Elwyn Roy King
Elwyn Roy King, DSO, DFC was a fighter ace in the Australian Flying Corps during World War I. He achieved twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian pilot of the war. His exploits earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross, thedistinguished Service Order, and a mention in despatches. A civil pilot and engineer between the wars, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1939 until his death in November 1941.
About Elwyn Roy King in brief
Elwyn Roy King, DSO, DFC was a fighter ace in the Australian Flying Corps during World War I. He achieved twenty-six victories in aerial combat, making him the fourth highest-scoring Australian pilot of the war. His exploits earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross, thedistinguished Service Order, and a mention in despatches. A civil pilot and engineer between the wars, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1939 until his death in November 1941 at the age of forty-seven. King was born in Bathurst, New South Wales, and was the son of English-born Elizabeth Mary King and Richard King, an Australian labourer. He joined the Australian Imperial Force under the name Roy King on 20 July 1915. He was posted to Egypt as a lighthorseman in 1916. He transferred to the AFC as a mechanic in January 1917 and was subsequently commissioned as a pilot. He saw action on the Western Front flying Sopwith Camels and Snipes. In 1919, King spent some years in civil aviation before co-founding a successful engineering business. He later joined the RAAF following the outbreak of World War II and held several training commands, rising to the rank of group captain shortly before his sudden death in October 1941. He died in a plane crash in Queensland, Australia, in November 1942. He is buried in the suburb of Forbes, near his former home of Forbes in South Australia, where he lived with his wife and three children.
King is survived by his wife, three children, and two step-granddaughters, all of whom are still living in Australia. He also leaves behind a wife and a son, David King, who worked as a carpenter in the Sydney suburb of Forster. King died of a heart attack in 1963, aged 69, at his home in North Sydney. He had been living in Forbes and working as a motor mechanic when he joined the Australia Imperial Force in 1915. In February 1916, he was assigned to the 12th Light Horse at Heliopolis, as the unit was reassembling following its service in the Gallipoli Campaign. On 5 October 1915, King embarked for Egypt aboard HMAT Themistocles, as part of the reinforcements for the 4th Light horse Brigade. On 15 October, he gained his wings and officer’s commission. On 21 March 1918, King was sent to France for active duty. On 14 May 1918, he shot down a two-seat German scout that was spotting for artillery between Ypres and Bailleul, but clouds prevented him from confirming its destruction. By 20 May, he had been credited with his first aerial victory, over a Pfalz D III Église Éuve–glise. On 20 June, he destroyed a large balloon over Estaires. Four days later, he led a flight of six Camels from No 4 Squadron escorting escorting Royal Airco bombers of the Royal Air Force.
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