Arch Whitehouse


Arthur George Joseph "Arch" Whitehouse, M.M. was a World War I Veteran and author of World War I aviation books.

Biography

Arthur George J. Whitehouse was born in England, but lived in Montvale, New Jersey, U.S.A.
At the outbreak of World War I, Whitehouse came to England and enlisted as a Private with the Northamptonshire Yeomanry # 1784.
He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps # 78563. He was with the Northamptonshire Yeomanry again # 145871, then transferred to the Royal Air Force # 401090

Service

He was a 1st Class Air mechanic and Observer with the No. 22 Squadron RAF. On 13 April 1917 Whitehouse and his Pilot Bush were brought down by anti-aircraft fire; Whitehouse believed afterward that the Red Baron mistakenly listed Whitehouse/Bush among the Barons's "credits"-although this was not so. For taking part in shooting down German Aircraft and airplane raiding missions he was awarded the Military Medal with the RFC in November 1917. During the last part of World War I he was undergoing training in England as a Pilot in Sopwith Camels aircraft. As of 28 September 1919 he was a 2nd Lt transferred to the Unemployed List. A notation on his Medal card noted he was awarded the "British War Medal" and British "Victory Medal"
Contrary to reports that he brought down 16 enemy aircraft and 6 balloons, Whitehouse was never an ace, although he took part in the shooting down of four enemy aircraft:
Both Bush and Meggit were Aces with 6 credits

Author

"Arch" Whitehouse was a writer postwar for magazines such as Flying Aces on World War I Aviation, creating characters like The Griffon, Coffin Kirk, and others.
In the 1960s, he wrote a wide range of books, both fiction and non-fiction on aviation and similar military topics.
More recently, some of his pulp fiction have been reprinted by several publishers, including Altus Press.

Books