2nd Lt
Ralph Luxmore Curtis

Information about birth

Date of birth:
19/03/1898
Place of birth:
Rainham, Essex, England, United Kingdom

Army information

Country:
England, United Kingdom
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Second Lieutenant
Service number:
/
Units:
 —  Royal Flying Corps, 48th Sqdn.  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
21/09/1917
Place of death:
Roeselare, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Cause of death:
Died of wounds (D.O.W.)
Age:
19

Cemetery

Harlebeke New British Cemetery
Plot: 9
Row: A
Grave: 1

Points of interest 2

#1 Place of birth
#2 Place of death (approximate)

My story

On 21 September 1917, pilot Second Lieutenant Ralph Curtis and his observer Second Lieutenant Desmond Uniacke engaged in aerial combat with pilot Hermann Göring, commander of Jasta 27, over Sleyhage, near Roeselare, West Flanders, also known as Roulers. Curtis was piloting Bristol F.2b (A7224). At 09:05, their Bristol Fighter was shot down by Göring.[12] Uniacke was captured and became a prisoner of war, and Curtis died that day in a German dressing station from the wounds that he had sustained in the combat.[4] Curtis was initially interred at Hooglede Ost German Military Cemetery in Hooglede, West Flanders.[13][14] In 1924, his remains were transferred to Harlebeke New British Cemetery in Harelbeke, West Flanders, Belgium