WWI Pilot's Uniform- British Made Wings

[Sauk13]

Second Lieutenant Pierce Nelson Hodgkins, No. 326 Squadron.

 

Since there are not many examples of this style wing posted on the forums, I thought it would be selfish not to share photos of this one.

 

In the fall of 1917, the RFC started constructing a new facility in Sussex, England to accommodate new student pilots arriving from the United States. The main intention of this facility, later named Ford Junction Aerodrome, was to have the American Air Service build Handley-Page O/400 bomber planes and train the new American pilots in night bombardment.

Image 1: Ford Junction Aerodrome, 1918. PC: Yaptonhistory.org

 

Image 2: Type O/400 Handley-Page Bomber. PC: The Air & Space Museum.

 

The first group of Americans arrived at Ford Junction in September 1918 and were assigned to No 326 Squadron. Hodgkins was a member of the first group to complete the Night Bombardment training course in October 1918. The Armistice halted operations at Ford Junction, prior to any American-made Handley-Page O/400 being fully operational.

 

Image 3: Pierce N. Hodgkins (top left), with the 1st group of Americans trained at Ford Junction, Sussex.

 

Image 4: Pierce N Hodgkins (left) & W. Krohn (right), Ford Junction, Sussex, October 23rd, 1918.

 

Hodgkins was sent home in late November, having flown FE2b’s, Farman F40’s, and BE2’s. After the war, Hodgkins joined the 445th Pursuit Squadron in Boston. He continued to fly for the Army until retiring as a Major in 1951. After his career in the Army, Hodgkins served as a Gloucester City Councilman for a number of years.

 

Hodgkins’ uniform was tailored by Hill Brothers in London. Sewn to the chest is a beautiful British made bullion wing, which was constructed using at least four types of silver & gold thread. His collar wings and second lieutenant bars were made in London by JR Gaunt & Son.

 

Image 5-7, 12: Hodgkins' uniform (Liberty belt added for display).

 

Image 8: Hodgkins' British made wing. 

 

Image 9: Lieut. Field E Kindley, wearing strikingly similar wings.

Courtesy of forum member Chuck Thomas (thanks again for permission to use this excellent image, Chuck!)

Kindley, among many other feats, was credited with 12 AV's (one of them was Lothar von Richthofen).

 

Image 10: Lieut. Kindley's wings (top) compared to Hodgkins' wings (bottom).

 

Image 11: Hodgkins' collar insignia, made by JR Gaunt.

 

 

-Noah

[cwnorma]

Nice!  Particularly so that you have a photo of him wearing this very jacket.  Most had more than one uniform so that happens seldom.

 

All the best!

 

Chris

[Mr.Jerry]

Thanks for posting- so nice to see!

[Sauk13]

1 hour ago, cwnorma said:

Nice!  Particularly so that you have a photo of him wearing this very jacket.  Most had more than one uniform so that happens seldom.

 

All the best!

 

Chris

Thanks, Chris. Great to hear from you, it has been a while! 

I wish I did have a photo of Hodgkins wearing the same wing. The photo above is of Lieut. Kindley. Although not associated with the uniform, I could not resist 'borrowing' a photo with a similar British made wing from Chuck. I figured a few people would love to see this wing in action- even if it were on a different pilot's chest. 

 

1 hour ago, Mr.Jerry said:

Thanks for posting- so nice to see!

Thanks, Jerry!

[eaglerunner88]

That jacket displays nicely!