Allegiance United Kingdom Name Rothesay Wortley Awards Military Cross | Rank Major Education Eton College Years of service 1912–1918 Died December 29, 1926 | |
Born 9 January 1892
Highcliffe Castle, Hampshire, England ( 1892-01-09 ) Relations Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (father) Books Letters from a Flying Officer Unit Hampshire Yeomanry, No. 22 Squadron RAF, No. 44 Squadron RAF | ||
Service/branch Royal Flying Corps Commands held No. 88 Squadron RAF | ||
Major Rothesay Nicholas Montagu Stuart Wortley (9 January 1892 – 29 December 1926) was a British World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.
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Early life and background
Stuart Wortley was born at Highcliffe Castle, Dorset, the first child and only son of Major-General the Honourable Edward James Montagu-Stuart-Wortley and his wife Violet (née Guthrie). He was educated at Eton and Oxford University, winning an Honours in History. On 25 March 1912 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Hampshire Yeomanry (Territorial Force).
World War I
On 5 August 1914, the day after England declared war on Germany, Stuart Wortley was appointed an aide-de-camp to serve on the personal staff of his father, General Officer Commanding of the 46th (North Midland) Division. On 12 February 1917 Stuart Wortley was seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps, and was appointed a flying officer on 12 June. On 30 June he was promoted to captain, with seniority from 1 June 1916. Posted to No. 22 Squadron RFC to fly the Bristol F.2 two-seater fighter, he gained his first aerial victories on 6 September 1917, driving down two enemy aircraft. He destroyed two enemy fighters on 22 September, and captured another on 17 October. His sixth and final victory came on 28 January 1918, sending another fighter down in flames.
Stuart Wortley was awarded the Military Cross, which was gazetted on 19 April 1918. His citation read:
Captain Rothesay Nicholas Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, Yeomanry and Royal Flying Corps.Stuart Wortley was appointed a squadron commander with the temporary rank of major on 1 July 1918, commanding No. 44 Training Depot Station at RAF Bicester until September. He then returned to France where he commanded No. 88 Squadron RAF until the end of the war. On 1 May 1919 he was appointed a Staff Officer, 3rd Class, to serve at the Air Ministry, and was eventually transferred to the unemployed list on 2 July 1919.
Post-war career
In 1919 Stuart Wortley married the Canadian opera singer Marie-Louise Martin, (known professionally as Louise Edvina) and worked as a young adult aviation journalist until his death in the south of France from diabetes on 29 December 1926.
Publications
Along with Canada's top World War I ace, Colonel Billy Bishop, he co-authored an adventure novel entitled The Flying Squad, which was published in 1927. His own novel Letters from a Flying Officer, a fictionalized account of his own experiences, was published in 1928. A book of his short stories Tales of the Air, was published in 1932.