Captain Alan John Bott (14 January 1893 – 17 September 1952) was a World War I flying ace who was credited with five aerial victories. He later became a journalist, editor and publisher who founded Pan Books.[Shores et.al. (1990), p.82.]
Pre-war career
Bott worked as journalist before and just after the outbreak of the war, serving as "special correspondent" of the
Daily Chronicle, based in
Basel, Switzerland.
He reported on the British air raid on the Zeppelin factory at
Friedrichshafen on 21 November 1914,
and travelled to the Swiss town of
Romanshorn, on the opposite side of
Lake Constance, to observe the German response,
on one occasion going out into the middle of the lake on a boat to gain a closer look.
Military service
Bott returned to England in early 1915, and after training in the Inns of Court Officers' Training Corps he was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) in the Royal Garrison Artillery on 22 July 1915.
He was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps with the rank of lieutenant on 1 September 1916,
being appointed a flying officer (observer) on 26 September.
He was posted to No. 70 Squadron RFC, flying as observer/gunner in a Sopwith 1½ Strutter with pilot Second Lieutenant Awdry Vaucour. On 24 August 1916 Bott and Vaucour were shot up and forced to land by Leopold Reimann of Jasta 1, but went on to claim three Fokker E fighter aircraft in September.
Bott then trained as a pilot, being appointed a flying officer on 1 June 1917.[Bott, Eastern Flights, pp.251–285.] He was later awarded a Bar to his Military Cross "in recognition of gallantry in escaping from captivity".
Awards and citations
- Military Cross
- Second Lieutenant Alan John Bott, Royal Garrison Artillery, Special Reserve (attached Royal Flying Corps).
- :"For conspicuous gallantry and skill. As observer he has been in many fights, and furnished many good reports. On one occasion, when his pilot was gliding back to our lines after his engine had been hit and stopped, he drove off an attacking aeroplane and put out with his hands a fire started by anti-aircraft guns. On another occasion, after driving down one hostile aeroplane, he fired at another, which dived and collided with a third. This last one fell vertically."
- Bar to the Military Cross
- Captain Alan John Bott, MC, Royal Garrison Artillery, Special Reserve.
- :"In recognition of gallantry in escaping from captivity whilst a Prisoner of War."
Post-war career
Bott had written his first book
An Airman's Outings, an account of the life of a British flying officer, while still serving in No. 70 Squadron in 1916. It had been published in 1917 under the pseudonym "Contact", and republished in the US as
The Flying Ace and
Cavalry of the Clouds. He followed it up with
Eastern Nights and Flights, published in 1920, an account of his capture, imprisonment and subsequent escape. Between 1920 and 1926 he returned to journalism, as a special correspondent and as a drama critic for various newspapers.
Bott also retained his interest in flying, being granted a commission as a class "A" flying officer (on probation) in the Reserve of Air Force Officers on 22 May 1923.
Bott died in a hospital in Westminster, London, on 17 September 1952.
Publications
Personal life
Bott married Josephine Blumenfeld, daughter of
Daily Express editor R. D. Blumenfeld, at
Petworth in June 1930. They had three children; Simon (b. 1931), Annabel (b. 1933) and Susannah (b. 1935).
Bibliography
External links
