Maurice Michael Freehill

Name:

Country:

England

Rank:

Captain

Service:

Royal Flying Corps

Units:

46, 80

Victories:

Born:

21 January 1899

Place of Birth:

Chiswick, London, England

Died:

03 February 1939

Place of Death:

London, England

The son of Eugene and Lilian Freehill, Maurice Michael Freehill, a school boy from Battersea, was almost 6 feet tall and just shy of his 18th birthday when he enlisted in the Hampshire Regiment on 20 January 1917. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and flew the Sopwith Camel in 1918, scoring six victories with 46 Squadron and one victory with 80 Squadron.

British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920

British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920

Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)

Lieut. (A./Capt.) Maurice Michael Freehill. (FRANCE)
A brilliant leader who has destroyed five enemy aircraft and has displayed conspicuous bravery in attacking enemy troops on the ground. On 4th November, observing that a machine-gun post was holding up the advance of our infantry, he attacked it from a very low altitude, inflicting heavy casualties on the crews and putting them to flight. Later on he carried out a reconnaissance of the Army front at a height of 50 feet in the face of intense machine-gun fire, bringing back most valuable information.

Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 February 1919 (31170/2039)

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	23 Mar 1918	1300	46	Sopwith Camel (B9149)	C (DES)	Bullecourt
2	03 Apr 1918	1245	46	Sopwith Camel (B5636)	C (DES) ¹	57D L32
3	20 Apr 1918	1000	46	Sopwith Camel (B5636)	Albatros C (DES) ¹	Harnes
4	30 May 1918	1930	46	Sopwith Camel (B5636)	Fokker DR.I (OOC)	Estaires
5	07 Aug 1918	0810	46	Sopwith Camel (B9291)	Fokker D.VII (DES) ²	SW of Armentières
6	15 Aug 1918	1810	46	Sopwith Camel (B9291)	Fokker D.VII (OOC)	SE of Péronne
7	03 Oct 1918	1815	80	Sopwith Camel (H773)	Fokker D.VII (OOC)	Beaurevoir

1	Shared with Capt Cecil Marchant (B9211)
2	Shared with Lt A L Aldridge (D9407)