Orders, Decorations and Medals

Three: Lieutenant R. H. Stacey, Royal Air Force, late King Edward’s Horse, Royal Sussex Regiment and Bedfordshire Yeomanry and Royal Flying Corps, who was seriously wounded in a combat over Bailleul in May 1918

1914-15 Star (1115 Pte., K. Edw. H.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut., R.A.F.), generally good very fine (3) £300-350

Reginald Howard Stacey was born at Houghton, near Arundel, Sussex in October 1892 and was educated at Haileybury. Enlisting in the Royal Fusiliers in September 1914, he transferred to 2/King Edward’s Horse as a Trooper in the following month and served in the same capacity out in France from May 1915 to January 1916, when he returned to the U.K. and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 2/4th Royal Sussex Regiment. Having then transferred to the Bedfordshire Yeomanry, he applied to the Royal Flying Corps for pilot training and qualified for his “Wings” in February 1917 (Certificate No. 4405).

He subsequently served out in France in 29 and 11 Squadrons, May to August 1917, but was invalided home to hospital in the latter month. Returning to duty in the U.K. with No. 85 Squadron that November, he transferred to No. 41 Squadron, an S.E. 5a unit out in France, shortly afterwards, and must have flown numerous sorties prior to being seriously wounded in a combat over Ecquedecques in the early evening of 11 May 1918, most probably by enemy ace Leutnant Kurt Monnington of Jasta 18. Absolutely certain is the fact his wounds - caused by a brace of machine-gun bullets - resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee, and he was invalided out of the Royal Air Force in April 1919, following a special medical board held at Caxton Hall in London.