Arch Whitehouse

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Arthur George Joseph "Arch" Whitehouse
Arch Whitehouse.jpg
Born11 December 1895
England
DiedNovember 1979
United States
Allegiance Flag of England.svg England
Service/branch British Army
Royal Flying Corps
Royal Air Force
Years of service1915-1919
Rank 2nd Lt.
Unit No. 22 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars First World War
Awards Military Medal
British War Medal
British Victory Medal
Other workAuthor, writer, Historian, novelist

Arthur George Joseph "Arch" Whitehouse , M.M. was a World War I veteran and author of First World War aviation books.

Contents

Biography

Arthur George J. Whitehouse was born in England, but lived in Montvale, New Jersey, U.S.A. At the outbreak of World War I, Whitehouse came to England and enlisted as a Private with the Northamptonshire Yeomanry # 1784. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps # 78563. He was with the Northamptonshire Yeomanry again # 145871, then transferred to the Royal Air Force # 401090 [1]

Service

He was a 1st Class Air mechanic and Observer with the No. 22 Squadron RAF. On 13 April 1917 Whitehouse and his pilot Bush were brought down by anti-aircraft fire; Whitehouse believed afterward that the Red Baron mistakenly listed Whitehouse/Bush among the Barons's "credits"-although this was not so. [2] For taking part in shooting down German aircraft and airplane raiding missions, he was awarded the Military Medal with the RFC in November 1917. [3] During the last part of World War I he was undergoing training in England as a pilot in Sopwith Camels. As of 28 September 1919 he was a 2nd lieutenant transferred to the Unemployed List. [4] A notation on his Medal card noted he was awarded the British War Medal and British Victory Medal. [5]
Contrary to reports that he brought down 16 enemy aircraft and 6 balloons, [6] Whitehouse was never an ace, although he took part in the shooting down of four enemy aircraft: [7]

Both Bush and Meggit were aces, with 6 credits.

Author

"Arch" Whitehouse was a writer postwar for magazines such as Flying Aces on First World War aviation, creating characters like The Griffon, Coffin Kirk, and others.

In the 1960s, he wrote a wide range of books, both fiction and non-fiction on aviation and similar military topics.

More recently, some of his pulp fiction have been reprinted by several publishers, including Altus Press.

Books

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References

  1. "Whitehouse Medal Card 22 December 1922 Great War Forum". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  2. The Aerodrome Forum
  3. "Northampton Independent 17 November 1917; London Gazette 17 December 1917". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  4. "London Gazette 28 October 1919". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  5. "Whitehouse Medal Card 22 December 1922 Great War Forum". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  6. Ocala Star Banner 17 August 1962
  7. "The Aerodrome Forum". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2019.