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| Name: |
Sydney "Timbertoes" Carlin |
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| Country: |
England |
| Rank: |
Captain |
| Service: |
Royal Flying Corps
Royal Air Force |
| Units: |
74 |
| Victories: |
10 |
| Born: |
24 March 1889 |
| Place of Birth: |
Hull, Yorkshire, England |
| Died: |
09 May 1941 |
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| Place of Death: |
Wittering,
Peterborough, England |
| Memorial: |
Hull Crematorium,Yorkshire, England |
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The son of William and Caroline Carlin, who ran a tallow chandlery,
Sydney Carlin attended boarding school in Westmoreland. He served for a
year with the Royal Hussars as a private soldier (1908-09). When the war
began, he abandoned farming and joined the 18th Royal Hussars in 1914.
Sent to France on 15 August 1914, he was wounded in action (head wound) at Second Ypres in 1915, for which he was awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal. He was promoted to Lance
Corporal, transferred to the 1st East Riding Field
Company, Royal Engineers and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in September 1915.
Carlin received the Military Cross after being wounded by a shell at Delville Wood in 1916,
losing his left leg below the knee. Equipped with a wooden leg, his
request for transfer to the Royal Flying Corps was refused so
he paid for private flying lessons and was accepted in 1917. His mates took to calling him "Timbertoes." After serving as an instructor, Carlin was posted to 74 Squadron on 26 May 1918. Flying the S.E.5a, he survived a mid-air collision with his commanding officer, Keith Caldwell, and scored ten victories, including 5 balloons. On 21 September 1918, six days after scoring his final victory, Carlin was captured by the Germans when he was shot down by Siegfried Westphal
of Jasta 29. Due to poor health, Carlin relinquished his commission in
1919 and sailed for Kenya aboard the SS Madura on 2 October 1924. There
he was a farmer, big game hunter, Justice of the Peace, and member of
the Kenyan Defence Force. Returning to the United Kingdom when World War
II began, he was initially classified as "unfit for duty" but was
eventually commissioned as a Flying Officer in the Royal
Air Force Volunteer Reserve and served as an aerial gunner on Defiants with 151 Squadron. At the age of 52, Carlin
died from wounds received in an early evening air raid by a single JU88 Stuka dive bomber on the squadron's airfield at Wittering.
Carlin rushed by bicycle to his aeroplane to combat the raid rather than seek cover. He was
mortally wounded as he attempted to climb into his plane's turret and
died the following day. |
British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
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| Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) |
Lt. Sydney Carlin, M.C., D.C.M. (R.E.).
A gallant and determined pilot, who sets a fine example to his squadron. Though handicapped by the loss of a leg, he is bold and skilful in attack, and has destroyed four balloons and shot down two enemy machines.
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| Victories |
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Date |
Time |
Unit |
Aircraft |
Opponent |
Location |
| 1 |
13 Jun 1918 |
1015 |
74 |
S.E.5a (C6459) |
DFW C (DES) |
SE of Zillebeke Lake |
| 2 |
18 Jun 1918 |
0810 |
74 |
S.E.5a (C6459) |
Pfalz D.III (OOC) |
SE of Zillebeke Lake |
| 3 |
19 Jul 1918 |
0915 |
74 |
S.E.5a (D6922) |
Balloon (DES) |
Nieppe Village |
| 4 |
20 Jul 1918 |
0830 |
74 |
S.E.5a (D6922) |
Balloon (DES) |
2 mi SW of Armentières |
| 5 |
28 Jul 1918 |
0540 |
74 |
S.E.5a (D6922) |
Balloon (DES) |
S of Armentières |
| 6 |
30 Jul 1918 |
1805 |
74 |
S.E.5a (D6922) |
Fokker D.VII (DES) |
E of Dickebusch Lake |
| 7 |
02 Aug 1918 |
0600 |
74 |
S.E.5a (D6922) |
Balloon (DES) |
Erquinghem |
| 8 |
10 Aug 1918 |
1905 |
74 |
S.E.5a |
Fokker D.VII (DES) |
E of Messines |
| 9 |
04 Sep 1918 |
0745 |
74 |
S.E.5a (D6091) |
Balloon (DES) |
NE of Armentières |
| 10 |
15 Sep 1918 |
1850 |
74 |
S.E.5a |
Fokker D.VII (DESF) |
NE of Lille |
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