CAMMELL, Reginald Archibald

† ≠   Lt Air Battalion Royal Engineers. He was commissioned on 25/7/1906 and joined the Army Air Battalion in 1908. Took his Royal Aero Club Aviation Certificate at Lark Hill, Salisbury Plain on 31/12/1910. He was killed in an air crash at Hendon 17/9/1911 age 25. He was the first military air casualty killed on duty. At the time he was testing a new ‘Valkyrie’ monoplane. There is a dedicated memorial to him on Queens Avenue, Aldershot, which is listed due to its historical significance. Born 10/1/1886 at Inverness. He was the grandson of Charles Cammell and who lived at Brookfield Manor, Hathersage. Reginald Cammell inherited Brookfield Manor from his father Archibald in March 1911, only six months before his own tragic death. It is unlikely he lived there for any length of time as he would have been with his unit.

Although Reginald did not lose his life during WW1, he is worth remembering because of his pioneering air force work.