[Illustration: SUMMERS STANDING-BY HIS MORANE “PARASOL.”]
[Illustration: MAJOR R. SMITH-BARRY IN A MORANE “BULLET.”]
“Lieut. Ball has had more than twenty-five combats since May 16 in a single-seater scout.
“Of these thirteen have been against more than one hostile machine.
“In particular, on August 22, he attacked in succession formations of 7 and 5 machines in the same flight; on August 28, 4 and 10 in succession; on August 31, 12.
“He has forced 20 German machines to land, of which 8 have been destroyed--1 seen to be descending vertically with flames coming out of the fuselage, and 7 seen to be wrecked on the ground.
“During this period he has forced two hostile balloons down and destroyed one.
“(_Sgd._) J. F. A. HIGGINS, “_Brigadier-General,_ “_Commanding 3rd Brigade R.F.C._
Of the others, Latta became a wonderful pilot; Gilchrist, a gallant South African, commanded 56 at the end of the war and became one of the very best instructors under Smith-Barry at Gosport; Roderick Hill, a fine pilot, is also an artist of no small reputation; A. D. Bell Irving worthily upheld the traditions of an heroic Canadian family whose name will always appear prominently in any history of the Air Force; while Meintjies, also a South African, though young, himself displayed an infinite patience, together with a wisdom far beyond his years, in the introduction of new pilots to the hazardous game of aerial fighting as practised on the Western Front, of which he himself was a first-class exponent.
As for D. V. Armstrong, a South African, who was killed in a crash just as the war had ended, and who after leaving 60 became a brilliant night-flying pilot, the following letter from Col. Small will give some slight idea of the work done by him in 151 Night Fighting Squadron.
“At 10.40 on the night of September 17/18, whilst on patrol east of Bapaume, Capt. Armstrong observed a Gotha biplane caught in a concentration of searchlight at 8,500 feet, with a Camel machine behind it.
“Seeing the Camel was not engaging the E.A. (enemy aeroplane) from a sufficiently close range, this officer dived down, coming in on the E.A.’s right. He closed right up under its tail and fired 100 rounds into it. The E.A. then burst into flames and dived to the ground, where it burst into pieces just east of Bapaume.