| Herbert Gardner Travers | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Tiny |
| Born | 1 April 1891 Kensington, London, England |
| Died | Unknown |
| Allegiance | England |
| Service/branch | Artillery; aviation |
| Years of service | 1914 - 1919 |
| Rank | Flight commander |
| Unit | Honourable Artillery Company, 1 Wing RNAS, No. 3 Squadron RNAS, No. 211 Squadron RAF |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross |
| Other work |
Test pilot, flight instructor, airline pilot; returned to service in World War II |
Flight Commander Herbert Gardner Travers (born 1 April 1891, date of death unknown) was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Postwar, he worked in civil aviation. He returned to service during World War II.[1]
Travers began his military service as a machine gunner in the Honourable Artillery Company. He transferred to the Royal Naval Air Service on 14 December 1915. On 27 May 1916, he joined 1 Wing as a fighter pilot. After a rest at the end of 1916, he was assigned to 3 Naval Squadron in early 1917. There he began to score, tallying four 'out of control' victories and a capture, beginning on 11 March 1917 and finishing on 21 April 1917. He had help from fellow aces John Malone and Francis Casey in capturing the DFW reconnaissance plane and its crew.[2]
His Distinguished Service Cross was gazetted on 22 June 1917, by which time he was in a new assignment at Dunkirk.[2]
Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0-948817-19-4, 9780948817199.