Captain Bernard Paul Gascoigne Beanlands was a Canadian 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 eight aerial victories.

Early life

Bernard Paul Gascoigne Beanlands was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on 9 September 1897. He was a minister's son; Canon Beanlands was rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral is the name of many Anglican cathedrals around the world, and may refer to:-Canada:*Christ Church Cathedral , New Brunswick*Christ Church Cathedral , Quebec*Christ Church Cathedral , Ontario...

 in Victoria. Beanlands' mother was Laura Maud Hills. Both parents would predecease their son.

The younger Beanlands joined the Hampshire Regiment in December 1914, in the first few months of World War I.

World War I

On 3 March 1916, Beanlands was promoted to 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...

 in the Hampshires. On 31 May 1916, he was forwarded as a second lieutenant

Second Lieutenant

Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...

 to be 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...

 with 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...

. On 1 September 1916, he was promoted to temporary lieutenant while serving with the RFC. Five days later, he scored his first aerial victory, killing aces Hans Rosencrantz

Hans Rosencrantz

Lieutenant Hans Rosencrantz was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories, shared with his pilot Wilhelm Fahlbusch.-References:...

 and Wilhelm Fahlbusch

Wilhelm Fahlbusch

Leutnant Wilhelm Fahlbusch was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories, shared with his observer Hans Rosencrantz.-References:...

 in their reconnaissance two-seater. On 1 December 1916 he was appointed as Flight Commander, with a promotion to temporary captain.

He transferred postings to 24 Squadron, where he scored eight more victories between 25 August 1917 and 18 March 1918. On 11 April 1918, he was reported wounded in action

Wounded in action

Wounded in action describes soldiers who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed. Typically it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight....

 in Flight magazine. By that time, he had won the Military Cross, which was gazetted 25 April 1918:

Post World War I

Bernard Paul Gascoigne Beanlands survived the war, only to die in a flying accident at RAF Northolt

RAF Northolt

RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...

 on 8 May 1919. He was buried in the northwest corner of the new ground in the cemetery of his father's home parish, at Sevenoaks (St. Nicholas) Churchyard, Kent, England.

List of aerial victories

Beanlands' first victory was scored while he was with 70 Squadron. The rest of his triumphs came with 24 Squadron.
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No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
1	6 September 1916 @ 1845 hours	Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter serial number A1902	Roland Roland Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...  reconnaissance plane	Destroyed by fire	Elincourt Élincourt -References:*... , France	Observer/gunner: C. A. Good. Victory shared with William Sanday William Sanday (aviator) Major William Douglas Stock Sanday was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.Sanday began his aviation career with 2 Squadron. On 11 October 1915, he used his Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2c in conjunction with two other friendly airplanes to force down a German Albatros...  and three other members of the RFC. Wilhelm Fahlbusch Wilhelm Fahlbusch Leutnant Wilhelm Fahlbusch was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories, shared with his observer Hans Rosencrantz.-References:... , Hans Rosencrantz Hans Rosencrantz Lieutenant Hans Rosencrantz was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories, shared with his pilot Wilhelm Fahlbusch.-References:...  KIA Killed in action Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to... .
2	25 August 1917 @ 0600 hours	Airco D.H.5 s/n A9165	German reconnaissance plane	Destroyed by fire	Bellenglise Bellenglise Bellenglise is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.-Geography:The village lies close to the N44, in a loop of the St Quentin Canal, nine kilometres north of St. Quentin.-History:... , France
3	25 August 1917 @ 0600 hours	Airco D.H.5 s/n A9165	German reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Bellenglise, France	Shared victory.
4	13 November 1917 @ 1230 hours	Airco D.H.5 s/n A9304	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...  fighter	Captured	Schoorbakke
5	13 November 1917 @ 1230 hours	Airco D.H.5 s/n A9304	Albatros D.III fighter	Driven down out of control	Schoorbakke
6	18 November 1917 @ 1105 hours	Airco D.H.5 s/n A9304	Albatros D.III fighter	Driven down out of control	Nieuwpoort Nieuwpoort Nieuwpoort is the name of:* Nieuwpoort, Belgium** Battle of Nieuwpoort * Nieuwpoort... -Dixmude, Belgium	Shared victory
7	30 November 1917 @ 1255 hours	Airco D.H.5 s/n A9304	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....  fighter	Driven down out of control	East of Bourlon Wood
8	18 March 1918 @ 1140 hours	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a fighter s/n C1081	German reconnaissance plane	Driven down out of control	Villers Le Sec, France	Victory shared with Harold Redler Harold Redler Lieutenant Harold Bolton Redler was a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. His most notable triumph was over a leading German ace, Adolf von Tutschek, whom he killed in action.-Early life:...

Endnotes