Henry Petre
Encyclopedia
Henry Aloysius Petre DSO
, MC
(12 June 1884 – 24 April 1962) was an English solicitor
who became Australia's first military aviator
, and a founding member of the Australian Flying Corps, predecessor of the Royal Australian Air Force
. Born in Essex
, he forsook his early legal career to pursue an interest in aviation, answering the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots in 1911. He chose the site of the country's first air base at Point Cook, Victoria
in 1913, and established its inaugural air training facility, the Central Flying School
, with Eric Harrison
. Following the outbreak of World War I
, Petre was appointed commander of the Mesopotamian Half Flight
, the first unit of the newly formed AFC to see active service. His actions in the Middle East
earned him the Distinguished Service Order
, the Military Cross
, and four Mentions in Despatches. Transferring to the Royal Air Force
as a Major
in 1918, he retired from the military the next year and resumed his civilian practice in law. He continued to fly recreationally before his death in 1962, aged seventy-seven.
, Essex
, Petre was the son of Sebastian Henry Petre and his wife Catharine. He was schooled at Mount St Mary's College
, Chesterfield
, before following his father into law and becoming a solicitor
in 1905. Inspired by Louis Blériot
's pioneering cross-channel
flight in July 1909, he gave up his legal practice, borrowed £250 and proceeded to build his own aeroplane, with design assistance from his architect
brother Edward. Having spent six months on its construction, Petre crashed the machine on its maiden flight. Uninjured and undiscouraged, he borrowed a further £25, took flying lessons at Brooklands Airfield
in Surrey
, and obtained Royal Aero Club
Aviator's Certificate No. 128 on 12 September 1911. He became an instructor at Brooklands' Deperdussin School, and later its chief, prior to taking up employment as a designer and pilot with Handley Page Limited in 1912. On Christmas Eve that year, Edward Petre, known as "Peter the Painter", was killed in an accident at Marske-by-the-Sea
, Yorkshire, while attempting to fly from Brooklands to Edinburgh
.
In December 1911, the Australian Defence Department had advertised in the United Kingdom for "Two competent mechanists and aviators" to establish a flying corps and school. From among fifty applications, Petre was chosen and commissioned as a Lieutenant
in the Australian Army
, his appointment on 6 August 1912 making him the nation's first military pilot. The other appointee, Eric Harrison
, joined him later that year. Petre arrived in Australia in January 1913, his first task being to select a site for the proposed Central Flying School
(CFS), which he was to command. After travelling hundreds of kilometres on his motorcycle, and rejecting the government's preferred location near the Royal Military College, Duntroon
in Canberra
, he chose 297 hectare
s at Point Cook, outside Melbourne
, to become the "birthplace of Australian military aviation". Petre and Harrison established CFS over the following year with four mechanics, three other staff, and five aircraft including two Deperdussin monoplane
s, two B.E.2 biplane
s, and a Bristol Boxkite
for initial training. Harrison made the unit's first flight in the Boxkite on Sunday, 1 March 1914, while Petre, taking off in a Deperdussin later that day, registered its first accident when he crashed after snaring his tailplane in telephone wires. Its coterie of personnel by now being referred to as the Australian Flying Corps, CFS commenced its first flying course on 17 August, two weeks after the outbreak of World War I
. The four students included Captain Thomas White
and Lieutenants Richard Williams, George Merz, and David Manwell, with Harrison providing initial training and Petre advanced instruction. Described as "quiet and academic by nature", Petre was nicknamed "Peter the Monk".
for aerial assistance in the campaign against the Turks in Mesopotamia
. Aircrew and supporting personnel for half a flight
only were available so the unit, the AFC's first to see active service, became known as the Mesopotamian Half Flight
. Ranked Captain, Petre was appointed Commanding Officer
and embarked for Basra
via Bombay on 14 April, later to be joined by fellow pilots White, Merz and Lieutenant William Treloar, along with thirty-seven ground staff. Once in country, Petre was required to lead the AFC contingent in reconnaissance
and sabotage
missions, and had to deal with unreliable machines, hazardous terrain, and the threat of incarceration or death at the hands of hostile tribesmen. He took part in operations in the Amara
area from 31 May to 4 June, for which he was Mentioned in Despatches. The obsolete aircraft supplied by the Indian Government, two Maurice Farman Shorthorns and a Maurice Farman Longhorn, were only capable of a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), while the desert wind (known as the shamal
) could reach 80 mph (129 km/h), meaning that the aircraft often made no headway or were simply blown backwards. In July, the Half Flight's equipment was augmented by two Caudron G.3
aircraft, a marginal improvement on the Farmans, but still prone to mechanical failure. Later that month, one of the Caudrons was forced to land in enemy territory; its crew consisting of Merz and a New Zealand
er were never seen again, later being reported killed by Arabs after a running gun battle over several miles.
On 24 August, the Half Flight was augmented by four Martinsyde
S1s to become No. 30 Squadron
Royal Flying Corps
(RFC), and moved into Kut
following the city's capture by the Allies during the Battle of Es Sinn
in September; for his part in the operation, Petre was again Mentioned in Despatches. Over the following two months, however, both Treloar and White were captured and became prisoners of war
, leaving Petre as the only pilot remaining from the original Half Flight. Around the time of the Battle of Ctesiphon
in November, he devised an implement shaped like a small garden rake
that allowed him to accurately measure ground distances from the air in order to better map the desert terrain. During the Siege of Kut
between December 1915 and April 1916, he flew a series of missions using crude parachute
s to airdrop grain supplies (and a millstone
for grinding), medical supplies and equipment to the town's entrapped garrison, which included nine of his AFC mechanics.
Petre was awarded the Military Cross
on 14 January 1916, and twice more Mentioned in Despatches over the course of the year. Petre left No. 30 Squadron in December, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
the same month. In February 1917, he was posted to France with No. 15 Squadron RFC, a reconnaissance unit operating B.E.2s. Two months later his younger brother John, a Squadron Commander in the Royal Naval Air Service
and Distinguished Service Cross
recipient, was killed in a flying accident. Later that year, Petre returned to England and took command of No. 29 Squadron RFC (also known as No. 5 Squadron AFC
), a training unit for Australian fighter
pilots, particularly those destined for Palestine
. Petre was discharged from the AFC as a Major
on 31 January 1918, to take a commission with the RFC. In April that year, he transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force
, establishing and commanding No. 75 (Home Defence) Squadron
.
for a spin". In 1951, he received the Royal Aero Club's Silver Medal for his long record of active flying. Retiring from his legal practice in 1958, Henry Petre died in London on 24 April 1962, and was survived by his wife.
Though Eric Harrison, through his longer association with Australian military aviation as a founder member of the Royal Australian Air Force in 1921 and his service up until the end of World War II
, was often called "Father of the RAAF" until Air Marshal
Richard Williams assumed that mantle, historian Douglas Gillison considered Petre "equally entitled" to such an accolade. Dr Alan Stephens believed Petre made "the greater contribution to the establishment of Point Cook and the Central Flying School", concluding that "perhaps any judgement would not only be moot but also gratuitous, as by circumstance and achievement both men properly belong in the pantheon of the RAAF".
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...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(12 June 1884 – 24 April 1962) was an English solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
who became Australia's first military aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, and a founding member of the Australian Flying Corps, predecessor of the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. Born in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, he forsook his early legal career to pursue an interest in aviation, answering the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots in 1911. He chose the site of the country's first air base at Point Cook, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
in 1913, and established its inaugural air training facility, the Central Flying School
Central Flying School RAAF
The Central Flying School RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force training establishment, based at RAAF Base East Sale. It was formed in March 1913, and during the First World War it trained over 150 pilots, who fought in Europe and the Middle East....
, with Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison (RAAF officer)
Eric Harrison was an Australian aviator who made the country's first military flight, and helped lay the foundations of the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in Victoria, he was a flying instructor in Britain when he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots in 1911...
. 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...
, Petre was appointed commander of the Mesopotamian Half Flight
Mesopotamian Half Flight
The Mesopotamian Half-Flight, or Australian Half-Flight was the first Australian Flying Corps unit to see active service.At the start of World War I, the air forces of the Allied forces were small and primitive. Most of the available aircraft and pilots were assigned to the Western Front...
, the first unit of the newly formed AFC to see active service. His actions in the Middle East
Middle Eastern theatre of World War I
The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I was the scene of action between 29 October 1914, and 30 October 1918. The combatants were the Ottoman Empire, with some assistance from the other Central Powers, and primarily the British and the Russians among the Allies of World War I...
earned him 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...
, the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, and four Mentions in Despatches. Transferring to the 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...
as a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
in 1918, he retired from the military the next year and resumed his civilian practice in law. He continued to fly recreationally before his death in 1962, aged seventy-seven.
Early career
Born on 12 June 1884 at IngatestoneIngatestone
Ingatestone is a small town in Essex, England, with a population of about 4500 people. To the immediate north lies the village of Fryerning, and the two form the civil parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, Petre was the son of Sebastian Henry Petre and his wife Catharine. He was schooled at Mount St Mary's College
Mount St Mary's College
Mount St Mary's College is an independent coeducational boarding school situated at Spinkhill, Derbyshire, near Sheffield, England. It was founded in 1842 by Fr Randal Lythgoe, the Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order commonly known as the Jesuits. The...
, Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, before following his father into law and becoming a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
in 1905. Inspired by Louis Blériot
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
's pioneering cross-channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
flight in July 1909, he gave up his legal practice, borrowed £250 and proceeded to build his own aeroplane, with design assistance from his architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
brother Edward. Having spent six months on its construction, Petre crashed the machine on its maiden flight. Uninjured and undiscouraged, he borrowed a further £25, took flying lessons at Brooklands Airfield
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and obtained 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...
Aviator's Certificate No. 128 on 12 September 1911. He became an instructor at Brooklands' Deperdussin School, and later its chief, prior to taking up employment as a designer and pilot with Handley Page Limited in 1912. On Christmas Eve that year, Edward Petre, known as "Peter the Painter", was killed in an accident at Marske-by-the-Sea
Marske-by-the-Sea
Marske-by-the-Sea is a village in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England.It is located on the coast, in an area sometimes referred to as East Cleveland, between the seaside resorts of Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea although it is not...
, Yorkshire, while attempting to fly from Brooklands to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
In December 1911, the Australian Defence Department had advertised in the United Kingdom for "Two competent mechanists and aviators" to establish a flying corps and school. From among fifty applications, Petre was chosen and commissioned 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...
in the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
, his appointment on 6 August 1912 making him the nation's first military pilot. The other appointee, Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison (RAAF officer)
Eric Harrison was an Australian aviator who made the country's first military flight, and helped lay the foundations of the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in Victoria, he was a flying instructor in Britain when he answered the Australian Defence Department's call for pilots in 1911...
, joined him later that year. Petre arrived in Australia in January 1913, his first task being to select a site for the proposed Central Flying School
Central Flying School RAAF
The Central Flying School RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force training establishment, based at RAAF Base East Sale. It was formed in March 1913, and during the First World War it trained over 150 pilots, who fought in Europe and the Middle East....
(CFS), which he was to command. After travelling hundreds of kilometres on his motorcycle, and rejecting the government's preferred location near the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, he chose 297 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s at Point Cook, outside Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, to become the "birthplace of Australian military aviation". Petre and Harrison established CFS over the following year with four mechanics, three other staff, and five aircraft including two Deperdussin monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
s, two B.E.2 biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s, and a Bristol Boxkite
Bristol Boxkite
-Military operators:* Australian Flying Corps** Central Flying School AFC at Point Cook, Victoria.* Union Defence Forces - South African Air Force Kingdom of Spain* Royal Flying Corps* Royal Naval Air Service** No. 3 Squadron RFC-References:...
for initial training. Harrison made the unit's first flight in the Boxkite on Sunday, 1 March 1914, while Petre, taking off in a Deperdussin later that day, registered its first accident when he crashed after snaring his tailplane in telephone wires. Its coterie of personnel by now being referred to as the Australian Flying Corps, CFS commenced its first flying course on 17 August, two weeks after 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...
. The four students included Captain Thomas White
Thomas White (Australian politician)
Sir Thomas Walter White KBE DFC was an Australian politician.-Early life and World War I:White was born at Hotham, North Melbourne, Victoria and educated at Moreland State School. In August 1914, he began training as an officer in the Australian Flying Corps at Point Cook...
and Lieutenants Richard Williams, George Merz, and David Manwell, with Harrison providing initial training and Petre advanced instruction. Described as "quiet and academic by nature", Petre was nicknamed "Peter the Monk".
World War I
On 8 February 1915, the Australian government received a request from the British Government of IndiaBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
for aerial assistance in the campaign against the Turks in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamian Campaign
The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, mostly troops from the Indian Empire, and the Central Powers, mostly of the Ottoman Empire.- Background :...
. Aircrew and supporting personnel for half a flight
Flight (military unit)
A flight is a military unit in an air force, naval air service, or army air corps. It usually comprises three to six aircraft, with their aircrews and ground staff; or, in the case of a non-flying ground flight, no aircraft and a roughly equivalent number of support personnel. In most usages,...
only were available so the unit, the AFC's first to see active service, became known as the Mesopotamian Half Flight
Mesopotamian Half Flight
The Mesopotamian Half-Flight, or Australian Half-Flight was the first Australian Flying Corps unit to see active service.At the start of World War I, the air forces of the Allied forces were small and primitive. Most of the available aircraft and pilots were assigned to the Western Front...
. Ranked Captain, Petre was appointed Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
and embarked for Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
via Bombay on 14 April, later to be joined by fellow pilots White, Merz and Lieutenant William Treloar, along with thirty-seven ground staff. Once in country, Petre was required to lead the AFC contingent in reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
and sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
missions, and had to deal with unreliable machines, hazardous terrain, and the threat of incarceration or death at the hands of hostile tribesmen. He took part in operations in the Amara
Amarah
Amarah , is a city in southeastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km from the border with Iran. It lies at the northern tip of the marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates....
area from 31 May to 4 June, for which he was Mentioned in Despatches. The obsolete aircraft supplied by the Indian Government, two Maurice Farman Shorthorns and a Maurice Farman Longhorn, were only capable of a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), while the desert wind (known as the shamal
Shamal (wind)
A shamal is a northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states , often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times a year, mostly in summer but sometimes in winter...
) could reach 80 mph (129 km/h), meaning that the aircraft often made no headway or were simply blown backwards. In July, the Half Flight's equipment was augmented by two Caudron G.3
Caudron G.3
The Caudron G.3 was a single-engined French biplane built by Caudron, widely used in World War I as a reconnaissance aircraft and trainer. In comparison to its competitors, it had a better rate of climb and it was considered especially suitable in mountainous terrain.-Development:The Caudron G.3...
aircraft, a marginal improvement on the Farmans, but still prone to mechanical failure. Later that month, one of the Caudrons was forced to land in enemy territory; its crew consisting of Merz and a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
er were never seen again, later being reported killed by Arabs after a running gun battle over several miles.
On 24 August, the Half Flight was augmented by four Martinsyde
Martinsyde
Martinsyde was a British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer between 1908 and 1922, when they were forced into liquidation by a factory fire.-History:...
S1s to become No. 30 Squadron
No. 30 Squadron RAF
No. 30 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the second generation C-130J Hercules from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. The squadron operates alongside No. 24 Squadron and No. 47 Squadron all flying the Hercules.-History:...
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...
(RFC), and moved into Kut
Kut
Al-Kūt is a city in eastern Iraq, on the left bank of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometres south east of Baghdad. the estimated population is about 374,000 people...
following the city's capture by the Allies during the Battle of Es Sinn
Battle of Es Sinn
The Battle of Es Sinn was a military engagement during the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I. The battle was fought to determine control of the lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq. It was also viewed, by the British and Indian governments, as a test of the Ottoman forces and...
in September; for his part in the operation, Petre was again Mentioned in Despatches. Over the following two months, however, both Treloar and White were captured and became prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, leaving Petre as the only pilot remaining from the original Half Flight. Around the time of the Battle of Ctesiphon
Battle of Ctesiphon (1915)
The Battle of Ctesiphon was fought in November 1915 by the British Empire and British India, against the Ottoman Empire, within the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I....
in November, he devised an implement shaped like a small garden rake
Rake (tool)
A rake is a broom for outside; an horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from...
that allowed him to accurately measure ground distances from the air in order to better map the desert terrain. During the Siege of Kut
Siege of Kut
The siege of Kut Al Amara , was the besieging of 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. Its known also as 1st Battle of Kut. In 1915, its population was around 6,500...
between December 1915 and April 1916, he flew a series of missions using crude parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
s to airdrop grain supplies (and a millstone
Millstone
Millstones or mill stones are used in windmills and watermills, including tide mills, for grinding wheat or other grains.The type of stone most suitable for making millstones is a siliceous rock called burrstone , an open-textured, porous but tough, fine-grained sandstone, or a silicified,...
for grinding), medical supplies and equipment to the town's entrapped garrison, which included nine of his AFC mechanics.
Petre was awarded the Military Cross
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
on 14 January 1916, and twice more Mentioned in Despatches over the course of the year. Petre left No. 30 Squadron in December, and was awarded 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...
the same month. In February 1917, he was posted to France with No. 15 Squadron RFC, a reconnaissance unit operating B.E.2s. Two months later his younger brother John, a Squadron Commander in 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...
and Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
recipient, was killed in a flying accident. Later that year, Petre returned to England and took command of No. 29 Squadron RFC (also known as No. 5 Squadron AFC
No. 5 Squadron RAAF
No. 5 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force training, army co-operation and helicopter squadron. The Squadron was first formed in 1917 and was disbanded in December 1989.-Squadron history:...
), a training unit for Australian fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
pilots, particularly those destined for Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. Petre was discharged from the AFC as a Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
on 31 January 1918, to take a commission with the RFC. In April that year, he transferred to the newly formed 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...
, establishing and commanding No. 75 (Home Defence) Squadron
No. 75 Squadron RAF
No. 75 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated as a bomber unit in World War II, before being transferred to the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1945.-First World War, Royal Flying Corps, Home Defence Squadron :...
.
Later life and legacy
Petre retired from the RAF on 15 September 1919, and resumed practice as a solicitor in London. He married Kathleen Defries, a Canadian, in 1929. He maintained his interest in aviation throughout his life, and more than thirty years after his first flight in 1911 still delighted in "taking an AusterAuster
Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.-History:The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes Limited, making light observation aircraft designed by the Taylorcraft Aircraft Corporation of...
for a spin". In 1951, he received the Royal Aero Club's Silver Medal for his long record of active flying. Retiring from his legal practice in 1958, Henry Petre died in London on 24 April 1962, and was survived by his wife.
Though Eric Harrison, through his longer association with Australian military aviation as a founder member of the Royal Australian Air Force in 1921 and his service up until the end of World War II
World 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...
, was often called "Father of the RAAF" until Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Richard Williams assumed that mantle, historian Douglas Gillison considered Petre "equally entitled" to such an accolade. Dr Alan Stephens believed Petre made "the greater contribution to the establishment of Point Cook and the Central Flying School", concluding that "perhaps any judgement would not only be moot but also gratuitous, as by circumstance and achievement both men properly belong in the pantheon of the RAAF".