A fine Great War M.C. group of eight awarded to Major C. A. A. Hiatt, Royal Air Force, late Norfolk Regiment and Royal Flying Corps, who, in the words of Trenchard, who recommended him for his decoration, ‘was among the first to set the example of flying low over the enemy’s lines to gain information’

Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed as issued; 1914-15 Star (2 Lieut. C. A. A. Hiatt, Norf. R.); British War and Victory Medals (Major C. A. A. Hiatt, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals, the earlier awards with contact marks and a little polished, but generally very fine or better (8) £3000-3500

M.C. London Gazette 1 January 1917. The original recommendation states:

‘For continuous good work over a long period as a Flying Officer and later as a Flight Commander. From September 1915 to July 1916, Captain Hiatt has shown exceptional skill and gallantry as a pilot, especially while carrying out contact patrol duties, being among the first to set the example of coming down low over the enemy to gain information.’

Cuthbert Ambrose Anthony Hiatt was born in London in March 1890 and was commissioned in the Norfolk Regiment in February 1915. Securing a secondment to the Royal Flying Corps shortly afterwards, he qualified for his Royal Aero Club Certificate (No. 1223) on a Maurice Farman Biplane at Shoreham that May and, following further instruction in the U.K., was posted as a Flying Officer to No. 9 Squadron, which unit was shortly after ordered to France, where it carried out Army co-operation duties in B.E.2s.

In March 1916, Hiatt was appointed a Temporary Captain and Flight Commander in No. 4 Squadron, in which capacity he undertook important reconnaissance work on the Somme. On 1 July he was entrusted with a special low-level mission over the German trenches at Thiepval, duly completed at an altitude of just 600 feet, while on a similar operation back over Thiepval two days later, his B.E.2c was badly shot up and damaged. Later that month, and having been recommended for his M.C. by Trenchard, he was ordered to the U.K., where he joined No. 66 Squadron as a Flight Commander.

Advanced to Temporary Major in May 1917, Hiatt assumed command of No. 57 Squadron out in France that November, a D.H. 4 unit engaged on photographic reconnaissance flights and bombing duties, in which role its pilots frequently encountered enemy aircraft - by the War’s end, when Hiatt returned to the U.K., No. 57 had been credited with 166 enemy aircraft destroyed, 285 tons of bombs dropped and the taking of over 22,000 photographic plates.

Relinquishing his commission in October 1919, Hiatt returned to life as a soldier and, having served as Adjutant of the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps in the 1920s, was placed on the Reserve of Officers as a substantive Major in February 1931. But he returned to uniform on the renewal of hostilities in September 1939, when he was appointed an Honorary Flight Lieutenant and Assistant Commandant of No. 11 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School in Perth, Scotland. Later still, he served in the Middle East as a member of the Administration and Special Duties Branch.