Robert Maxwell Pike was born in Kilnock Tullow Co Carlow the
second son of Robert Lecky Pike (http://www.igp-web.com/carlow/Obituarie_Pike.htm)
the then High Sheriff for Co. Carlow on the 30th August 1886.
He
was educated at Harrow (shows on Harrow 1901 census),
however he joined the Royal Navy on the 15th of August 1902 two
weeks prior to his 16th birthday, was commissioned as Midshipman on
15th of June 1903. After serving on the Training Ship Britannia,
he was sent to the Cruiser HMS Good Hope. For a young Midshipman
the Good Hope would have been a great first posting, the ship
itself was only two years old having been launched on the 21
February 1901.
Captain ROBERT MAXWELL PIKE
Service Record
-
- HMS GOOD HOPE
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Robert’s Service records shows an entry by the then Captain
of the HMS Good Hope which stated he found Pike with zealous,
active and intelligent. His Conduct and abilities were always as
Very good, later entries stated promising Officer. However this
great start to a Naval career started to end on the 5th of July
1905 with the first reports of sickness.
From July of 1905 to February of 1907 Pike Naval career was
spent in and out of Naval hospitals he was diagnosed with
tuberculosis of the knee, a rare form of the disease, this cause
his knee joint to stiffen and producing a limp. He was given a
Medical Discharge on 17th of February 1907. (Note some reports
state his right knee cap was removed but this has not been
confirmed)
As far as is known Robert Maxwell Pike returned to the family
home in Carlow after his service in the Royal Navy, but no
information of him shows up until 1914. His cousin John Rupert
Lecky inherited
Ballykealey House (Carlow) in 1908. He was an
avid follower of the huge developments in aviation and a great
admirer of the achievements of the Wright Brothers this must
have played into the next steps that young Robert Pike took.
Sometime in 1914 Robert had taken up flying training, with
the result of him been award his “Royal Aero Club Certificate"
(pilot’s licence) on 21st September 1914 at the Military School,
Brooklands, Surrey, England., he acquired his licence in a Bristol Biplane. His
early sickness must have improved or overlooked as he enlisted
for service in the Army at the start of WWI. He joined the newly
formed Royal Flying Corps, commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and
was sent to Joyce Green on home defence duties. On the night of
the 19th of January 1915 he got his first taste of action,
intercepting a Zeppelin during a raid, the engine of his Vickers
FB5 failed in midflight, forcing him to land in the dark, he hit
a dyke and overturned, both Pike and his Gunner Shaw were
unhurt.
April of 1915 he was sent to France and was attached to Nº 5
Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps, which was in an observation
roll for the Royal Artillery, as spotter. He rose quickly to the
rank of acting Captain, in fact he jumped from 2nd Lieutenant to
Temporary Captain on the 4th of May 1915, and this promotion was
published in the London Gazette on the 18th of May 1915. He was
given command of B Flight, by his own CO reports Pike excelled
in his new post.
THE LONDON GAZETTE, 18 MAY,
1915.
ESTABLISHMENTS.
ROYAL FLYING CORPS.
Military Wing.
The under mentioned appointments
are made: —
Flying Officers to be Flight
Commanders—
- Second Lieutenant Robert M. Pike,
- Special Reserve, and to be temporary
Captain.
- Dated 4th May, 1915.
|
The following piece appeared in
Modelling Madness. com
In an action that demonstrates how litle real thought was
being given to the air war, the sole prototype was sent to
France a month later, on July 6, 1915, to be used by 5 Squadron,
RFC, based at the time at St. Omer. By the middle of the month,
the airplane had been lost when Captain Robert Maxwell-Pike, OC
5 Squadron, was on a mission in the vicinity of Ypres, Belgium.
In a fight with an Albatros 2-searter, he took a mortal wound to
the head, but was able to land just east of Ypres, though the
airplane somersaulted in the rough . Fortunately, the Germans -
though they repaired the airplane - made no attempt at a
detailed examination and thereby left it to their flyers over
the next year to discover for themselves what the D.H.2 was
capable of.
www.modelingmadness.com
|
From Commanding officers report:
“Pike did most
excellent work and had a passion for bombing and photography,
achieving excellent results by his pertinacity”.
With eyes from higher command watching, Pike was recalled to
England in June of 1915, with new orders to carry out service
evaluation of the DH2 Prototype, for which he made this report
to Officer Commanding Nº 2 Wing Royal Flying Corps.
Sir, I have the honour to report that I received an
order from the War Office to proceed to Hendon on June 21st
and 22nd to inspect and if possible try out this machine. On
21st the machine was ready and had been flown a few minutes
previously, but difficulty arose in the pressure feed system
and the machine did not fly that day. On 22 June I again
proceeded to Hendon and saw Mr (sic) de Havilland try the
machine in bumpy weather. She seemed to behave well but was
flying rather nose heavy. The tail plane was adjusted one
notch and I took the machine up. I found that she climbed
exceedingly well and is apparently capable of a climb to
3500 feet fully loaded in well under 5 minutes. The speed
without streamlined wires is about 85 mile per hour. The
machine was flying a little nose heavy and the tail fin had
not been adjusted to counteract the torque, also there was a
good deal of vibration which I believe to be due to engine
and propeller being out of balance. There were a few main
alterations to be made. I strongly advise wing skids and
drift wires to the front of the nacelle which should prevent
vibration of the instrument board. Also the fin required to
be put well over and a slight alteration be made to the tail
plane. Even without these alterations, which will make the
machine more comfortable to fly, she will be of enormous
value out here. With practice one should be able to use the
gun effectively and the range of fire is very large, and the
vision greater than any other machine I have flown. The
alterations are to take about a fortnight and the machine
will be ready to take to the Front, should approval be
obtained. Streamlined wires have to be obtained and it is
estimated that the speed will be increased by nearly 5 miles
per hour in consequence. The seat was a little on the high
side or appeared so after the Vickers. The gliding angle is
surprisingly good and the machine can be landed slow enough
for all ordinary purposes a little under 50 miles per hour.
The day was not a good one on which to try a new machine but
she seemed to go through the bumps without paying much
attention to them. There is a suitable telescopic mounting
for a Lewis gun fitted in the machine. I have not seen a
German machine which can equal this Scout for speed and
climbing power.
- (Signed) R. Maxwell Pike, Captain,
- OC B Flight, Number 5 Squadron RFC
- In the field 29.6.15
It would seem that Major A.G. Board, Pike's Commanding
Officer, was more than somewhat instrumental in organising the
evaluation of the DH2, for Pike reported his findings directly
to him. Major Board acted very promptly in sending the following
request to Lt Colonel Burke DSO, OC Second Wing RFC on 30 June:
I attach herewith a report from Captain Maxwell Pike on the de
Havilland Scout with a request that when her alterations are
completed she may be attached to my squadron for trial. The
following are my reasons for so doing.
- 1. Captain Pike has flown the machine himself.
- 2. I already have the type of engine with which this
new machine is fitted and mechanics who understand its
peculiarities.
- 3. Hostile aircraft are particularly active in this
area so this would be a suitable district to give the
new Machine a trial.
On the 26th July of 1915, the next step was active service
evaluation of the DH2 Prototype it was given it number as DH2 Nº
4732, and promptly sent to France under the command of 5th
Squadron, RFC, based at the time at St. Omer, France, which as
observes Squadron, had no aerial combat experience. On the 9th
of August Captain Robert Maxwell Pike took the prototype to the
air and was on a mission in the vicinity of Ypres, Belgium. The
mission took a turn for the worse when he entered a dog fight
with an Albatross 2-searter, piloted by Abteilungsfürer Alfred
Ritscher with is air gunner Lt Heinrich Maas of the German Navy.
Pike took a mortal wound to the head, but was able to land just
east of Ypres, though the airplane somersaulted in the rough.
The loss of the prototype was a great loss to the British, and
breaths were held for the consequences. Fortunately, the Germans
though they repaired the airplane made no attempt at a full and
detailed examination and thereby left it to their own flyers
over the next year to discover for them what the D.H.2 was
really capable of.
The German informed the British by Air drop piloted by Theo
Osterkamp of Pike’s death.
The message stated
“The gallant Captain Pike was shot down in mortal combat and
was buried in a churchyard behind our lines with full military
honours”.
Captain Pike was buried with full military honours in a local
churchyard, his grave has not been identified but his name is
recorded on the Arras Flying Service Memorial. Pike’s Aircraft
had only one bullet hole, Pike hard a shot to the head, showing
the experience or luck of the German gunner.
- Captain Pike’s plane been taken away by the German’s
photo taken on 10th August 1915
(Photo: German War Museum)
|
- Captain Pike’s Plane once restored by the German Navy
(Photo: German War Museum).
|
For his war service Captain Pike was award the 1914-15 Star,
The British War medal, and the Victory medal he was also Mention
in despatches (Medal card below from National Archives Kew)
showing his father as next of kin. (His medal would be been
given to his father)
Click to enlarge |
Click to enlarge |
Robert Maxwell Pike was not the only member of his family to
have a connection with flying but unfortunately this connection
proved fatal. His nephew David Ebenezer Lecky-Pike was 20 when
he was killed in action in March 1945. Another cousin was Molly
Lecky, born 1907, she shared her first cousin's passion for
aircraft, and she was one of dozens of women RAF pilots who flew
American-built planes to Britain during WWII. She was killed
when a plane she was flying was lost on June 14th, 1942. The two
great wars took their toll among the family.
http://www.ballykealeymanorhotel.ie/history.htm
NOTE FROM THE RESEARCHER For Genealogy researcher Captain
Pike is a prime example of the information that to found about
ones ancestors, Military records hold a whole host of
information. True not all will find a Captain Pike or a Victoria
Cross winner but it doesn’t mean you will not find an
interesting story or two, or at the very least information to
help knock down that stubborn genealogical brick-wall . If
anyone of your ancestor served in the armed forces it a well
worth area of search, you never know what you my fined. The
records hold a wide range of information, birth dates, marriages
and names of children, parents or next of Kin, plus the record
would show health reports, Tattoos and distinguished marks, in
some case colour of hair and eyes and type of complexion. From
the World War Two era photos, other important pieces of
information about Medal or honours awarded. Terence Curran
terrycur16@yahoo.es
-
- 2nd Lt Robert Maxwell Pike Circa September 1914 in his new
Royal Flying Corps uniform
|
-
- Captain R. M. Pike
- Flight Commander, Royal Flying Corps. He
was the second son of Mr. R. L. Pike, D.L., Kilnock,
Co. Carlow.
- (From the Harrow Memorial book honouring its fallen ex pupils)
|
- In Memory of
- Captain ROBERT MAXWELL PIKE
- Mentioned in Despatches
- 5th Sqdn. Royal Flying Corps
- who died age 29 on
- 9 August 1915
- Son of Robert Lecky Pike, D.L. and Mrs.
Lecky Pike,
- of Kilnock, Tullow, Co. Carlow.
- Remembered with honour
- ARRAS FLYING SERVICES MEMORIAL
Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves
Commission.
|
Captain ROBERT MAXWELL PIKE
Service Record
Sources:
- Theo OSTERKAMP dropping a message is
briefly told in his book 'Du oder Ich', Berlin 1938
- Harrow WWI Memorial
- Commonwealth War Graves
- National Archives Kew UK
- Ancestry.com
- London Gazette
- Royal Aero Club Certificate
Source: Researched & transcribed by Terence Curran
terrycur16@yahoo.es
Please report any links or images which do not open to
mjbrennan30@gmail.com
- The information contained in these
pages is provided solely for the purpose of sharing with
others researching their ancestors in Ireland.
- © 2001 County Carlow
Genealogy IGP
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