Sydney Philip Smith Captain Sydney Philip Smith was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories . Sydney Philip Smith was born at Aldershot in May 1895 . Educated at King ' s College School , Wimbledon , he joined the OTC and was reportedly a crack shot , captaining his school rifle team at the annual schools competition at Bisley . He enlisted at the outbreak of war in the Public Schools Battalion , before being commissioned as a Temporary 2nd Lieutenant of the Royal Army Service Corps in December 1914 . After initial service with the Army Service Corps , Smith served with the Wessex Division ( Training ) and going to France in March 1915 . He was posted to the Royal Flying Corps in early 1916 . He qualified as a pilot on 24 May 1916 . He then in June served as a pilot flying the Royal Aircraft Factory BE 2 d in 6 Squadron . By December he was a Captain and flight Commander . He wrote home to his father in October 1916 ; " ‘ A letter by way of a change this time . Things have been happening with a vengeance since I returned . I daresay you heard from the aunts about some of ‘ em : my observer getting a “ Blighty ” in the leg ; fellows being blown to pieces by bombs , etc . , etc . Well the day after I brought down Captain Duff wounded , I went up in the same machine on a “ Shoot ” with another observer , and got it in the neck properly from “ Archie ” : my propeller was smashed , petrol tank punctured [ emptied itself all over my observer ’ s feet in about 2 seconds ! ] , both main spars of the two top planes split right through , engine cowl pierced and about 27 holes in other parts of the machine . This was all from 2 practically simultaneous bursts dead over the machine , and they sounded like the crack of doom ! However , we managed to struggle painfully back to the aerodrome , feeling jolly lucky that there was enough propeller left to drag us back and also that the spare petrol tank was intact [ machine is still in the process of rebuilding ! ! ] . . . ’ " Despite piloting a grossly obsolescent two - seater reconnaissance plane , Smith - and his observer 2AM Backhouse - scored his first victory on 17 March 1917 , destroying a German Albatros D . II fighter over Becelaere . On 1 May 1917 , piloting RE - 8 4196 with Observer Lt . Hayman , Smith was attacked by five Albatros scouts , and wounded in the right heel during the engagement . This was referred to in a letter sent to his father from 2 / Lt . Waight , R . F . C . , in May 1917 ; " ‘ He was attacked by five hostile machines , all firing as hard as they could go . Unfortunately , Phillip could not reply as both his and the Observer ’ s gun jammed , and were therefore helpless . Phillip did the only thing possible under the circumstances and endeavoured to out manoeuvre his opponents , which he did with wonderful skill . An unlucky shot hit Phillip in the right heel , which must have been very painful when he used the rudder controls . However he kept going until his engine was hit in the carburettor and engine bearers , which , of course , forced him to land . In spite of his wound he made a perfect landing . He was taken to the dressing station . . . He is known by many officers outside the Flying Corps for the many brave deeds he has performed at various times , which he considers very ordinary things . He was , without a doubt , a very brave man , and that means a very great deal in the Flying Corps . . . He has been recommended four times for a decoration and all in this Squadron are intensely annoyed as he has not got it up to the present . . . ’ " Recovered from his wound , Smith transferred to No . 46 Squadron flying the Sopwith Camel scout in March 1918 . He shared a pair of claims on 16 March 1918 , being aided by George Thomson . After another claim on 24 March , he shared his final victory , an Albatros C , on 2 April with Lt . Donald MacLaren , 2 / Lt Roy McConnell and Lt . Alexander Vlasto . " ‘ Whilst on C . O . P . at 5 , 000 feet over Courcelles , Captain Smith fired 50 rounds at 200 yards range at E . A . who was flying West at 1000 feet above him . E . A . turned East and dived . Captain Smith and the other pilots got on his tail and dived down on him firing about 750 rounds at a range varying from 50 to 100 yards . E . A . then dived vertically as if hit and Captain Smith overshot him , the other pilots , with the exception of Lieutenant McClaren , pulled out . He fired another 100 rounds at 50 yards range and the E . A . went down out of control and crashed S . of Courcelles ’ " His commanding Officer at No . 46 Squadron , Major RHS Mealing , described Smith as " wonderfully brave , perhaps too brave " . Twice he had returned with his Camel badly damaged by ground fire ; D6407 on 27 March and D6489 on 30 March . On 6 April 1918 , in Camel D6491 , he led a ground attack mission with Lts RK MacConnell , JR Cole , and VM Yeates . They attacked troops and transports near La Motte , dropping 16 25 lb Cooper bombs and firing some 450 rounds of ammunition . However , Smith did not return and was last seen by MacConnell at 15 . 30 hours over La Motte . Smith fell to the guns of a JG 1 Fokker Dr . I flown by Manfred von Richthofen . The Red Baron ' s combat report read , " " . . . The English plane which I attacked started to burn after only a few shots from my guns . Then it crashed , burning near the little wood northeast of Villers Bretonneux , where it continued burning on the ground . " " Captain Sydney Philip Smith has no known grave and is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial . After the war Smith ' s father , determined to find his son ' s grave , travelled to France with former Camel pilot Donald Gold , who had witnessed the shooting down of Smith ' s Camel . Although they were successful in locating and mapping the crash position and found several pieces of the Camel ' s wreckage , he was unable to discover his sons ' s grave . Smith was later featured in 46 Squadron comrade Victor Yeates ' wartime classic novel " Winged Victory " as the character ' Beal ' . References . " Above the Trenches : a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915 – 1920 . " Christopher F . Shores , Norman L . R . Franks , Russell Guest . Grub Street , 1990 . ISBN 0 - 948817 - 19 - 4 , ISBN 978 - 0 - 948817 - 19 - 9 .