Frederic Ives Lord
Encyclopedia
Frederic Ives Lord or sometimes Frederick Ives Lord, was a Captain, a World War I flying ace
, and a soldier of fortune who fought in five wars.
to Alma Mueller (1876-?) who had married a Lord. Some sources list his birth as April 8, 1900. He had two siblings: Lucia Lord (1902-?); and Zayda Lord (1905-?). By 1910 he was living with his maternal grandparents: Lena (1856-?) and Fred Mueller (1847-?). By 1917 Fred and his mother and siblings were living in Houston, Texas
, and by 1920 his mother was a widow.
A story is told that Lord enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917 but was discharged from the 3rd Texas Infantry when it was learned that he was only 17 years old, but he was already three years old in 1900, so in 1917, he would have been 20. He would have been 17 if he tried to enlist in 1914. Whatever his reason, he went to Toronto, Canada where he joined the Royal Flying Corps
. He had to renounce his American citizenship on May 25, 1917:
After completing his training in England
, he joined 79 Squadron in France. Flying a Sopwith Dolphin, Lord and four other pilots in the squadron became aces: Francis W. Gillet, Ronald Bannerman
, John McNeaney
, and Edgar Taylor. On June 27, 1918 Lord attacked and shot down an Albatros D.V
as his third kill. On his return to the airfield he saw an allied formation engaged with several Pfalz scouts. He joined the combat and shot down a Fokker
DR.I, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
. He rose to the position of Flight Commander before being wounded during October. His final score in World War I was an observation balloon and 8 aircraft claimed destroyed, 3 'out of control'.
in 1919, earning a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross when on June 27, 1919, while piloting an RE.8, he found the position of the enemy on the Pinega River
, four verst
s from Pilegori, and "attacked the moving columns from a height of 200 feet with such effect that their transport was stampeded and their expected attack broke down, without any casualties being sustained by our forces."
. By 1927 he was living in New York City
and was using the Chrysler building
as his address. Traveling with him was Constance E. (1901- ) who was listed as his wife.
with Bert Acosta
and Eddie August Schneider
in the Yankee Squadron
.
he tried to join the RAF again; it is said he got so far as to be assigned to his old squadron before the authorities caught up with him. Instead, he joined the Air Transport Auxiliary
that transported aircraft to England. On January 3, 1941 he wrote his sister Lucia discussing his upcoming eye surgery.
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...
, and a soldier of fortune who fought in five wars.
Early years
He was born on April 18, 1897 in Manitowoc, WisconsinManitowoc, Wisconsin
Manitowoc is a city in and the county seat of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States. The city is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2000 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,053, with over 50,000 residents in the surrounding communities...
to Alma Mueller (1876-?) who had married a Lord. Some sources list his birth as April 8, 1900. He had two siblings: Lucia Lord (1902-?); and Zayda Lord (1905-?). By 1910 he was living with his maternal grandparents: Lena (1856-?) and Fred Mueller (1847-?). By 1917 Fred and his mother and siblings were living in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, and by 1920 his mother was a widow.
World War I
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...
. He had to renounce his American citizenship on May 25, 1917:
I was born in the town of Manitowoc in the state of Wisconsin, one of the United States of America ... I have come to the city of Toronto from Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, for the express purpose of enlisting and entering the Royal Flying Corps of the Canadian Army for service overseas. And I do hereby solemnly declare my purpose and intention to become a British subject and I do hereby renounce my citizenship as a Citizen of the United States of America. ...
After completing his training in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he joined 79 Squadron in France. Flying a Sopwith Dolphin, Lord and four other pilots in the squadron became aces: Francis W. Gillet, Ronald Bannerman
Ronald Bannerman
Air Commodore Ronald Burns Bannerman was a flying ace during World War I, as well as serving as a high level administrator for his native New Zealand's air force during World War II.-Early life and training:...
, John McNeaney
John McNeaney
John Harry McNeaney was a Canadian First World War flying ace, flying with both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force. He was credited with five aerial victories. John McNeaney was the only Canadian Sopwith Dolphin Ace.-Personal life:...
, and Edgar Taylor. On June 27, 1918 Lord attacked and shot down an 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....
as his third kill. On his return to the airfield he saw an allied formation engaged with several Pfalz scouts. He joined the combat and shot down a Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
DR.I, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
. He rose to the position of Flight Commander before being wounded during October. His final score in World War I was an observation balloon and 8 aircraft claimed destroyed, 3 'out of control'.
Russian civil war
He served with the RAF in RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1919, earning a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross when on June 27, 1919, while piloting an RE.8, he found the position of the enemy on the Pinega River
Pinega River
The Pinega is a river in Verkhnetoyemsky, Pinezhsky, and Kholmogorsky Districts of Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia. It is a right tributary of the Northern Dvina River. It is long, and the area of its basin...
, four verst
Verst
A verst or werst is an obsolete Russian unit of length. It is defined as being 500 sazhen long, which makes a verst equal to 1.0668 kilometres ....
s from Pilegori, and "attacked the moving columns from a height of 200 feet with such effect that their transport was stampeded and their expected attack broke down, without any casualties being sustained by our forces."
Mexican Revolution
Between the wars he was a barnstormer and an adviser to the Mexican air force during the Mexican RevolutionMexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
. By 1927 he was living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and was using the Chrysler building
Chrysler Building
The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
as his address. Traveling with him was Constance E. (1901- ) who was listed as his wife.
Spanish Civil War
He flew on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
with Bert Acosta
Bert Acosta
Bertrand Blanchard Acosta was a record setting aviator. With Clarence D. Chamberlin they set an endurance record of 51 hours, 11 minutes, and 25 seconds in the air. He later flew in the Spanish Civil War in the Yankee Squadron. He was known as the Bad Boy of the Air...
and Eddie August Schneider
Eddie August Schneider
Eddie August Henry Schneider set three transcontinental airspeed records for pilots under the age of twenty-one in 1930. His plane was a Cessna Model AW with a Warner-Scarab engine, one of only 48 built, that he called "The Kangaroo". He set the east-to-west, then the west-to-east, and the...
in the Yankee Squadron
Yankee Squadron
The Yankee Squadron was a group of mercenary American military aviators who flew for the Spanish Republican Air Force, during the Spanish Civil War.-History:...
.
I've had a wing fold up at a thousand feet while sitting on a dud parachute. I've been backed up against a wall looking down the rifle barrels of a firing squad. I've felt the automatic of my own commanding officer poked in my ribs. While being smuggled from Spain into France to visit my wife, I've had a speed boat pilot killed by Fascist bullets in the Bay of Biscay. I've fought half a dozen German pursuit planes in the air with an orchestra leader as a gunner. And of all places to be during a bomb raid I was there - locked up in jail - and with my wife. And these events have not been an accumulation of my war service in France, or Russia, or Mexico, but happened during the past few months while serving as a pilot with the Government forces in Spain. ... A Spanish pilot, Jose Galarza, bailed out from a crippled ship, during a fight, and landed safely in Franco's line. But the next day a Junker bomber droned over our field and dropped a box. It contained the chopped up cadaver of Jose ... Lafayette! Pulaski! Rochambeau! Who were they? Glorious foreign volunteers who aided us in time of need. We name bridges, boats, and towns after them now. Our kids read about them in our histories. ... And over in Spain foreign volunteers are fighting that a friendly democratic nation may survive. In most instances those volunteers came from the army of unemployed in their countries where they were without hope. In all cases they are highly skilled technical men. Their hope is a new lease on life; but the usual reward has been a nameless grave. ...
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he tried to join the RAF again; it is said he got so far as to be assigned to his old squadron before the authorities caught up with him. Instead, he joined the Air Transport Auxiliary
Air Transport Auxiliary
The Air Transport Auxiliary was a British World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields—but not to...
that transported aircraft to England. On January 3, 1941 he wrote his sister Lucia discussing his upcoming eye surgery.
... and in less than a week now, I get the eye sliced up. And I know it'll be a success. Pray for me at 4pm on the tenth, will you. So here's hoping that when they take the bandages off on about the 20th, my eye will function… Ah just ain't got the dough for the hospital on the tenth. If can't get it - well, then no operation as can't ask the doctor to actually fork out money for me in addition. So, sister, please see what you can do in addition to the usual ten-spot, will you please? And let me have it by Wednesday.” [Lord goes on to explain that he will soon be able to pay her back and will no longer be a financial burden to her because] a group of Chinese saw me today and want to take lessons from me and will even pay for a ship as soon as the eye is okay. Private flying, govt. jobs, city and state jobs - all waiting.
Archive
- His archive was held by the Raab Collection. There are over a hundred photographs taken during the 1917-1919 period, some showing Lord with his plane; and a typescript entitled The Pilot and the Farmer's Daughter, which is an article about a love affair he had with a French woman while stationed in France during World War I. Lord was keen to write and wrote several articles on his experiences during the many wars in which he participated. To our knowledge, none of these pieces were ever published. This manuscript, entitled So I'm a Military Prostitute, chronicles his experiences as a so-called soldier for hire (but actually a dedicated sympathizer) fighting alongside the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War. Later in his life, he also approached movie production companies in the hopes that his story would be turned into a feature film.
Publications
- More Close Calls in Russia, Flying Aces magazineFlying Aces (magazine)Flying Aces was one of a number of so-called "flying pulp" magazines, popular during the 1920s and 1930s. Like other pulp magazines, it was originally printed on coarse, pulpy paper, but later moved to a "slick" format. The magazine was launched in October 1928 by Periodical House, Inc...
, March 1937. Describes his exploits in Russia before the Armistice. - I Dabbled With Death in Russia, Flying Aces magazineFlying Aces (magazine)Flying Aces was one of a number of so-called "flying pulp" magazines, popular during the 1920s and 1930s. Like other pulp magazines, it was originally printed on coarse, pulpy paper, but later moved to a "slick" format. The magazine was launched in October 1928 by Periodical House, Inc...
, December 1936. - I Faced Death in Spanish Skies, Flying Aces magazine, July 1937
- Spain HAS Witnessed a Modern Air War! Flying Aces magazine, August 1938
External links
- Frederic Ives Lord at Aerodrome