William Leeming Harrison enlisted in the 220th Battalion (12th Regiment York Rangers), CEF of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 3 April 1916 in his home town of Toronto. He gave his birth date as 30 December 1897, although he may have provided a false age. He was a student living at home with his father, Doctor William Spencer Harrison. The military doctor noted the younger Harrison's age as 18 years 3 months, his appearance as fair, with brown eyes and dark hair. He was 5 feet 11 inches tall, and had a scar on his right thumb.[1]
First World Waredit
Circumstances of Harrison's early service are still cloudy. There are two records of his becoming an officer. On 29 May 1917, Harrison was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Canterbury Mounted Rifles.[2] Effective 17 June 1917, Harrison was commissioned as a probationary second lieutenant.[3]
He finished pilot's training in summer 1917 and was assigned to fly a Nieuport in C Flight, 40 Squadron. On 9 August 1917, he destroyed a German observation balloon over Arras for his first victory. The squadron re-equipped with new Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5as, and Harrison used his new craft for his second victory, when he destroyed a Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke reconnaissance plane on 18 January 1918. On 26 February, he drove down an Albatros D.V out of control. Mid-day and late afternoon wins on 6 March made him an ace. He scored five more times in March, ending the month as a double ace. After destroying another German plane on 1 April, he was promoted to captain and transferred to 1 Squadron as a flight commander. He destroyed a Pfalz D.III on 11 April 1918, to round out his tally at a balloon and seven enemy airplanes destroyed, and four driven down out of control. He was then wounded and left combat duty. His Military Cross was awarded in May 1918, with a Bar in lieu of a second award following.[4]
Text of citation for Military Crossedit
2nd Lt. William Leeming Harrison, R.F.C., Spec. Res.
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial fighting. He destroyed two enemy machines and drove down others out of control. He always showed a splendid spirit of dash, keenness and tenacity, coupled with determination and skill in attacking enemy aircraft.[5]
Harrison was also awarded a Bar to his Military Cross in lieu of a second award.[4]
Post Waredit
Harrison went on the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force on 29 September 1919.[6]
Referencesedit
^"William Harrison". The Aerodrome. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
^ abShores, Christopher; Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell (1990). Above the Trenches : A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces, 1915-1920. Grub Street. p. 186. ISBN978-0919195110.
william, leeming, harrison, captain, canadian, fighter, first, world, credited, with, twelve, aerial, victories, born, 1899, december, 1899toronto, ontario, canadadiedjanuary, 1960, 1960, aged, auckland, zealandburiedauckland, zealandallegianceking, george, br. Captain William Leeming Harrison MC was a Canadian fighter ace in the First World War He was credited with twelve aerial victories William Leeming HarrisonBorn 1899 12 30 December 30 1899Toronto Ontario CanadaDiedJanuary 6 1960 1960 01 06 aged 60 Auckland New ZealandBuriedAuckland New ZealandAllegianceKing George V of the British EmpireService wbr branchCanadian Expeditionary Force Royal Flying CorpsYears of service1916 1919RankCaptainUnit220th Battalion 12th Regiment York Rangers CEF No 40 Squadron RAF No 1 Squadron RAFBattles warsWW1AwardsMilitary Cross with Bar Contents 1 Enlistment information 2 First World War 3 Text of citation for Military Cross 4 Post War 5 ReferencesEnlistment information editWilliam Leeming Harrison enlisted in the 220th Battalion 12th Regiment York Rangers CEF of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 3 April 1916 in his home town of Toronto He gave his birth date as 30 December 1897 although he may have provided a false age He was a student living at home with his father Doctor William Spencer Harrison The military doctor noted the younger Harrison s age as 18 years 3 months his appearance as fair with brown eyes and dark hair He was 5 feet 11 inches tall and had a scar on his right thumb 1 First World War editCircumstances of Harrison s early service are still cloudy There are two records of his becoming an officer On 29 May 1917 Harrison was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Canterbury Mounted Rifles 2 Effective 17 June 1917 Harrison was commissioned as a probationary second lieutenant 3 He finished pilot s training in summer 1917 and was assigned to fly a Nieuport in C Flight 40 Squadron On 9 August 1917 he destroyed a German observation balloon over Arras for his first victory The squadron re equipped with new Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5as and Harrison used his new craft for his second victory when he destroyed a Deutsche Flugzeug Werke reconnaissance plane on 18 January 1918 On 26 February he drove down an Albatros D V out of control Mid day and late afternoon wins on 6 March made him an ace He scored five more times in March ending the month as a double ace After destroying another German plane on 1 April he was promoted to captain and transferred to 1 Squadron as a flight commander He destroyed a Pfalz D III on 11 April 1918 to round out his tally at a balloon and seven enemy airplanes destroyed and four driven down out of control He was then wounded and left combat duty His Military Cross was awarded in May 1918 with a Bar in lieu of a second award following 4 Text of citation for Military Cross edit2nd Lt William Leeming Harrison R F C Spec Res For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial fighting He destroyed two enemy machines and drove down others out of control He always showed a splendid spirit of dash keenness and tenacity coupled with determination and skill in attacking enemy aircraft 5 Harrison was also awarded a Bar to his Military Cross in lieu of a second award 4 Post War editHarrison went on the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force on 29 September 1919 6 References edit William Harrison The Aerodrome Retrieved 1 January 2018 No 30213 The London Gazette Supplement 1 August 1917 p 7878 No 30155 The London Gazette Supplement 28 June 1917 p 6385 a b Shores Christopher Franks Norman Guest Russell 1990 Above the Trenches A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915 1920 Grub Street p 186 ISBN 978 0919195110 No 30681 The London Gazette Supplement 13 May 1918 p 5700 No 31802 The London Gazette 2 March 1920 p 2465 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Leeming Harrison amp oldid 1218084378, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
