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John Lloyd Williams (RAF officer)

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British World War I flying ace

John Jordan Lloyd Williams
MC
Born1894
DiedUnknown
Service / branchBritish Army
Royal Air Force
Years of service1913–1934
RankCaptain
UnitDenbighshire Hussars
No. 111 Squadron RFC
No. 208 Squadron RAF
Battles / warsWorld War I
 • Sinai and Palestine Campaign
AwardsMilitary Cross
Other workChief Constable of Cardiganshire

Captain John Jordan Lloyd Williams MC (born 1894; date of death unknown) was a British World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He served in the Royal Air Force until the mid-1930s, and was later appointed Chief Constable of Cardiganshire.

Early and background

Lloyd Williams was born in Oswestry, Shropshire, one of 11 children born to John Jordan Lloyd Williams, then headmaster of Oswestry School, and his wife Ellen Augusta Crawley (née Vincent). His grandfather was the Reverend Evan Williams, vicar of Nantcwnlle, Wales. He was educated at Oswestry and Ruthin Schools (where his father was headmaster from 1909), and from the age of seventeen he worked in the office of his uncle, Hugh Vincent, a solicitor, in Bangor. In 1919, his widowed mother, with the assistance of several of her daughters, founded Moreton Hall School in Oswestry.

World War I

Lloyd Williams was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Denbighshire Hussars, a Yeomanry cavalry unit of the Territorial Force, on 17 July 1913. On the outbreak of war the 1st Battalion, Denbighshire Hussars, were mobilized as part of the Welsh Border Mounted Brigade. In November 1915 they were converted to infantry, and in March 1916 were sent to Egypt to form part of the 4th Dismounted Brigade. In August 1917 Lloyd Williams was attached to No. 111 Squadron Royal Flying Corps in Palestine to serve as an observer/gunner in Bristol F.2b two-seater fighters. Between 8 October and 8 November 1917 he was credited with three enemy aircraft destroyed and two captured, two with pilot Second Lieutenant R. C. Steele, and three with Captain Arthur Peck. He was awarded the Military Cross on 17 December 1917, which was gazetted on 19 April 1918. His citation read:

Captain John Jordan Lloyd Williams, Yeomanry, attached Royal Flying Corps.
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in aerial fighting. He shot down three hostile aeroplanes in a very short period showing great initiative and fearlessness all occasions."

Lloyd Williams then trained as a pilot, being appointed a flying officer on 30 March 1918.

List of aerial victories

Combat record
No. Date/Time Aircraft/
Serial No. 		Opponent Result Location Notes
1 8 October 1917 Bristol F.2b
(A7194)		 Albatros D.III Captured Pilot: Second Lieutenant R. C. Steele
2 15 October 1917
@ 0825		 Bristol F.2b
(A7194)		 Albatros D.III Destroyed Shellah-Sharia Pilot: Second Lieutenant R. C. Steele
3 30 October 1917
@ 0945		 Bristol F.2b
(A7194)		 Two-seater Captured North-west of Khalusa Pilot: Captain Arthur Peck
4 6 November 1917
@ 1045		 Bristol F.2b
(A7194)		 Rumpler C Forced to land/Destroyed Um Dabkel Pilot: Captain Arthur Peck
5 8 November 1917
@ 1300		 Bristol F.2b
(A7194)		 Albatros D.III Destroyed in flames Muleikat Pilot: Captain Arthur Peck

Post-war career

In August 1919 Lloyd Williams was granted a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force with the rank of flying officer. He served in Iraq, and in late 1923 published an article on aspects of aerial navigation there in The Geographical Journal. On 1 July 1924 he was promoted flight lieutenant. He attended the RAF Staff College, Andover, from 19 September 1927. He was posted to No. 208 Squadron RAF in Egypt on 29 January 1929, and from 2 March 1931 served on the staff of the Headquarters of RAF Middle East at Cairo. On 1 December 1933 Lloyd-Williams was seconded for duty with the Metropolitan Police. On 23 June 1934 he was placed on the RAF retired list. Lloyd Williams served as Chief Constable of Cardiganshire from the late 1930s through World War II.

References

  1. ^ "John Jordan Lloyd Williams". The Aerodrome. 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  2. Edwardes, Evan (1930). "Byr Hanes am Blwyf Nantcwnlle" [A Short History of the Parish of Nantcwnlle]. Cambrian News. Aberystwyth. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  3. "No. 28745". The London Gazette. 12 August 1913. p. 5759.
  4. Baker, Chris (2016). "Denbighshire Yeomanry (Hussars)". The Long, Long Trail. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  5. "No. 30431". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 December 1917. p. 13184.
  6. "No. 30645". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 April 1918. p. 4883.
  7. "No. 30736". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 June 1918. p. 6864.
  8. "No. 31620". The London Gazette. 28 October 1919. pp. 13138–13139.
  9. Lloyd Williams, J. J. (November 1923). "Re-Marking the Air Route from Ramadi to Landing Ground "R"". The Geographical Journal. 62 (5): 350–359. doi:10.2307/1780586. JSTOR 1780586.
  10. "No. 32952". The London Gazette. 1 July 1924. p. 5089.
  11. "Royal Air Force: Appointments". Flight. XIX (981): 727. 13 October 1927. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  12. "Royal Air Force: Appointments". Flight. XXI (1050): 109. 7 February 1929. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  13. "Royal Air Force: Appointments". Flight. XXIII (1163): 325. 10 April 1931. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  14. "No. 34002". The London Gazette. 5 December 1933. p. 7869.
  15. "No. 34064". The London Gazette. 26 June 1934. p. 4063.
  16. Thomas, Guto (23 October 2004). "Secrets of jailed rebel exposed". BBC News. London: BBC. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  17. "Bobbies and Bombs: Cardiganshire police in wartime" (PDF). Ceredigion Archives Newsletter (Whitsun 2000). Archifdy Ceredigion/Ceredigion Archives. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
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