Air Commodore

Air Commodore

Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Eugene Louis Gerrard CMG

Order of St Michael and St George

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....

, DSO

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

, RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 (14 July 1881 – 7 February 1963) was an officer in the Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 and Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

.

Gerrard was commissioned into the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1900 and served on HMS Hermione

HMS Hermione (1893)

HMS Hermione was an Astraea-class protected cruiser launched at Devonport in 1893. She served in World War I and was sold in 1921. She was renamed HMS Warspite in 1922, and broken up in 1940....

, HMS Defiance, HMS Spartiate

HMS Spartiate (1898)

HMS Spartiate was a ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She was built at Pembroke Dock and launched on October 27, 1898. She was a stokers' training ship in 1914 and was renamed Fisgard in June 1915. She survived the War and was sold in July 1932. She returned to...

, HMS Dido, HMS Prince of Wales

HMS Prince of Wales (1902)

HMS Prince of Wales was a London- or Queen-class predreadnought battleship, a sub-class of the Formidable-class battleships of the British Royal Navy...

 and HMS Vindictive

HMS Vindictive (1897)

HMS Vindictive was a British protected cruiser of the Arrogant class built at Chatham Dockyard. She was launched on 9 December 1897 and completed in 1899....

.

In 1911, Gerrard was one of the first four officers chosen by the Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 for flying training conducted under the auspices of the Royal Aero Club

Royal Aero Club

The Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom.The Aero Club was founded in 1901 by Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls , partly inspired by the Aero Club of France...

. Gerrard then served as a squadron commander in the newly formed 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 as a flight commander to the Central Flying School

Central Flying School

The Central Flying School is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 it is the longest existing flying training school.-History:...

. Whilst at the Central Flying School, Gerrard set two records for flying at high altitude with passengers. On the first occasion, he flew to 10,000 feet with Major Hugh Trenchard. Later, Gerrard flew to 8,400 feet with two passengers.

Following the outbreak of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Gerrard took up command of No. 1 Squadron

No. 201 Squadron RAF

No. 201 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, until March 2010, operated the Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray. It is the only squadron affiliated with Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. This affiliation started in 1935 and is commemorated in the museum on Castle Cornet. Its history goes even...

 of the Royal Naval Air Service

Royal Naval Air Service

The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...

. One of his first acts was to attack the Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

 Airship Sheds in a B.E.2a. Later in the War, Gerrard was appointed as the commander of an RNAS wing in the eastern Mediterranean where he gained the Distinguished Service Order

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

for his leadership.