22Ó
THE YPRES TIMES
mental attitude. Military pilots were forbidden to loop or, indeed, to carry out any
form of aerobatics. We thought it would be quite beyond the power of any one indi
vidual both to control an aeroplane and to manage a machine gun, therefore the fighter
must necessarily be a two-seater. Again, we had no form of interrupter gear enabling
us to fire guns through the propeller, so we concluded that the fighter must have its
propeller behind, not in front, this being the only apparent means whereby the gun
could be fired forwards so the two-seater pusher aeroplane was our ideal of a
fighter. The first machines that we got for this purpose were actually the slowest of
any that we had.
We had a few fast single-seaters, but the idea was to use them for reconnaissance
on days when the wind was so high that our other machines could make little or no
headway, and so these machines were known as Scouts." This name was perpetuated
after the single-seater became a recognized type of fighter, although its functions had
completely altered.
On August 16th we flew from Amiens to Maubeuge, arriving in a fairly heavy
thunderstorm. We did not look upon flying in such weather as anything out of the
ordinary, but the French seemed very surprised, and this made us realize, that, although
we were behind technically, our pilots would be likely to give a good account of them
selves. This day also was the first occasion on which British aeroplanes were fired on
not by the enemy, but by our Allies, and we then realized that it was high time we had
some form of national marking. At first we tried a Union Jack, but from the ground
this looked very like the Black Cross of German aircraft, and merely led to our aeroplanes
being fired on by British as well as by French troops. We therefore adopted the pattern
of the French target but with the colours reversed, and this we still retain.
At this time all four squadrons which composed the R.F.C. in France worked directly
under G.H.Q. One of the reasons for this was that Sir David Henderson knew that
these four squadrons represented practically the whole of British military aviation,
not only as regards aircraft but also as regards pilots, and that casualties would not only
mean the loss of one individual but the loss of potential instructors for future pilots.
Looking forward, therefore, to the future, he was very loth to use his few aeroplanes
for any but essential purposes, which at that time seemed to be reconnaissance for
G.H.Q.
On August 19th the first reconnaissance was sent out, two single-seaters. Owing
to low clouds but little information was obtainedstill, the first war reconnaissance had
been carried out. A good reconnaissance was carried out on the 20th, but it was on
the 22nd that the first really valuable information was obtained by the air, and it showed
clearly that the Germans were making a wide turning movement against the British left.
The R.F.C. continued to bring in useful reports all through the retreat and clearly
showed Von Klück's swerve to the east on August 31st and again on September 3rd.
I remember on this latter date Sir David Henderson saying that by his movements
Von Klück was exposing his flank to the British Army. He described it as a damned
insult, for which he would suffer later on, as indeed he did within the week.
During the retreat the R.F.C. picked up many British soldiers who had lost their
units or were too beat to keep up with them. One of our Staff officers, Lieut. Barrington-
Kennet, who had been in the Grenadier Guards, was given the special job of looking after
them and always had the same routine which proved most successful. First some hot
food, then sleep, and then a shave and a wash, after which the men were usually fit again
for anything. On one occasion near La Fere we made some local purchases and estab
lished temporary kitchens along a road down which infantry were coming, and fed them
as they went by.
On the 29th, at Compiègne, an incident occurred which caused considerable modifica
tion in our ideas of fighting. A German aeroplane came over our landing ground and
