Edgar O . Amm Major Edgar Oxenham Amm DFC & Bar ( 19 August 1898 – 25 March 1953 ) was a South African aviator who served in World War I and became a flying ace ; he was credited with ten aerial victories . He returned to service during World War II . Between the wars , and after World War II , he was a farmer and businessman . Personal life . Amm was born to Amy Celia Hill and Edwin John Amm . He was their fourth child . He went from school to the army while still in South Africa , and voyaged to Britain in early 1918 . After service in the Royal Air Force , he declined an opportunity to return home on the first flight ever from England to South Africa , citing a promise to his father to never again fly . After he returned home , he farmed . Amm married Annie Joyce Peppercorn ; they had two daughters and a son , all born in the 1930s . During World War II , Amm returned to service . After the war , he sold his farm and founded the South Coast Aviation Company . From there , he moved on to citrus farming , managing Valencia Estates at Letaba . His last known occupation was general manager of Tzaneen Co - operative Citrus Co Ltd , Politsi , Tzaneen , Mpumalanga , South Africa . Military service . Edgar O . Amm served in two World Wars . In the First , he was a lieutenant ; in the Second , he was a major . World War I . Amm was seconded from the army to the Royal Air Force . He joined 29 Squadron in July 1918 as a SE . 5 a pilot . He was almost immediately successful , setting a German Fokker D . VII fighter afire on 12 August 1918 . He amassed two more victories in August , two in September , three in October . On 9 November , he drove down one Fokker D . VII and set another aflame . In turn , he was shot down by a third D . VII , but was unharmed . He spent a very short spell as a prisoner of war ; one version of his repatriation has him riding a bicycle into his old unit on 24 November ; another says he was in durance vile only 48 hours . A summary of Amm ' s victories credits him with seven enemy airplanes and an observation balloon destroyed , and two planes driven down out of control . His opportunity to fly home as part of the Silver Queen expedition would seem to show that he served well into 1919 , and perhaps 1920 , as the Queen didn ' t take off until 4 February 1920 . World War II . First , he was a flying instructor ; then he served in Egypt and the Middle East , as well as Italy . Death . Amm died in a nursing home in Johannesburg on 25 March 1953 . His death certificate showed him as ten years younger than his actual age . Honours and awards . Distinguished Flying Cross ( DFC ) Lieut . Edgar Oxenham Amm . ( FRANCE ) A gallant and dashing airman who has destroyed four enemy machines and a balloon . On 17 September , in company with six other machines , this officer took part in an engagement with seventeen hostile aircraft ; eight of these were destroyed , Lieut . Amm accounting for one . Supplement to the London Gazette , 3 December 1918 Awarded a Bar in lieu of a second award of the Distinguished Flying Cross on 3 June 1919 . Awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre on 15 June 1919 . References . " SE 5 / 5a Aces of World War I . " Norman Franks . Osprey Publishing , 2007 . ISBN 1 - 84603 - 180 - X , 9781846031809 .