John Aidan Liddell was born on 3 August 1888, the first of five children of John and Emily Liddell, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
John was educated at Stonyhurtst College, Lancashire, and later went on to study at Balliol College, Oxford. John was academically unremarkable until he began to flourish at Oxford, taking up a keen interest in science, art, and music.
An interest in machinery ran through John. Like many of his contemporaries, he was passionate about motoring and cars, and soon developed an interest in aeroplanes.
John graduated from Balliol with a degree in zoology. He was offered a scholarship to continue his zoological studies on a trip to Krakatoa but turned it down, instead pursuing a career in the armed forces.
Not wishing to be, in his own words, a “slacker”, John enlisted in the British Army in 1912, joining the Officers’ Special Reserve, 3rd Battalion, Princess Louise’s Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders.
In the face of his military duties, John continued to develop his interest in aviation. He journeyed to the Vickers Flying School at Brooklands, Surrey, where he secured his pilot’s wings in May 1914.
June 1914 saw John promoted to Lieutenant with his regiment.
While 1914 had been a good year for John on a personal level, it was not so pleasant for the rest of the world. August saw the outbreak of First World War, heralding the start of a conflict that would leave millions worldwide dead, injured or traumatised by their experiences.
John had been promoted to Captain and with his unit travelled to France on 28 August.
By the time John had reached France, the British Expeditionary Force and its French allies were in full retreat, following the BEF’s first significant battle at Mons, Belgium.
For the next five months, John was at the front in command of a machine section, at one point, he was in the line without rest or relief for 43 days.
On October 21 1914, in an action at Le Maisnil, south of Armentieres on the French-Belgian border, John’s actions, luck and gun-handling skill, helped him prevent an “awkward situation”, for which he was awarded the Military Cross. His MC was gazetted in February 1915. For this, John was also mentioned in despatches.
The long time at the front, spent either in action or the suboptimal conditions of frontline trenches, took a toll on John’s health.
The strains and stress of near-constant combat made serious demands on John’s constitution. He was invalided home in January 1915.
While there, James considered his options. Returning to the front would likely result in a medical discharge. Drawing on his love of all things mechanical, and his prior flight training, John chose to serve his country in the sky and join the Royal Flying Corps in May 1915.
John’s military aviation training was brief. After short spells at schools in Shoreham, Dover, and Farnborough, John officially became a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in July 1915.
John was posted to No.7 Squadron, joining “A” Flight in St. Omer, France on 23 July. He made his first flight on the 29th, carrying out aerial recon of positions over Ostend, Bruges, Audenhard, and Heersteert in Belgium.
His second and final mission took place three days later.
On another aerial reconnaissance mission over Belgium, John and his observer/gunner were ambushed by an enemy aircraft.
Raked with machine-gun bullets, both John and his aircraft were damaged in the dogfight, as was his flight partner. John lost consciousness and his plane dropped thousands of feet, its control mechanism severely damaged.
Himself severely wounded and losing blood, John was able to regain control of his aircraft and brought it back to Allied lines.
By the time he had landed, John’s cockpit was crimson with bloody, slick yet sticky to the touch. He had been able to get himself clear of the downed plane and used several pieces of wreckage to create a crude tourniquet for his leg.
Posing with a weak smile for a camera-equipped medical orderly, John was whisked away to a local hospital for medical treatment.
While there, John received the remarkable news that, for his actions on 31 July 1915, he was to be awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest medal for military valour.
His Victoria Cross citation, as published in the 20 August 1915 edition of the London Gazette, reads:
“When on a flying reconnaissance over Ostend-Bruges-Ghent he was severely wounded (his right thigh being broken), which caused momentary unconsciousness, but by a great effort he recovered partial control after his machine had dropped nearly 3,000 feet, and notwithstanding his collapsed state succeeded, although continually fired at, in completing his course, and brought the aeroplane into our lines— half an hour after he had been wounded.
“The difficulties experienced by this Officer in saving his machine, and the life of his observer, cannot be readily expressed, but as the control wheel and throttle control were smashed, and also one of the under-carriage struts, it would seem incredible that he could have accomplished his task.”
John’s leg had been badly mutilated in the incident and, despite the good news about his decoration, was deteriorating rapidly.
It began to show signs of gangrene and John reluctantly agreed to amputation. Sadly, this was not enough to halt the infection, and John sadly passed away on 31 August 1915, just eight days after his VC was gazetted.
His body was returned to the UK where he is buried at Basingstoke (South View or Old) Cemetery.