On New Year’s Day 1919, Greg had ferried RE8 2924 (strictly speaking RE8 C2924) from Saultain to Abscon in his last recorded flight. The aircraft would remain at Abscon until 6 February 1918, when it was handed over to 13 Squadron RAF at St Omer. So on 8 January 1919 it would have been at Abscon, where this photograph was taken.
Houses of Abscon’s cité ouvrière are clearly visible in the background. Lt John G. McDermont is believed to be standing on the left.
RE8 C2924 at Abscon. Lt John Gilchrist Johnston McDermont is believed to be standing on the left. Click for larger image. Photo credit: Air Force Museum of New Zealand, MUS05056.
This photograph looks as though it is one of a series that includes the photograph in the 1 January post:
Lt John Gilchrist Johnston McDermont was born on 10 May 1896. This would make him 22 when the photograph was taken, and a little over two years older than Greg.
Lt McDermont was a pilot with B Flight, 42 Squadron RAF. When the squadron moved from Aulnoy to Saultain on 11 December 1918, he and his observer Lt Elliott crashed on landing RE8 D6740 at Saultain, but were both recorded as ‘OK’ in the casualty report, as previously noted here. (On the same occasion Greg and Lt Scarterfield had ferried RE8 2924 to the new aerodrome.)
After the war, Lt McDermont emigrated to New Zealand.
Thanks to…
Matthew O’Sullivan, Keeper of Photographs at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand for sending me the photograph and information about Lt McDermont, as well as for granting permission to use the photo here.
Andrew Pentland of www.airhistory.org.uk, whose Royal Flying Corps pages contain information about RE8 C2924 and Lt McDermont.
In the last flight recorded in his log book, Greg ferried another RE8 from Saultain to Abscon. This time it was 2924, and his passenger was Capt. Gordon.
Log Book
Date: 1919 Jan 1st
Machine Type: RE8
RE8: 2924
Observer: Cpt. Gordon
Time: 15 min
Height: 2000
Course/Remarks: Travelling to Abscon
Greg’s Last Flight
This was the last time that Greg took to the air at the controls of an RE8. It was some 9½ months after his first ever flight: an air experience trip in a BE2e on his first day of flying training:
Greg’s total flying hours up to armistice day had been recorded in his log book as follows:
Greg’s log book entries for 1-11 November 1918, with total flying times. Click for larger image.
Since armistice day, Greg had only flown for a further 2 hrs and 20 mins, at least according to the flights in his log book. (I’m still not sure whether he went for joyrides that were unrecorded in his log book.) Although his war flying total was unaffected by this extra time in the air, we can update the other totals as follows:
TOTAL TIME ON RE8s: 193 hrs 5 mins
TOTAL TIME IN AIR: 238 hrs 0 mins
SOLO: 227 hrs 55 mins
With Capt. Gordon at Abscon
So Greg brought Capt. Gordon to Abscon on the first day of the new year. Two days ago he had ferried RE8 2872 from Saultain to Abscon, with only sandbags for company. In this photograph, taken either on or shortly after 1 January 1919, Greg and Capt. Gordon (and Waso the dog) pose in front of 2872:
Greg, Capt. Gordon and Waso the dog in front of RE8 2872 at Abscon, January 1919. (Image retouched to reduce blemish.) Click for larger image. Credit: Greg’s War Collection
Although the photograph is undated, the background shows it to be at Abscon Aerodrome. More particularly, we can pin it down to to the northwest edge of the airfield, on the site of the more recently built housing as shown in the photos of Abscon Aerodrome in the post for 30 December 1918.
La Cité Ouvrière
The reason that it’s possible to be so precise about the location is the characteristic housing in the background. It is an example of une cité ouvrière.
This translates somewhat unsatisfactorily into English as ‘a workers’ city’. But that doesn’t properly get the meaning across. French Wikipedia defines une cité ouvrière (in translation) as a “concerted group of working-class housing, generally single-family”. By way of explanation, it continues:
It is originally an essentially residential area exclusively for workers in a particular factory and their families. It can be accompanied by communal facilities. In most cases, it is provided by the proprietor of the factory.
So in English we would probably say model village – but one in an industrial rather than rural context. British examples that have achieved some fame include Saltaire, Port Sunlight, Bournville and New Lanark, but French instances are probably more numerous even if less well known.
In any event, the housing above the rear part of the RE8’s fuselage in the above photo is part of Abscon’s cité ouvrière, named on the 1:40,000 map sheet 51A as la Cité de la République. It’s still there today, forming a rather more appealing living environment than the modern developments across the road on the airfield site:
La cité ouvrière d’Abscon (la Cité de la République) in 2018, across the road from the former aerodrome. Click for larger image.
And the name of the road that separates la cité ouvrière from the site of Abscon Aerodrome? Appropriately enough, it’s la rue du 11 Novembre.
After only a couple of weeks at Aulnoy-lez-Valenciennes, 42 Squadron RAF is on the move once more – to nearby Saultain Aerodrome. Greg and Lt Scarterfield take RE8 2924 to the squadron’s new home.
Log Book
Date: Dec 11thMachine Type: RE8
RE8: 2924
Observer: Scarterfield
Time: 05 min
Height: 500
Course/Remarks: Travelling to Saultain
Squadron Record Book
Squadron Record Book (SRB) entry. Click for larger image.
Type and Number: R.E.8.2517*
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Scarterfield
Duty: Travelling Flight
Hour of Start: 1135
Hour of Return: 1145
Remarks: Travelling flight to new aerodrome.
*There is a discrepancy in the aircraft serial number between Greg’s log book and the SRB. Probably the log book is correct. As will be seen, the log book records that Greg came back to Aulnoy in a couple of days to ferry 2517 to Saultain. Whereas the SRB has him flying 2517 on both occasions, which would be as pointless as it is unlikely.
42 Squadron Moves to Saultain Aerodrome
This was the shortest move that the squadron made while it was on the Western Front in 1918: a trip ENE of all of 2.3 miles (3.7 km)! Aulnoy is about 2 miles (3 km) south of Valenciennes, and Saultain is about 2½ miles (4 km) southeast .
Aulnoy to Saultain on a modern map (courtesy Google). Click map for a larger image, or click here to go to Google maps.
Saultain, like Aulnoy, is east of the River Scheldt (Escaut), but still in France. These days they are both satellite settlements for Valenciennes. The residents of Saultain can boast that a couple of fields of farmland separate them from the urban continuum – although those fields are bisected by the A2 autoroute.
Back in the air again for the first recorded flight since travelling to Aulnoy on 25 November 1918. It was a mere 30 minute rigging test.
Log Book
Date: Dec 8thMachine Type: RE8
RE8: 2924
Observer: Scarterfield
Time: 30 min
Height: 3500
Course/Remarks: Rigging test. O.K.
Squadron Record Book
The information in Greg’s log book is sparse. So is that in the Squadron Record Book entry:
Squadron Record Book entry. Click for larger image.
Type and Number: R.E.8.2924
Pilot and Observer: P. Lt Gregory. O. Lt Scarterfield
Duty: Test flight
Hour of Start: 1035
Hour of Return: 1105
Remarks: Rigging test. Satisfactory.
Rigging Test
Greg’s rigging test was in RE8 2924, with Lt Scarterfield. This was the first time that Greg had flown this aircraft. At a later date, it would be the last RE8 that he flew.
The flight was for 30 minutes. Short, maybe, but the longest flight he had taken since his 1 hr 45 min reconnaissance and message dropping outing on 10 November 1918, before the armistice. And as it turned out, no flight after this one would be longer than 15 minutes.
