James McCudden
James Thomas Byford McCudden VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. With his six British medals and one French one, McCudden received more medals for gallantry than any other airman of British nationality serving in the First World War. He was also one of the longest serving, having joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1913. McCudden's story is all the more remarkable as he rose through the RFC ranks (from Air Mechanic to Major) during the war to become one of the most decorated and honoured soldiers of the conflict. At his death he had amassed 57 victories, making him the seventh highest scoring ace of World War I.
Tragically, he was killed in a simple accident, of a type more typical of beginner pilots than someone of his experience and proven skill.
Read more about James McCudden: Early and Family Life, Military Service, Death, Memorial, Quotation
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“To be radical, an empiricism must neither admit into its constructions any element that is not directly experienced, nor exclude from them any element that is directly experienced.”
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