Gordon Budd Irving
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Gordon Budd Irving
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = 16 May 1898
| death_date = 11 August 1918 (aged 20)
| placeofburial_label = (1) Arras Flying Services Memorial
(2) Mount Pleasant Cemetery
| placeofburial = (1) Pas de Calais, France
(2) Toronto, Canada
| birth_place = Toronto, Canada
| death_place = Vicinity of Albert, France
| placeofburial_coordinates =
| nickname =
| allegiance = George V of the British Empire
| branch = Royal Flying Corps
| serviceyears = 1917–1918
| rank = Captain
| unit = No. 19 Squadron RAF
| commands =
| battles =
| awards = Distinguished Flying Cross
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
Captain Gordon Budd Irving was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories.The Aerodrome website [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/irving.php] Retrieved on 7 March 2010.Shores et al (1990), p. 208
Early life
Gordon Budd Irving was the sole son of attorney William Henry Irving and Mary Maude Smith(Inscription on tombstone at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, Canada) {{cite web|url=http://www.utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |title=Gordon Budd Irving |accessdate=2010-03-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115174334/http://utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |archivedate=2009-11-15 }} Irving.[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1574018 Retrieved on 7 March 2010.] His childhood home was at 76 Spadina Street, Toronto; he attended church nearby at Trinity Methodist Church (present-day Trinity-Saint Paul's United). After education at the Huron Street Public School and University of Toronto Schools, he was briefly employed by National Trust Company.[http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/canada/irving.php Retrieved on 7 March 2010.]{{Cite web |url=http://www.canadianletters.ca/collections.php?BRSR=80&warid=3 |title=Retrieved on 7 March 2010. |access-date=8 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706171101/http://www.canadianletters.ca/collections.php?BRSR=80&warid=3 |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |title=Gordon Budd Irving |accessdate=2010-03-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115174334/http://utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |archivedate=2009-11-15 }}
World War I service
{{See also|Aerial victory standards of World War I}}
Irving then joined the Royal Flying Corps in May, 1917 and sent to Camp Borden for training. He shipped out for England in July 1917. By November of that year, he had been trained and posted to No. 19 Squadron RFC. He was assigned a Sopwith Dolphin to fly.Franks, p. 24.
Irving scored his first aerial victory on 24 March 1918; by 2 July, his count was up to three enemy planes destroyed and eight driven down out of control. During five of these victories, he had teamed with other aces, including Cecil Gardner, Finlay McQuistan, John Aldridge, James Hardman, and fellow Canadian Albert Desbrisay Carter. Irving had also risen to the position of Flight Commander in May.
Decoration and death
On 3 August, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.(Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 August 1918) http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/30827/supplements/9200 Retrieved on 7 March 2010. Eight days later, in a dogfight during a patrol, he drove down a Pfalz D.III fighter for his ninth out of control victory. Irving was reported as missing in action, as three Dolphins went down that day, one of them on fire. Irving's body was not recovered.(Toronto Star, 3 September 1918) {{cite web|url=http://www.utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |title=Gordon Budd Irving |accessdate=2010-03-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115174334/http://utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |archivedate=2009-11-15 }} Retrieved on 7 March 2010.
His Officer Commanding, Major D. J. Pretyman, wrote "...he is a great loss to my squadron as he was loved by all the officers and men, besides being a very gallant gentleman and always ready to do his best." The Prince of Wales posthumously awarded the DFC to Irving's sister, Mrs. Kathleen Purves.(Trinity War Book, Trinity Methodist Church, Toronto, Canada) {{cite web|url=http://www.utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |title=Gordon Budd Irving |accessdate=2010-03-08 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091115174334/http://utschools.ca/WWI/discoveruts/FWWCP/Gordon%20Budd%20Irving.aspx |archivedate=2009-11-15 }} Retrieved on 7 March 2010. The most likely claimants for victory over Irving were either Justus Grassmann or Alois Heldmann.
Honours and awards
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
Lt. (T./Capt.) Gordon Irving.
He has carried out numerous offensive patrols, and under his able leadership many enemy formations have been successfully engaged. He has personally accounted for six enemy aircraft, and by his consistent keenness and fearlessness he sets a fine example to the pilots in his squadron.
Sources of information
{{Reflist}}
References
- Franks, Norman. Dolphin and Snipe Aces of World War 1. Osprey Publishing, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-317-0}}, {{ISBN|978-1-84176-317-0}}.
- Shores, Christopher F. et al. Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915-1920. Grub Street, 1990. {{ISBN|978-0-948817-19-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-948817-19-9}}.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Gordon Budd}}
Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War I
Category:People from Old Toronto