William Jackson Rutherford, Ace Pilot in the Great War

Advertising for young Canadian men to train as fighter pilots.  1918. 

Family lore has it that William Jackson Rutherford, son of William Rutherford Jr. and Ida Bulmer, was a pilot in WWI and flew with Canadian hero Billy Bishop.  My in-laws say that Jackson is the pilot who flew the longest with Bishop without actually dying.  I've decided to look into this story and see what I can discover about Jackson's military career.

Billy Bishop, who is believed to be the all-time Canadian Flying Ace, with 72 claimed victories. 

From Library and Archives Canada, here is Jackson's attestation paper.  He joined up on February 23, 1915.  He is 19 years old, and a student at McGill in applied science (engineering).

It will probably take me a few weeks to order his military record from the Canadian archives.  But interestingly, he has a British military record, which I was able to download directly from the British Archives.  It covers the period from July 2, 1918, to April 1, 1919, so not even a year.  It does provide some fascinating information.  Jackson begins this period as a Lieutenant, and is promoted to Temporary Captain and then Captain/Flight Commander fairly promptly. He is part of the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force Unit 65 very briefly, and later Unit 60, where Bishop was also posted. Jackson seems to have had a few injuries, which are not described, but can be inferred from some periods when he is temporarily unfit for service or fit for only limited (ground) service.  My favourite part is the description of his experience, particularly the planes he has flown:  Nieuport Scout, M.F.S.H. (Maurice Farman S11 Shorehorn), M.F.L.H.  Avro, Bristol Scout, Nieuport 2 seater, Sopwith 2 seater (also known as a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter), and the  Curtiss JN4.  Here's an example of what these kinds of planes looked like:

Sopwith 2 Seater Aircraft

As you can see, the pilot was quite exposed.  The fatality rate for pilots on active duty in these kinds of aircraft was extremely high.

Insight into an earlier period of Jackson's military service is seen on the Aerodrome website. The site has a picture of Jackson in his uniform, and a list of his eight "victories" in 1917 (a "victory" means an enemy plane shot down and destroyed during combat).  To be considered a "flying ace", you must have five or more victories, so William Jackson Rutherford is included in the number of Canadian flying aces of WWI.

William Jackson Rutherford in unifom. 

There is also a copy of Jackson's Aviator Certificate, which he earned on February 26, 1917, at the Catterick Bridge Military School.

The victories listed on this site are located at Dury (France) on June 25, 1917, Ypres-Roules (France) on September 22, 1917, Houthoulst (Belgium) on October 21, 1917, Westroosebeke (Belgium) on October 28, 1917, Moreslede (Belgium) twice (about a half hour apart ) on November 1, 1917, Zonnebeke (Belgium) on November 6, and again at Westroosebeke, on November 8, 1917.

Jackson Rutherford is mentioned several times in the book 60 Squadron R.A.F.:  A History of the Squadron from its Formation, by Group-Captain A.J.L Scott.  On page 66 Jackson is listed as one of ten men, including Billy Bishop, "distinguishing themselves and adding to the squadron's laurels" in July and August 1917.  The first descriptive mention of Jackson comes on p. 69, which says that "During the 3rd Corps attack on August 19, 1917, Lieuts. Jenkins, Steele, Rutherford, and Sergt. Bancroft did good work shooting up infantry in trenches and by harassing the troops assembling for counter-attacks.". 

Next (on p. 69-70) we hear that:

"On September 7, 1917, the squadron was moved up to the XI wing to help in the battles for the Passchendale Ridge, which were already in full swing.  Leaving the comfortable Filescamp station, and the hard tennis-court with great regret, they were moved into tents on Marie Capelle aerodrome, near Cassel, where 20 Squadron was already stationed.  The 2nd and 5th armies were then attacking almost every day, and 60, in addition to their ordinary work of offensive patrols, wireless interception etc., co-operated by low flying and firing at troops and transport on the ground.  Twenty-five pound Cooper bombs were carried at this time and dropped on suitable targets. 

Capt. Chidlaw-Roberts, Lieuts. Rutherford, Whiting, and I. Macgregor were now prominent..."

The final mention of Jackson appears on p. 73:

"During this autumn series of battles a somewhat novel system of message-dropping was tried. All scout pilots were ordered to carry cards conveniently fixed in the nacelle, on which they wrote such information as they had secured during low-flying patrols;  special attention was to be given to the massing of enemy supporting troops and to the development of counter-attacks, the symptoms of which were the approach to the "debussing" points of motor transport vehicles or trains from which troops can be seen disembarking and forming up.  These cards were slipped into a message bag and dropped in a field marked with a white cross, near Locre Chateau...The information thus given occasionally enabled our heavy artillery to direct their fire on to the targets indicated...Lieuts. F. Soden, W. Rutherford, and W. Duncan all distinguished themselves by giving accurate information during these battles..."

This book is a very readable account of the living and fighting conditions of the Squadron, full of anecdotes and interesting details which bring the world Jackson inhabited for several intense months to life.  We learn about the food which was served in the Mess Hall in France:  "Soup (mock turtle), toast;  fish (grilled sole, mustard sauce);  entree (beefsteak, pastry, boiled potatoes, green peas);  sweets (stewed prunes, cornstarch pudding);  biscuits, cheese, coffee."  Other comforts including "moving picture shows ...given every night or so in a church army hut in the camp."  There was at least one black pilot in the squadron ("The unlucky lad who drew me [as a tennis partner] is a "coloured troop" that is he hails from South Africa" writes one soldier in a letter home), but racism is very evident:

"All the heavy labour in this part of France is now being done by Chinese coolies, brought specially from China for this purpose.  They are enlisted as soldiers and wear a peculiar blue padded uniform. They are employed around the aerodrome levelling ground, putting sand- bags around the huts as a protection against bombs, making roads and paths, etc.  They are terribly interested in our phonograph [i.e. they would like to listen to the music the other soldiers enjoy], and if we leave the door open they almost come in.  To keep them out, the interpreter has painted a large sign in chinese characters, and it sticks up in front of the mess, and gives it quite an oriental appearance." 

Scott's book talks about the high mortality rate of the pilots but also about the dangers of capture.  The battles overwhelmingly tended to be over enemy airspace, and if a plane was downed any pilot or crew member that survived would probably end up in a P.O.W. camp.  It also describes pilots in damaged aircraft having gasoline leaking onto their laps or their shoes.  The overall tone of the book is actually quite cheerful and adventurous.  I'm looking forward to finding out more about Jackson and his military service.