Rank Group captain | Died March 5, 1960, Canada Name Fred Holliday | |
Battles/wars First World War
Second World War Awards Distinguished Service Order, Military Cross, Air Force Cross Service/branch Canadian Army, Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force | ||
Allegiance United Kingdom
Canada Battles and wars World War I, World War II | ||
Fred Parkinson Holliday Top # 8 Facts
Fred Parkinson Holliday DSO, MC, AFC (20 February 1888 – 5 March 1980) was an Australian fighter pilot and ace of the First World War. He shot down 17 German aircraft between his entry into the war and its end, making him the 11th highest-scoring Australian-born pilot of the war. He served with the RFC and RAF throughout, in the No. 48 Squadron. He was awarded the Military Cross on 26 July 1917 for a particularly successful encounter with five German aircraft, and was later given the Distinguished Service Order.
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Born in Fitzroy, Victoria, as a youth Holliday was sent to Britain to complete his schooling, attending grammar school in Brighton. He served in the Sussex Yeomanry for three years, but after completing further studies in electrical and mechanical engineering moved to Canada. In September 1914, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a sapper in the Canadian Engineers. He was appointed a temporary Second Lieutenant in December 1915, and he subsequently transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, serving first as an observer and then as a pilot.
He survived the war and after working briefly in Sweden, Holliday returned to Canada. He saw further service in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, reaching the rank of group captain. He died at the age of 72.