Frank Ormond Soden Frank Ormond " Mongoose " Soden DFC & Bar ( 3 November 1895 – 12 February 1961 ) was a First World War flying ace , officially credited with 27 victories . Though born in Canada , Soden moved to the United Kingdom as a child . He served initially in the British Army as an infantry officer , before joining the Royal Flying Corps and transferring to the Royal Air Force on its creation . He remained in the RAF following the war , and went on to serve in Iraq and also as an RAF Station commander during the Second World War . Early life and World War I service . Soden was born in Petitcodiac , New Brunswick , Canada , but emigrated to England as a child in 1904 . He was educated at Woodbridge School . His career in the armed forces began with the Inns of Court Regiment Officer Training Corps , from which he was commissioned into the South Staffordshire Regiment as second lieutenant in 1914 . He first entered a theatre of war on 14 July 1915 . He was first attached to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916 , and officially transferred on 27 April 1917 . His career as a fighter ace began in No . 60 Squadron RFC , when flying a Nieuport 17 to claim an Albatros D . III down ' out of control ' on 25 June 1917 . Beginning with his third victory on 17 September 1917 , he was flying the new Royal Aircraft Factory SE . 5a . He was not credited with the destruction of an enemy aircraft until his fourth claim , on 20 September . He became an ace with the first of two victories the morning of 21 September 1917 , sending down an Albatros DV out of control . In the afternoon , he was credited with the destruction of a second enemy craft , shared with two other 60 Squadron pilots . He was given command of a flight on 5 December 1917 , and given temporary promotion to captain . He accumulated victories at a steady pace , downing from one to four Germans per month through February 1918 . He achieved his most notable victory on 9 January 1918 , over Max , " Ritter " von Müller . Muller , whose victory tally was 36 , had downed no fewer than five British aces . Accompanied by Captain Robert Chidlaw - Roberts , Soden set Muller ' s Albatros D . V on fire in the air near Moorslede , Belgium . Muller exited the flaming biplane and fell to his death . On 5 February , Soden scored a double , bringing his total to 16 . On 8 August he was a flight commander with No 41 Squadron , still flying the S . E . 5a . He sent a Fokker D . VII down in flames , and scored twice more in August . On 15 September , he singlehandedly shot down an observation balloon for his 20th kill . In October 1918 , he scored his greatest month . On the 8th he destroyed a DFW C . two - seater , and on the 10th he flamed a Fokker D . VII . On the 14th , he destroyed two more D . VIIs . On the 25th , he again shot down a balloon . On the 28th , he was responsible for the capture of a Fokker D . VII near Ooteghem , Belgium . His 27th and final victory came three days later , when he drove down another D . VII out of control . Soden ' s final tally included 13 German aircraft put down ' out of control ' , 11 destroyed , 2 observation balloons destroyed single - handed , and a Fokker D . VII captured . At least 19 of his victories were over German fighters . However , nine of his triumphs were shared with other pilots from his squadron . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 8 February 1919 , the citation read : The main part of the war over , in 1919 Soden volunteered to join the British expedition to Murmansk , part of Allied efforts to support White Russian forces . Post World War I life . Soden remained in the Royal Air Force after the war ( he had been granted a regular commission as a captain on 1 August 1919 ) . His first role was in the Waziristan Campaign . He then joined RAF Iraq Command , serving in Kurdistan ( northern Iraq ) . For his services there he was awarded a Bar to his DFC on 19 December 1922 , he now held the rank of flight lieutenant . Soden was promoted squadron leader on 12 December 1928 , he then took command of No . 111 ( Fighter ) Squadron at RAF Hornchurch . In 1929 he was sent to the British Mandate of Palestine to command No . 14 ( Bomber ) Squadron and subsequently served on the staff at the RAF headquarters in Jerusalem . He returned to the UK in 1934 to take command of No . 65 Squadron which reformed on 1 August at Hornchurch . He was promoted wing commander on 1 July 1935 , and group captain on 1 April 1939 . During this period he had also commanded No . 7 ( Bomber ) Squadron and No . 3 Armament Training Camp at RAF Sutton Bridge . During the Second World War , he was initially station commander at RAF Upper Heyford before taking command of one of RAF Fighter Command ' s most important airfields , RAF Biggin Hill . He served in this command from December 1940 to June 1941 . He later served in the Middle East , as airfield commander at RAF Castel Benito , and commanding Operational Training Unit s . Soden retired from the RAF on 21 May 1945 , and emigrated to Kenya . There , in 1953 , during the Mau Mau Uprising he saw off an attempt by 20 armed Mau Mau to raid his house near Timau . He was later involved in trying to evacuate refugees from Congo in light aircraft , and was held by Congolese forces for a while . He died in hospital in London , on 12 February 1961 . A memorial service was held at St Clement Danes , the RAF church , on 15 March 1961 .