Rupert Atkinson (RAF officer)
Captain Rupert Norman Gould Atkinson was a British World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.Biography
Rupert Atkinson was born in Shanghai, China, the elder son of John Brenan Atkinson and Amelie Sophie Gould. He was educated at Orley Farm School, Harrow, and at Marlborough College, Wiltshire. He was enrolled at Pembroke College, Cambridge in June 1914, and joined the 16th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment in September.
On 2 December 1914 he received his commission as a temporary Second Lieutenant in the 15th Middlesex Regiment. On 28 July 1915, he was sent to Cameroon, where he was attached to the West African Frontier Force in the Kamerun Campaign. Atkinson was eventually invalided back to England, arriving at Liverpool aboard the on 2 April 1916.
In August 1916 Atkinson joined the Royal Flying Corps, receiving Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate No.3646 at the military flying school at Brooklands on 28 September.
He arrived at the Western Front in November 1916, joining 10 Squadron RFC. He was promoted to captain in July 1917, becoming a flight commander shortly afterwards.
Atkinson was engaged in reconnaissance, night-bombing, and ground attacks, and was awarded the Military Cross on 18 October 1917. His citation reads:
Between May and October 1918 while flying an Airco DH.9 and serving with 98 Squadron RAF, and later with 206 Squadron RAF, Atkinson scored five aerial victories.
On 2 November 1918 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross:
After the end of hostilities he served with the occupation forces in Cologne, Germany, in 90 Squadron RAF.
On 7 March 1919, while at home on leave, Atkinson died from pneumonia following influenza. He is buried in the cemetery of the Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.
He was awarded a bar to his DFC on 30 May 1919, and the Croix de guerre from Belgium on 11 July 1919, both posthumously.
| No. | Date | Unit | Aircraft | Opponent | Location |
| 1 | 19 May 1918 | 98 Sqn. | D.H.9 | Fokker Dr.I | NW. of Roulers |
| 2 | 19 May 1918 | 98 Sqn. | D.H.9 | Pfalz D.III | NW. of Roulers |
| 3 | 30 August 1918 | 206 Sqn. | D.H.9 | Fokker D.VII | Nieppe |
| 4 | 4 September 1918 | 206 Sqn. | D.H.9 | Balloon | Frelinghien |
| 5 | 14 October 1918 | 206 Sqn. | D.H.9 | Fokker D.VII | Lendelede |
