John William Rayner

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John William Rayner
Born 19 May 1897
Gateshead, Tyne, Durham, England
Allegiance England
Service/branch Infantry; aviation
Years of service 1915-1920, 1929-1944
Rank Captain (later Wing Commander)
Unit Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, No. 52 Squadron RFC, No. 89 Squadron RAF, No. 60 Squadron RAF
Awards Member of the Order of the British Empire, Justice of the Peace
Other work Retired as Wing Commander after World War II

Wing Commander John William Rayner (born 19 May 1897, date of death unknown) began his military career during World War I. He became a flying ace during the waning months of the war, being credited with five aerial victories.

He resumed his military aviation career on 21 September 1929, when he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He continued his service into World War II, until he was medically discharged as a wing commander on 21 December 1944. By that time, he had been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and a Justice of the Peace.

Early life

Rayner was born on 19 May 1897 in Gateshead, Tyne, Durham, England.[1]

World War I military service

Rayner was commissioned into the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers on 14 September 1915. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and flew as an aerial observer in No. 52 Squadron RFC.[2] To do so, he relinquished his acting rank of captain in the Northumberland Fusiliers on 16 January 1917.[3] He became an aerial observer with the rank of lieutenant on 18 January 1917.[4]

After training as a pilot, on 10 September 1917 he was appointed as a flying officer with the rank of lieutenant.[5] He was given an interim assignment to No. 89 Squadron RFC, but eventually posted to 60 Squadron on 25 August 1918 as a Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a pilot. He was promoted to flight commander of A Flight on 5 September 1918.[6] That evening, he set one German Fokker D.VII aflame and drove another down out of control over Avesnes-le-Sec, France. On the afternoon of 23 October he drove another one down out of control over Salesches, France. At 0950 hours on 25 October 1918, he set a D.VII afire and drove another one down out of control over Berlaimont to become an ace.[7]

Post World War I

On 17 January 1919, Rayner was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force.[8] On 1 April 1920, he resigned his commission in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.[9]

On 10 September 1929, he resumed his military career, being commissioned as a probationary flying officer in Class A of The Reserve of Air Force Officers.[10] Six years later, on 10 September 1935, he transferred to the Class C reserves.[11]

He returned to active service on 6 August 1940, as can be told by his seniority when he transferred to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 15 September 1943 as a Flight Lieutenant.[12] He was quickly promoted to Flight lieutenant on 3 September 1940.[13] He was invalided out of service as a Wing Commander on 21 December 1944.[14]

By the time of his retirement, he had been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire and a Justice of the Peace.[15]

See also

Aerial victory standards of World War I

References

  • Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. Christopher F. Shores, Norman Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0-948817-19-4, 9780948817199.

Endnotes

  1. ↑ http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/rayner.php Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  2. ↑ Above the Trenches, p. 314.
  3. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 March 1917, p. 2099. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette, 20 March 1917, p. 2753. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 1 October 1917, p. 10134. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  6. ↑ Above the Trenches, p. 314.
  7. ↑ Above the Trenches, p. 314.
  8. ↑ The London Gazette, 30 July 1920, p. 7992.
  9. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 29 June 1920, p. 7074. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  10. ↑ The London Gazette, 5 November 1929, p. 7074. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette, 10 September 1935, p. 5744. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  12. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 9 November 1943, p. 4923. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  13. ↑ The London Gazette, 8 October 1940, p. 5906.
  14. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 16 January 1945, p. 404. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  15. ↑ Above the Trenches, p. 314.
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