Captain Acheson Gosford Goulding was a Canadian-born World War I flying ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 credited with nine aerial victories. After infantry service, he transferred to aviation and served in Asia Minor

Asia Minor

Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...

 and the Balkans. After winning the Military Cross for courage, he returned to civilian life. He gave up a business career to return to service for World War II as a Group Captain.

Early life

Acheson Gosford Goulding was born at Stony Mountain

Stony Mountain, Manitoba

Stony Mountain is a small community in Manitoba, Canada located approximately north of Winnipeg on Provincial Highway 7. The town is located in the Rural Municipality of Rockwood and is the location of Stony Mountain Ski Area...

, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada on 16 May 1893. Goulding was educated at St. John's College and the University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

 at Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

. His enlistment form for World War I service still exists. On the form, he named Gwendolyn Marie Goulding as his next of kin, gave his civilian occupation as clerk, and his home of record as Winnipeg. His physical examination measured him as 5 feet 8 1/2 inches tall, and described him as having a medium complexion, with blue eyes and brown hair. He swore allegiance to King George V and joined the 28th (Northwest) Battalion, CEF on 14 December 1914.

World War I

Goulding transferred from infantry to the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

 and was posted to 17 Squadron. While he had enlisted as a private

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

 with regimental number 74142 in 28th Battalion, he served as a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 with 17 Squadron, and as a captain

Captain (OF-2)

The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...

 after transfer to 150 Squadron. He was commissioned on 29 June 1916, and seconded to the RFC on 18 September 1916. His joining date for 17 Squadron was in February 1917; he was appointed a Flying Officer

Flying Officer

Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...

 on 23 February 1917.

Goulding's squadron was tasked with supporting British troops opposing Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n troops in Macedonia

Macedonia (region)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...

. In May 1917, he was one of two pilots who bombed a Bulgarian supply train of 26 wagons, stampeding the draught horses and smashing military supplies. Goulding was awarded the Military Cross on 26 October 1917; he had flown many ground support and reconnaissance missions, but had no success on combat patrols until 28 January 1918. After Goulding's first five victories, he became a Flight Commander in 150 Squadron with the temporary rank of captain on 26 April 1918. He scored four more wins in May and June 1918.

On 21 September 1918, Goulding was awarded the French Croix de guerre

Croix de guerre

The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

.

List of aerial victories

See also Aerial victory standards of World War I

Aerial victory standards of World War I

During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best...

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	28 January 1918 @ 1130 hours	Nieuport Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.-Beginnings:...  serial number 5574	DFW C.V DFW C.V -External Links:*...	Captured	South of Angista, Greece	Victory shared with Gerald Ernest Gibbs Gerald Gibbs (RAF officer) Air Marshal Sir Gerald Ernest Gibbs KBE, CIE, MC & Two Bars, RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the first half of the 20th century and the last RAF commander-in-chief of the Indian Air Force. During World War I he scored 10 victories , becoming a double ace...
2	20 March 1918 @ 0930 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B690	DFW C.V	Captured	Cepista	Victory shared with Gerald Ernest Gibbs
3	24 March 1918 @ 0700 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B690	Albatros D.III Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...	Driven down out of control	Tolo Tolo, Greece Tolo is a village in Greece on the Peloponnese peninsula. It is part of the municipal unit Asini, in Argolis. Although it is a relatively new addition to the map by Greek standards, its modern history starting in 1830, the area where it is situated and its surroundings go back much further... , Greece
4	21 April 1918 @ 1115 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B690	DFW Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke Deutsche Flugzeug-Werke, usually known as DFW was a German aircraft manufacturer of the early twentieth century. It was established by Bernhard Meyer and Erich Thiele at Lindenthal in 1910, and initially produced Farman designs under licence, later moving on to the Etrich Taube and eventually to...  reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Barakli-Dzuma	Victory shared with Leslie Hamilton Leslie Hamilton Lieutenant Leslie Hamilton was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. After a postwar spell of stunt flying as "The Flying Gypsy", he attempted the first nonstop east-west flight across the Atlantic Ocean...
5	25 April 1918 @ 1000 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B690	DFW reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Angista	Victory shared with Arthur Jarvis Arthur Jarvis Arthur Eyguem De Montaigne Jarvis was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with 5 victories.-Distinguished Flying Cross:"Lieut. Arthur Eyguem de Montaingne Jarvis ....
6	10 May 1918 @ 0800 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B28	Pfalz D.III Pfalz D.III |-See also:-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1.* Grosz, Peter M. Pfalz D.IIIa . Berkhamsted, Herts, UK: Albatros Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-94841-425-1.* Guttman, Jon. Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 ...	Destroyed	North of Levunovo Levunovo Levunovo is a village in the municipality of Sandanski, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria.-References:...	Victory shared with Charles D. B. Green Charles D. B. Green Lieutenant Charles Duncan Bremner Green was a Canadian-born World War I flying ace credited with 11 aerial victories. Postwar, he went on to success in business until World War II. After rejoining military life, he again served until his untimely accidental death.-Early life:Charles Duncan Bremner...
7	13 May 1918 @ 0800 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B28	Albatros D.III	Driven down out of control	Levunovo	Victory shared with Gerald Gordon Bell Gerald Gordon Bell Gerald Gordon Bell DFC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 16 victories.During 1917 Bell flew as an observer/gunner with No. 22 Squadron, claiming 3 victories. After training as a pilot, Bell was sent to Greece to fly scouts with 47 Squadron and 150 Sqn.-List of...
8	28 May 1918 @ 1500 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B690	DFW reconnaissance plane	Set afire; destroyed	East of Vardarhohe	Victory shared with Frederick Travers
9	18 June 1918 @ 0750 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a s/n B163	Albatros D.V Albatros D.V |-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....	Destroyed	North of Paljorca	Victory shared with Gerald Gordon Bell

Post World War I

On 1 January 1919, Goulding was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. On 9 April 1919, he gave up his Royal Air Force commission to return to army duty as an acting captain in the Nova Scotia Regiment.

Goulding returned to Canada to run a construction firm in Winnipeg. He would serve his country again during World War II, joining the Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

 in May 1940. After service as a staff officer, he commanded No. 18 Flying Training Service School at Gimli

Gimli, Manitoba

Gimli is a a rural municipality located in the Interlake region of south-central Manitoba, Canada, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. It is about north of the provincial capital Winnipeg...

, Manitoba while serving as a Group Captain

Group Captain

Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...

.

Acheson Gosford Goulding died in Fort Garry, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on 27 April 1951.