Augustus Orlebar Air Vice Marshal Augustus Henry Orlebar CBE AFC & Bar ( 17 February 1897 – 4 August 1943 ) was a British Army and Royal Air Force officer who served in both world wars . After being wounded during the Gallipoli campaign he was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps and subsequently the Royal Air Force . He formally transferred to the RAF after the First World War , and between the wars was involved in high speed flying , commanding the High Speed Flight RAF , competing in the Schneider Trophy , and holding the world air speed record . By the outbreak of the Second World War he was in command of RAF Northolt . He briefly became Director of Flying Training in 1940 before going to HQ RAF Fighter Command . In July 1941 he became Air Officer Commanding , No . 10 ( Fighter ) Group , and in March 1943 Deputy Chief of Combined Operations . He fell ill , and died in hospital on 4 August 1943 . Early life . He was the son of Augustus Scobell Orlebar and Hester Mary Orlebar , of Podington , Bedfordshire . The Orlebar s were an old established family , having built Hinwick House almost 200 years earlier , after holding the manor since the mid - 17th century . He was educated at Rugby School . First World War . He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1 / 5th Battalion , Bedfordshire Regiment ( Territorial Force ) on 15 January 1916 . His battalion landed at Suvla Bay on 11 August 1915 , pitching him into the Gallipoli campaign , He was promoted to temporary lieutenant on 21 September 1915 , but was subsequently wounded in action by a sniper ' s bullet . He was then invalided to the United Kingdom and seconded to the Royal Flying Corps ( RFC ) on recovery . He trained as a pilot in 1916 and was appointed a flying officer in the military wing of the RFC on 17 September 1916 when he was formally seconded from his regimental duties to the RFC . His rank of lieutenant was confirmed on 21 October . He was posted to No . 19 Squadron RFC on the Western Front . On 13 March 1918 he shot down and severely wounded Ltn . Lothar von Richthofen ( brother of Manfred von Richthofen ) , near Cambrai . He was wounded in turn himself by Albatros scouts over Ham on 23 March 1918 . Before his return to combat , he also served as an instructor in Essex . He was credited with two enemy aircraft destroyed whilst serving with No 19 and a further four as a flight commander in No 73 Squadron , before being wounded . He gained his final victory with No . 43 Squadron on 29 September , bringing his total to seven . Inter - war service . He served as a Test pilot at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment ( A & AEE ) , Martlesham Heath , between 1919 and 1925 , being awarded the Air Force Cross in 1921 and the bar in 1929 . Air racing . He was Officer Commanding and pilot with the High Speed Flight , the RAF ' s team for the Schneider Trophy seaplane races of 1927 - 1931 . Britain , having won the 1927 race , became the subsequent host for the contests , which were based at RAF Calshot on the eastern entrance to Southampton Water . In 1929 he set an air speed record of 357 . 7 mph in Supermarine S . 6 " N247 " . The final contest was held in 1931 , for a 3rd win gave the title to Britain in perpetuity . His report on the contest describes Flt . Lt Stainforth ' s achievement of a new speed record at over 400 mph . Second World War . At the outbreak of the Second World War he was the Director of Flying Training before joining the Air Staff , HQ Fighter Command in October 1940 . On 22 July 1941 he became AOC of No . 10 Group then the position of Deputy Chief of Combined Operations , at RAF Northolt from 2 March 1943 . He died in hospital from natural causes after a short illness and is buried at his family church of Saint Mary ' s , Podington , Bedfordshire . He is commemorated on the War Memorial of the Church . Service career . Decorations . AFC - 2 Jan 1922 , bar - 3 Jun 1930 , MiD - 24 Sep 1941 .