Haubourdin . The fleet of aircraft was equipped with a range of incendiary and explosive bombs , in addition to machine gun ammunition . Led by Captain Harry Cobby , the aircraft from No . 4 Squadron were the first to sweep down and assault the target . At one point , Baker pursued a staff car until the vehicle ran up an embankment and flipped over . He later reported that " No one left the car " . The raid , which was the largest aerial attack by Allied forces to that date , was highly successful ; British estimates concluded that 37 German aeroplanes had been destroyed . On 19 August , Baker led a patrol of six aircraft over Lys . Five days later , he shot down a German balloon while on a lone mission in poor weather , scoring his third aerial victory . At dawn on 30 August , Baker took off on a sortie with Lieutenants Elwyn King and Oscar Ramsay . Over Laventie , the trio encountered three DFW C . V s ; Baker and King each disposed of one of the aircraft . Baker was granted two weeks ' leave to the United Kingdom in early September . Towards the end of that month , No . 4 Squadron relocated to Serny and was soon after re - equipped with the Sopwith Snipe . By the time of the conversion , Baker had achieved flying ace status on the Sopwith Camel , having been credited with shooting down six German aircraft by early October . Baker was promoted to temporary captain and made a flight commander in No . 4 Squadron on 24 October . Two days later , Baker and Lieutenant Thomas Barkell led a formation of nine Snipes . As the patrol drew near Tournai in the afternoon , they intercepted a group of 15 Fokker D . VIIs . The Snipes swept towards the German aircraft , and Baker attempted to engage the formation leader , but the machine guns on his Snipe jammed . He brought in his aircraft for a second attempt , and managed to shoot the Fokker down out of control . In all , the Australians destroyed five of the Fokkers before the engagement ended . On 28 October , Baker was credited with the destruction of a further three German aircraft from two separate patrols into Belgium that day . During the second excursion , he brought one Fokker down out of control , before shooting the other down over Ath . He was airborne again on an offensive patrol the next day . Fifteen Snipes from No . 4 Squadron were detailed for the patrol , and as the party drew near Tournai they encountered approximately 60 Fokker planes already engaged with several British aircraft . Baker led five of the Snipes into the assault , but confusion reigned for several minutes before the men could gain their bearings in the fight . Baker assailed two Fokkers that had been pursuing another Snipe , and was able to destroy one of the aircraft . On 30 October , " considerable activity " was observed at the German aerodrome in Rebaix , and a formation of aircraft from No . 2 Squadron were detailed to bomb the area ; an escort of eleven Snipes — including Baker — from No . 4 Squadron was provided . As the bombing was taking place , several Fokker aircraft appeared and were intercepted by the Snipes . In the ensuing battle , Baker critically damaged one of the Fokkers , resulting in the aircraft dropping towards the ground tail - first on its back . The Fokker proved to be Baker ' s twelfth , and final , aerial victory of the war ; he had scored his last five victories in a period of three days . On 4 November 1918 , the whole of No . 80 Wing RAF — of which No . 4 Squadron was part — took to the sky in an effort to " harass the German retreat on the Leuze - Ath road " and to bomb the aerodrome to the east of Leuze . A formation of Sopwith Snipes from No . 4 Squadron had been utilised as an escort when the initial raid was carried out , and then to protect the bombers as they returned to the Allied lines . However , when the Australians had executed the latter duty , they were tailed by a patrol of twelve Fokkers . After seeing the bombers off , the Snipes wheeled around to confront the German aircraft . The battle raged for two or three minutes before dying out . As the Snipes re - grouped , they discovered that three pilots were missing ; Baker was among the three . Baker and fellow ace Lieutenant Arthur Palliser were initially recorded as missing , but were later found to have fallen victim to " Rittmeister " Karl Bolle during the battle . Legacy . Described as " the most gallant airman . . . and . . . a pilot far above the average " by one of the men in his squadron , Baker was buried in Escanaffles Communal Cemetery , Belgium . His aerial victories were broken down as seven aircraft and one balloon destroyed with an additional four planes driven down out of control , making him No . 4 Squadron ' s fourth highest scoring ace after Harry Cobby , Elwyn King and Edgar McCloughry . A stained - glass window at St John ' s Church of England in Adelaide is dedicated to his memory . On 8 February 1919 , the " London Gazette " carried the posthumous announcement of the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to Thomas Baker , reading :