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L. to r. : Tom Rees, Lionel Morris and Manfred von Richthofen.

On 17 September 2016, the families of Manfred von Richthofen and of his two first victims will meet and toast together in memory of their ancestors. Although Richthofen had already claimed two aerial victories, his first confirmed victory came on 17 September 1916 when he shot down the F.E.2b flown Tom Rees and Lionel Morris near Marcoing in Northern France. Rees was killed during the dogfight and Morris managed to land the aircraft before dying of his wounds.

Following this first victory, Richthofen ordered a small silver cup from a Berlin jeweller to commemorate the victory. The inscription read: “1. Vickers 2. 17.9.16”. This was the first of 60 such cups which he ordered up until September 1917, at which time the jeweller declined further orders due to a wartime silver shortage.

To commemorate the centenary of the event, representatives of all three families will meet to commemorate the deaths of Captain Rees and Second Lieutenant Morris, and the moment the Red Baron began his path in military history, drinking from a replica goblet commissioned by Whitgift School in Croydon.

Read the full story from The Telegraph

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Un Airco DH.2 (Crown Copyright).

An Airco DH.2 flown Stewart Smith will fly from Wickenby, UK, to Albert, France, to take part in the commemorations on November 11th and overfly a memorial to Lanoe Hawker, VC, that was recently built in Ligny Thilloy.

The trip will be flown in three legs, and the crew has already succesfully made the two first legs. A special blog was created for this event: Airco DH.2 from Wickenby to the Somme – 11/11/11.

Major Lanoe Hawker, VC.

Major Lanoe Hawker was the first British ace and the third pilot to receive the Victoria Cross. He was shot down in an Airco DH.2 on 23 November 1916 by Manfred von Richtofen, the infamous “Red Baron”.