Featured Article Summary #161

Cedric Ernest “Spike” Howell (1896–1919) was an Australian fighter pilot and ace in the First World War. He joined the Australian Imperial Force in 1916, served on the Western Front, and later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps for flight training in the United Kingdom. After becoming a pilot, he was posted to No. 45 Squadron in France and the squadron moved to the Italian theatre two months later. Over eight months in Italy, Howell attacked ground targets and fought enemy aircraft, shooting down nineteen planes and earning major honors, including the Distinguished Service Order after a notable July 1918 fight in which he downed five enemy aircraft. He was later sent back to the United Kingdom, and in 1919 he was killed during the England to Australia air race. Flying a Martinsyde A1, he attempted an emergency landing on Corfu, but the aircraft crashed into the sea, and both he and his navigator drowned. Cedric Ernest Howell was born in Adelaide, South Australia, on 17 June 1896, to accountant Ernest Howell and Ida Caroline Hasch. He studied at the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School from 1909, taking part in the school’s Cadet unit, and finished secondary school in 1913 before working as a draughtsman. By 1914, he had a commission in the 49th (Prahran) Cadet Battalion in the Citizens Military Force as a second lieutenant. When World War I began in August 1914, Cedric Howell first tried to join the Australian Imperial Force but was rejected. After resigning from the Citizens Military Force, he was accepted in January 1916 as a private, later serving in France where he was promoted to corporal and took part in fighting around the Somme, including Pozières. In November 1916 he was selected to transfer to the Royal Flying Corps, trained in the UK, and after graduating was commissioned as a probationary second lieutenant in March 1917. He later served as a flight officer and married Cicely Elizabeth Hallam Kilby in September 1917. In October 1917, Cedric Howell joined No. 45 Squadron RFC in France, flying Sopwith Camels, and after a bout of malaria in England he gained the nickname “Spike.” The squadron moved to Italy in late December, where Howell carried out air battles and ground-attack missions, including strikes against enemy transport and later frequent raids in 1918. He became an ace with nineteen aerial victories, survived heavy gun-jamming during attacks, and was awarded the Military Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Distinguished Service Order for his gallantry, including actions during the Battle of the Piave River. He returned to the UK in late July as a flight instructor and was mentioned in despatches in October 1918. While stationed in England, Cedric Howell attended a Buckingham Palace investiture on 13 December 1918, where King George V presented him with the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross. In late 1919 he joined a prize flight to Australia in a Martinsyde aircraft with Lieutenant George Henry Fraser, but bad weather forced stops across Europe and then an attempted emergency landing near Corfu failed, leading to both men drowning. Howell’s body was later returned to Australia for a full military funeral in April 1920, and a stained-glass memorial was unveiled in his honour in 1923, later moved to another church in 2001.