Hello Mister Barr,

I am the president of an association of volunteer named: Abbaye de Beaupré, Etude et Sauvegarde du Site, at La Gorgue, North of France.

The association is in charge of the archaeological site of the Cistercian abbey of 'Notre-Dame de Beaupré-sur-la-Lys' (1220-1789). This abbey was situated between La Gorgue and Merville, alongside the river Lys. One of the objects of the association is the study of this site, including, of course, the abbey itself, but also all of what happened on it. Recently, some works on the site lead us to bring to light some materials of the Great War (as for example, an R.F.C. badge and pieces of regimentals) which are now exposed in our little private museum. These conduct us to search more information and we are now persuaded that the site is what is elsewhere called the 'British aerodrome of La Gorgue'. Among the squadrons that have occupied the site are No. 16 RFC (with Major H.C.T. Dowding and Major D.W. Powell), No. 46 RFC (with Major Babington), and also for a short time the Naval 8 (later 208 RAF, of Major C. Draper). At present, I am trying to collect information upon this period.

Surfing on the web, I notably discover your website 'No 46 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force and its Association' with some photographs of members of No. 46 Squadron who were at La Gorgue during the Great War.

I would like to propose you to exchange information, photograph, ' From my part, I could bring our knowledge of Beaupré.

La Gorgue is a small town in the North of France, not far from Belgium, nearly at the centre of the triangle Lille-Béthune-Hazebrouck, along the river Lys / Beaupré is a place situated at the west of the town where a Cistercian abbey has been founded around height hundred years ago and where the Royal Flying Corps had installed an aerodrome on the old fields of this abbey and stayed there from the 6th (or 10th) of March, 1915 (with No. 16 Squadron) to the 9th of April, 1918 (with No. 208 “Naval Eight” Squadron).

I guess that No. 46 Squadron had been at Beaupré from the 12th of May to the 6th of July, 1917, when they returned to England (Sutton’s Farm) for Home Defence.

I have visited your interesting new website and found some novelties. I noticed, from my point of view, some mistakes:

-  Between the photo of the author and the book ‘Winged Victory’ you have indicated “Y. M. YATES” instead of “V.(ictor) M. Yates”.

-  Among the three authors of No. 46 Squadron, you have written : “The Association has a copy of “Letters from Bob” which was book privately printed by the father of another Lee, Captain G A “Bob” Lee who had just been appointed a flight commander on the Squadron before he was killed in a tragic accident. The book contains the letters he sent home to his family in Melbourne Australia.” ‘Bob’ was indeed George Pollard KAY, an Australian born in Melbourne. ‘Bob’ should be a nickname as for others pilots : ‘Normie Dimmock’, ‘Mac’ for McDonald, ‘Chaps’ Marchant, ‘Pic’ Williams, ‘Taffy’ Hughes, ‘Nobby’ Scott, etc…

George Pollard Kay was accidentally killed and was buried in the town cemetery of La Gorgue (grave III.B.9) alongside of two of his fellows, both of No. 46 Squadron : James Pedraza STEPHEN, a Scottish, killed in action on the 23rd of May, 1917, and Cedric Leopold GUNNERY (grave III.B.8), killed in action on the 22nd of May,1917 (grave III.B.7). I have some copies of papers dealing with STEPHEN, among them a letter of Major Babington.

Please find herewith the photography of the three graves that I have made in our cemetery.


Below, you will find a part of a map of the Ordnance Survey (May 1917) and an extract of Google Map to help you to situate the aerodrome of La Gorgue/Beaupré together with

-  the first aerodrome of Merville which was occupied by No. 2 Squadron and perhaps by No. 16 Squadron,

-  the cemetery of La Gorgue where the three pilots of No. 46 Squadron have been buried.


I have found the Christian names for nearly all the pilots that appeared in the photo published in ‘Sopwith Pup Aces of Worl War 1’. The author, Norman Franks, says that this photo shows Pup pilots of No. 46 Squadron at La Gorgue in early June 1917.

R( ?) PLENTY, Rodney Wilfred HEATH, Stuart Harvey PRATT, Clive Alexander BREWSTER-JOSKE, Francis L(ogan ?) LUXMOORE, Cecil James MARCHANT, Kenneth William McDONALD, George Pollard KAY, F(rank ?) B(ell ?) BARAGER (BARAGAR ?).

I am trying to collect information for all of these pilots, and others, in order to make a little biography of them.

If you have any information or photo for these pilots and for the aerodrome, I will appreciate. I can give you also other names and information, please let me know what you are interested for.

Sorry for the quality of the photos, I do not have ADSL at present but I hope to be equipped soon. Sorry also for the quality of ‘my english’

Wishing to read you soon.

Best Regards,

Serge Comini