George S. L. Hayward


Flying Officer George Searle Lomax Hayward was an English World War I aerial observer credited with 24 victories. He served as an observer/gunner for fellow aces Frank Weare, Ernest Elton, and William Lewis Wells. Hayward scored the bulk of his wins, 22 of them, between 6 March and 22 April 1918, usually scoring two or three times in the same fight.

World War I service

Hayward originally enlisted in the 3rd Hussars, becoming a lance corporal. On 28 September 1916 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal West Kent Regiment. In late 1917 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, being appointed a flying officer on 6 December, with seniority from 23 October. Posted to No. 22 Squadron RFC, he scored twenty-four victories as an observer in the Bristol F.2 Fighter, between November 1917 and April 1918.
No.DateOpponentLocationPilot
129 November 1917Two-seaterNorth-west of Lille2nd Lieutenant W. G. Pudney
26 December 1917Albatros D.VHaubourdin2nd Lieutenant W. G. Pudney
36 March 1918Albatros D.VDouaiSergeant Ernest Elton
46 March 1918Albatros D.VSouth-east of DouaiSergeant Ernest Elton
511 March 1918Albatros D.VVendeville–FachesSergeant Ernest Elton
611 March 1918Albatros D.VKnokkeSergeant Ernest Elton
713 March 1918Pfalz D.IIISouth-west of LilleSergeant Ernest Elton
813 March 1918Pfalz D.IIISouth-west of LilleSergeant Ernest Elton
916 March 1918Pfalz D.IIIOigniesLieutenant William Wells
1016 March 1918Pfalz D.IIIOigniesLieutenant William Wells
1116 March 1918Albatros D.VBeaumontLieutenant William Wells
1218 March 1918Albatros D.VCarvin2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
1324 March 1918Albatros D.VChérisy2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
1424 March 1918Albatros D.VVis-en-Artois2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
1526 March 1918Pfalz D.IIIEast of Albert2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
1626 March 1918Pfalz D.IIIEast of Albert2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
1729 March 1918Albatros D.VGuillaucourt2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
182 April 1918Albatros D.VVauvillers2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
192 April 1918Fokker Dr.IVauvillers2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
2012 April 1918Pfalz D.IIISouth-west of Sailly2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
2112 April 1918Pfalz D.IIISouth-west of Sailly2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
2212 April 1918Pfalz D.IIISailly2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
2322 April 1918Albatros D.VEast of Merville2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare
2422 April 1918Albatros D.VEast of Merville2nd Lieutenant Frank Weare

In July 1918 he was awarded the Military Cross. His citation read:

Post-war career

Hayward left the Royal Air Force on 17 May 1919, when he was transferred to the unemployed list. However, on 24 October 1919 he was granted a short-service commission in the RAF as an observer officer.
By early 1920 he was in India surveying the main civil air route between Delhi and Karachi. On 1 December 1923 Hayward, by now a Flying Officer, was posted to the RAF Depot, pending assignment, and on 1 March 1924 he was posted to No. 2 Flying Training School at RAF Duxford.

Death

No.2 FTS moved to RAF Digby, Lincolnshire, in June 1924. There, on 15 August, Hayward was instructing Pilot Officer Charles Victor Breakey in an Avro 504K, when their aircraft suffered an engine failure and plunged into the ground. Both men died later that day from their injuries.