World War I Service
Bryson was educated at Bromsgrove School, and joined the Dorset Yeoman Cavalry in 1914. Shortly thereafter, he was wounded in action. While serving in Egypt, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. On 15 March 1917, after a flaming crash, he rescued his fellow aircrew member. In July 1917, he was posted to fly a SPAD for 19 Squadron in France. His first aerial victory followed shortly; he drove down a German observation plane down out of control on 25 August. By the end of the year, Bryson's victory total had increased to 11.
In January 1918, his king presented him with the George Cross for his heroism in rescuing his fellow airman following a crash at Wye Aerodrome. On 8 March, having upgraded to a Sopwith Dolphin fighter plane, Bryson scored his final victory of the war, destroying a German Albatros D.V over Gheluvelt, Belgium. His final summary showed he had destroyed four enemy aircraft; two of these were shared victories, including one with Arthur Bradfield Fairclough. Bryson's other eight wins were of the out of control variety; three of them were shared with such other aces as Albert Desbrisay Carter.
Read more about this topic: Oliver Bryson
Famous quotes containing the words world, war and/or service:
“If God lets me live, I shall attain more than Mummy ever has done, I shall not remain insignificant, I shall work in the world and for mankind!”
—Anne Frank (1929–1945)
“War talk by men who have been in a war is always interesting; whereas moon talk by a poet who has not been in the moon is likely to be dull.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Television could perform a great service in mass education, but there’s no indication its sponsors have anything like this on their minds.”
—Tallulah Bankhead (1903–1968)