Alan Rice-Oxley | |
---|---|
Birth name | Alan Rice Oxley |
Born | Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England | 1 July 1896
Died | 21 July 1961 | (aged 65)
Buried | St Mary Magdalene churchyard,
Loders, Dorset, England
50°44′44.8″N 2°43′19.6″W / 50.745778°N 2.722111°W |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ |
British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1914–1921 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | |
Battles/wars |
First World War • Western Front • Italian Front |
Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
Other work | Police officer,
North Borneo Farmer, Dorset |
Lieutenant Alan Rice-Oxley (1 July 1896 – 21 July 1961) was a British pilot during World War I. He became a flying ace in 1918, credited with six aerial victories. [1]
He was born as Alan Rice Oxley in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire on 1 July 1896. [2] His parents were Edward Charles Rice Oxley (c. 1854 – 14 Mar 1927) [3] and Emily Armstrong [4] (1816 – 1883) [5] His parents had married in Shrewsbury on 14 January 1896. This was his father's second marriage, his father's first wife, Ann Eliza Hall [6] (c. 1857 – 1894) had borne 5 children and Rice was the middle child of three from the second marriage. Rice-Oxley was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys, which he attended between January 1908 and July 1914. [7]
Rice-Oxley first served as a private in the 21st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment ( 1st Surrey Rifles), until 5 February 1915 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Battalion, The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry). [8]
He was seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps, [9] and appointed a flying officer on 10 September 1916. [10] He trained as a pilot and initially served with No. 15 Squadron in France, tasked with artillery-spotting and reconnaissance. [11] He was wounded in action during the Battle of the Somme in October 1916, [12] and after recuperating became a fighter pilot. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1917. [13] Subsequently, in 1918 he joined the Sopwith Camel equipped No. 45 Squadron on the Italian Front. He recorded his first victories in a combat on 12 July 1918. Piloting Camel D8240, he and Captain Cedric Howell engaged a formation of between ten and fifteen Austro-Hungarian aircraft in proximity to the town of Feltre. In the ensuing dogfight Rice-Oxley destroyed two of the enemy, and for his conduct in this action was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. [1] Over the course of the following three days, he destroyed another enemy aircraft and drove a further two down out of control. [11] On 16 August he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain, [14] and achieved his sixth and final victory on 22 August. [11]
Rice-Oxley was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 26 March 1919, [15] and relinquished his commission in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry on 30 September 1921. [16]
In 1921 Rice-Oxley emigrated to North Borneo to join the armed constabulary there, [17] and was appointed as an officer of Class B in the following year, with the rank of captain. [18] His duties included showing visitors around and, in 1926, while motoring with the author Somerset Maugham, Rice-Oxley came across a 13-foot (4-metre) snake and killed it with his malacca cane. [19] He was appointed Superintendent of Police, Adjutant, and Superintendent of Prisons, in Jesselton in 1929. [20] His career continued apace and he attained the position of Commissioner of Police. [21] On 12 November 1936 he officially changed his name from Alan Rice Oxley to Alan Rice-Oxley by deed poll. [22]
In early 1937 he married Valerie Helen Gardner. [23] Valerie was the widow of a fellow former RAF officer, Herbert Gardner, who had left the RAF in 1926 to move to the Federated Malay States, but was killed in Marseille in 1929. [24] After their marriage the coupled sailed in May 1937 from London on the P&O SS Ranchi; after the outbreak of the second World War the couple returned to England; later during the war Valerie remained in England when Rice-Oxley returned to North Borneo.
From 1942–1945 Rice-Oxley was interned by the Japanese as a civilian internee at Batu Lintang camp near Kuching, Sarawak. [21] Post-war, he returned to Britain and was working as a dairy farmer at Knowle Farm, Uploders, Dorset, when he died on 21 July 1961. [25] He is buried in the churchyard of St. Mary Magdalene, Loders, Dorset. [26]
Alan Rice-Oxley | |
---|---|
Birth name | Alan Rice Oxley |
Born | Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England | 1 July 1896
Died | 21 July 1961 | (aged 65)
Buried | St Mary Magdalene churchyard,
Loders, Dorset, England
50°44′44.8″N 2°43′19.6″W / 50.745778°N 2.722111°W |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ |
British Army Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1914–1921 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | |
Battles/wars |
First World War • Western Front • Italian Front |
Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross |
Other work | Police officer,
North Borneo Farmer, Dorset |
Lieutenant Alan Rice-Oxley (1 July 1896 – 21 July 1961) was a British pilot during World War I. He became a flying ace in 1918, credited with six aerial victories. [1]
He was born as Alan Rice Oxley in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire on 1 July 1896. [2] His parents were Edward Charles Rice Oxley (c. 1854 – 14 Mar 1927) [3] and Emily Armstrong [4] (1816 – 1883) [5] His parents had married in Shrewsbury on 14 January 1896. This was his father's second marriage, his father's first wife, Ann Eliza Hall [6] (c. 1857 – 1894) had borne 5 children and Rice was the middle child of three from the second marriage. Rice-Oxley was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys, which he attended between January 1908 and July 1914. [7]
Rice-Oxley first served as a private in the 21st (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment ( 1st Surrey Rifles), until 5 February 1915 when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Battalion, The King's (Shropshire Light Infantry). [8]
He was seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps, [9] and appointed a flying officer on 10 September 1916. [10] He trained as a pilot and initially served with No. 15 Squadron in France, tasked with artillery-spotting and reconnaissance. [11] He was wounded in action during the Battle of the Somme in October 1916, [12] and after recuperating became a fighter pilot. He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1917. [13] Subsequently, in 1918 he joined the Sopwith Camel equipped No. 45 Squadron on the Italian Front. He recorded his first victories in a combat on 12 July 1918. Piloting Camel D8240, he and Captain Cedric Howell engaged a formation of between ten and fifteen Austro-Hungarian aircraft in proximity to the town of Feltre. In the ensuing dogfight Rice-Oxley destroyed two of the enemy, and for his conduct in this action was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. [1] Over the course of the following three days, he destroyed another enemy aircraft and drove a further two down out of control. [11] On 16 August he was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain, [14] and achieved his sixth and final victory on 22 August. [11]
Rice-Oxley was transferred to the RAF's unemployed list on 26 March 1919, [15] and relinquished his commission in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry on 30 September 1921. [16]
In 1921 Rice-Oxley emigrated to North Borneo to join the armed constabulary there, [17] and was appointed as an officer of Class B in the following year, with the rank of captain. [18] His duties included showing visitors around and, in 1926, while motoring with the author Somerset Maugham, Rice-Oxley came across a 13-foot (4-metre) snake and killed it with his malacca cane. [19] He was appointed Superintendent of Police, Adjutant, and Superintendent of Prisons, in Jesselton in 1929. [20] His career continued apace and he attained the position of Commissioner of Police. [21] On 12 November 1936 he officially changed his name from Alan Rice Oxley to Alan Rice-Oxley by deed poll. [22]
In early 1937 he married Valerie Helen Gardner. [23] Valerie was the widow of a fellow former RAF officer, Herbert Gardner, who had left the RAF in 1926 to move to the Federated Malay States, but was killed in Marseille in 1929. [24] After their marriage the coupled sailed in May 1937 from London on the P&O SS Ranchi; after the outbreak of the second World War the couple returned to England; later during the war Valerie remained in England when Rice-Oxley returned to North Borneo.
From 1942–1945 Rice-Oxley was interned by the Japanese as a civilian internee at Batu Lintang camp near Kuching, Sarawak. [21] Post-war, he returned to Britain and was working as a dairy farmer at Knowle Farm, Uploders, Dorset, when he died on 21 July 1961. [25] He is buried in the churchyard of St. Mary Magdalene, Loders, Dorset. [26]