MERSHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETYWORLD WAR I EXPERIENCES OF GILBERT INSALL VC MC AND

JACK INSALL

Gilbert was the oldest (at 20) of three brothers and one sister living in Paris on the outbreak of WWI. Jack was the middle brother, Cecil was the youngest at 16 and Esme was their sister. Their father (also Gilbert) was a dentist with a successful practice which had just been relocated from rue Cambon to rue Blanche in Paris. Their mother was Mary Insall.

On 4 August 1914 the family had secured passage on The Maid of Kent which was to be the final non-naval crossing of the English Chanel. When the ship was about half way across the message was given out that war was declared between Britain and Germany at 11pm on 3 August.

The family stayed with relatives (an Uncle) in Surrey and intended to return to France as soon as possible. But that did not prove to be the case due to the rapid devaluation of the Franc. Imber, Sevington was the family home until 1946.

The following is a summary of the wartime activities of Gilbert and Jack. Cecil and Esme joined the Red Cross which as ambulance drivers.

Joining Up

Just a few weeks into the war volunteers were called for the Navy and Army. Gilbert and Jack felt that they could do no worse than offer their services as their education was at the Sorbonne and both were fluent in French.

Training lasted until spring 1915 when the War Office asked for volunteers to join the Royal Flying Corps. The brothers joined up on the strength of three passenger flights of 10 minutes in total between them. When living in France before the war the brothers had cycled out to Versailles and the vast Issy grounds. It was here where Bleriot prepared for his famous 1909 crossing of the English Channel but during his preparations Gilbert and Jack never saw his plane rise further than 5 feet in the air, nor did it stay airborne for more than 30 seconds.

Gilbert Insall

Jack Insall

Tuition

Pilots in the RFC required a “ticket” or membership of the Royal Aero Club. Some pilots took 2-3 days to secure their ticket and just one was given his ticket after just 10 minutes flying time such was the pressing need for pilots. Pilots were assessed and earnt their tickets at Brooklands racing circuit. One racer did not make it; he had notched up 90 mph at Brooklands but did not earn his ticket for heavy-handedness.

The test involved the following. A tennis court sized rectangle was marked up with tape. The pilot took off rose to 500’ and flew two successive figures of “8”. He then landed, took off to 450’, switched the engine off and then land after an engineless decent.

The ticket itself was a printed statement “The Royal Aero Club respectively requests all civil, naval and military authorities, including the police, to aid and assist him.” This was printed in 6 languages, including German. Quite what the Royal Aero Club expected Germans to do can be left to the imagination.

The next stage was gaining “Wings” or the right to wear the double winged insignia from the RFC. This required a move to Netheravon. This involved a good number of practice take-offs and landings and it was at this stage of events that Jack Insall had a difficulty.

During practice landings, Jack came up short and touched down in ruts causing his Vickers FB5 to bounce high into the air, overturn and knock him out. He took 10 days R&R and in the course of the next 48 hours took 7 practice flights with a trainer but could not land successfully. After careful consideration with his CO, he opted to join the Observer Corps. The Observer role was to act as navigator, gunner and general support to the pilot.

Vickers FB 5

Proving Flights

Once Jack had adopted his role as an observer he accompanied many new pilots on proving flights before they met action. One such was with a Maori on the front between Albert and Bapaume. They flew into “mother of pearl” obscurity when one wing started to sink alarmingly but the pilot applied overcorrection so Jack spent the next few minutes with arms outstretched to tell the pilot which wings to hoist with the available strapping. The Maori pilot pulled out an excellent landing but in quagmire. The plane sank to its axles and turned head over heels. The pilot released his harness and was thrown from the plane but Jack Insall was left trapped inside his cockpit, with his head in his knees. Soldiers arrive from a nearby village to hoist the plane and as he was being pulled out a second plan attempted a landing on the same field and despite warnings not to land they were unable to abort and whilst both in the second plane were not killed they were very badly smashed up.

First Action: Directing Artillery Fire by Wireless

During 1912 the war Office sent out staff to Flanders to identify suitable flat fields near to farm buildings which could act as airfields during the impended war. There was no provision for accommodation for pilots and observers. For one cold winter a tent in an orchard had to suffice. Mattresses were borrowed from the farmer and daytime clothing was spread, one across another on top of the cloth lining from service suitcases. There was surprisingly no report of frostbite during the cold winter of 1915.

In the early days the main role of the RFC was to direct artillery fire through wireless communication. The wireless communication required 100’ of copper wire to trail under or behind the plane. The wire required a lead weight to keep it vertical but it had a tendency to circle and loop mid-air with a tendency to strike the stern of the aeroplane, particularly when being wound up at the end of operations on to a small spool. Jack Insall describes of landing “frozen and festooned within copper wire at the centre of a gigantic cat’s cradle of fantastically kinked copper.”

Each trip lasted 20 minutes or so and required a good deal of twisting, turning and slide-slipping to avoid anti-aircraft fire. Not a single fragment of shell caused any meaningful damage to their planes during this period even though bursting between 50-60’ away. The worse result was a handful of tears in the canvas wings. There was one grim event when a 9mm bullet from a Mauser hit the plane and became embedded in the 3-ply seat. This was shot by a marksman from 2,000’ below.

There were 22 forced landings due to engine failure, not one on the wrong side of the lines but a good number on the deserted “secondary” no-man’s land. This was deserted area behind lines previously no-man’s land proper the location of which varied as the trenches moved. As a consequent such

areas were festooned with rusty barbed wire. Cigarettes became a requirement to relive the inevitable tension. The form in such events was for one to remain with the plane and light a bonfire. The other was dispatched seek out help.

First Enemy Encounter

At the southern end of a patrol above the Somme a pale blue LVG 2 seat biplane was spotted by observer Jack with the distinctive black Maltese Cross the insignia of the German Air Service. The plane was 1,500’ below and fire was held until the pilot indicated that there was a risk of collision. The German’s observer wore a black leather jacket and had his rifle aimed at Jack but Jack was able to fire a series of short 5 bullet rounds at which point the German pilot headed sharply for the ground in a fast dive. Jack put in a new drum of ammunition and emptied half of it when just 30-40’ away. A bright white light appeared where the black jacketed German was previously and the plane headed on to the ground. Jack’s plane circled for 5 minutes looking for wreckage from 3,000’ but could not see any. Later reports were that the plane struck the ground in a full nose dive.

Coal mining at Arras

Jack was next billeted to Arras, a mining area. What struck him each day was the endless stream of miners, some helmeted, some not, who tramped past his billet at the start and end of each shift. Many limped having been discharged from the army after active service. Their silence weighed them down with the cares of the world. There was clearly little in their lives to give them cause for elation.

Gas

Gas was an ever present danger in the area and it was the job of the observer to report the opaque clouds gusting into allied lines when the wind swung. This was typically the allied gas which blew back onto their own trenches.

A Birds eye vista of Arras, Flanders 25 September 1915

The job of the day was aerial photography. A German shell alighted on the western slope of the Cathedral roof. A hole appeared. A white flash lit up the interior. White stonework and slates started flying.

Arras Cathedral

A Duel in the Sky with Max Immelmann

Allied pilots became rather tired of the German Air Services’ foremost fighter-pilot Max Immelmann. He flew a Fokker monoplane. By chance a specimen of this aircraft lost its way and landed intact on the Allied side. It was put under immediate test and found to be inferior in both speed and manoeuvrability but superior in climb and armament. The proposal was that given this information Immelmann should be challenged to a duel. The following were found in the WWI files:

To No 11 Squadron.With reference to the attached message, the following instructions issued are for your information.No 13 Squadron has received orders to drop 6 copies of this message at various points in the German lines as soon as possible: No 11 Squadron will arrange for an officer to be at the rendezvous daily, weather permitting.Captain for Officer Commanding 3rd Wing RFC

In the Field15 November 2015A British Officer-pilot is anxious to meet the redoubtable Captain Immelmann in fair fight. The suggested rendezvous is a point above the first line of trenches just east of Hebuterne. The British Officer will be there from 10am to 11am daily from November 15th until November 30th, weather permitting. It is understood that only one aeroplane can be sent to this challenge and that no anti-aircraft guns may fire at either combatant.Captain for Officer Commanding 3rd Wing RFC

There is no record in the War Office of the message being dropped but when a crew of a downed aircraft were interrogated they were asked for the identity of the British selection so clearly the request was passed to the enemy.

Capt. CC Darley scraps with Immelman

Darley a member of Jack and Gilbert’s squadron took off in momentarily lifting fog with sandbags as ballast in the observer’s seat and returned with a detailed report of a large concentration of enemy troops having flown over them at a negligible height. Shortly after this was involved in a scrap with the infamous Immelmann. In the course of the engagement part of one of Darley’s thumb was severed by a bullet and he was forced to land behind German lines. Immelmann landed near him, completed the severance with his pocket knife and shipped Darley off to hospital. Darley spent the rest of the war in a series of PoW hospitals finally being invalided to Switzerland. After the war he recovered and was still a serving officer with the RAF in the 1920’s and was awarded the Albert Medal for gallantry for rescuing his brother, a naval pilot, when their plane hit a tree and caught fire in Italy. He finally rose to air commodore.

Billeted near the Chateau de Bertangle

The Chateau was owned by the Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre. The Marquis was unique because he lived with a German Governess whose position must have been protected as nobody in the French or British army took action against her. In addition he owned a large flock of pedigree pigeons. In wartime France owning a single pigeon was forbidden under French military law. The conundrum of the Marquis’ complete immunity was never resolved.

As part of the pre-offensive preparations for the Somme offensive in spring 1916 two things stuck out. One was the tendency for senior officers to lapse into speaking in Punjabi (typically Colonels ex of the Raj in India) to keep the secrets of the forthcoming Somme offensive secret and the frequent appearance of roast pigeon on the menu.

The Marquis was greatly troubled by his pigeons being eaten and blamed the larcenous character of the kitchen staff but the explanation was more prosaic. Civilians needed passes from the army before they could venture into Amiens for shopping. Monthly trips were normally all that were permitted but the German Governess was in desperate need of new underwear and fortnightly visits were required. These were given on the understanding the Governess turned a blind eye to losing a few more of the pigeons.

Chateau Bertangles

7th November 1915, Gilbert awarded a VC

Whilst on a special patrol Gilbert spotted a German kite-balloon operating behind the German lines at 7,000’. By the time he reached the balloon he was out of line to fire and had to abandon the attempt to drop an incendiary bomb on it. A battery opened fire and although the battery missed his Vickers, Gilbert was able to pinpoint its position for future reference.

He spotted a hostile machine flying 2,000’ above him flying down the trench line and succeeded to give the impression from his manoeuvres that he intended to return to Allied lines and not press his incursion into German territory further. The ruse was successful and when the German aircraft was within range Gilbert’s observer, TH Donald fired his Lewis gun.

The German banked and dived away towards the battery. Gilbert put the Vickers into a power dive at well above its normal dive speed and emptied a whole drum of ammunition into the enemy whose engine stopped. Both pursuer and pursued entered cloud and when the Vickers emerged they saw the German coming heavily to earth in a ploughed field. Both Germans emerged but the Vickers opened fire and one German lagged behind as though injured.

Picture of Gilbert’s VC win

Their next target was the stranded aeroplane, releasing the fire-bomb intended for the kite-balloon. The bombs ignite when released and fall burning and they saw the German machine enveloped in smoke.

The Vickers ran the gauntlet of intense fire so the aim was to climb without losing too much speed aiming for first the German reserve trenches and then aim for the British side of the line. Bullet after bullet hit the wings and framework and then one hit the fuel tank just as the Vickers was in no-man’s land. Gilbert steered the Vickers over a small wood in Agny, south of Arras and made a safe landing a few hundred yards behind the front line in an area controlled by the French. Then followed shelling, directed by a German aeroplane sent to direct the fire.

By nightfall a rescue party arrived from Bertangles by French soldiers with a new tank and tarpaulins and repairs begun. The French also begun filling in the craters left by the shelling so the plane could take off once the repairs had been effected. By the next morning Gilbert took off without Donald as his intention was to show himself to the enemy and draw fire from the German machine guns which would be aimed towards the French soldiers who had assist with repairs. The French all needed to throw themselves flat on the ground to avoid the fire.

December 1915 – Gilbert goes Missing in Action

Whilst on patrol over Albert – the town of the leaning Virgin – Donald and Gilbert saw an enemy biplane approaching from the east and both planes were hit and disabled in combat almost immediately. A bullet from the German hit the Vickers engine. By then they were flying west of Bapaume and with only a faint hope of reaching the Allied lines Gilbert put the Vickers into a shallow dive to make the most of its gliding power. Anti-aircraft fire exploded beneath the plane and the base of the shell exploded upwards and lodged itself through the fuselage in Gilbert’s buttock. He was rendered unconscious but regained consciousness to effect a safe landing near Achiet. Gilbert attempted to prime and electrically fire Tube Bomb to destroy the plane but before this plan could be implemented a German arrived with a Mauser aimed at him.

One of the German stretcher bearers was known to Gilbert, both having played on opposite sides in Hockey teams when Gilbert was at University. The venue of the match was Hanover and it was to take Gilbert two years to escape from the PoW camp in Hanover.

Rat hunting

Rats were a big problem in the trenches of WWI and one inadequate solution was to hold rat hunts. Soldiers and pilots were shut in cow sheds and pig-sties and were unable to leave until no rats remained alive inside the building. Weapons were crookless ground-ash walking sticks which were used in the army in place of regular swagger sticks and had a leather loop at the handling end. A rat league was established and the leader bagged 19 corpses.

An example of inadequate training

A Vickers fighter was moving outside the aerodrome being prepared for flight. The pilot’s lack of experience showed because he turned into the wind for take-off too early. He should have delayed until at least three-quarters down the take-off strip. After take-off, 120 yards away from the aerodrome, he forgot about a power line ranging between buildings at 3-4’ above the roofs. He had insufficient height to clear the wire, and when he saw the wire he banked and the wing tips touched the ground. There was a mammoth ball of dust and debris and noise of snapping wood which resulted in the body of a spayed man 50’ from Jack who was observing all of this.

Jack squatted beside the man with his right had pinned in his, both were powerless to break the hold and either tried while a meaningless whimper came from the injured man’s lips. There was no question of Jack disengaging himself and he found himself half sitting and standing in the back of the ambulance on an interminable ride to the casualty station, right hand still held in a vice like grip. The grip only eased on arrival to the hospital where the overwhelming stench of ether and blood caused Jack a violent attack of nausea.

Gilbert writes to Jack

The Red Cross organisation wrote to Jack on a buff postcard that Gilbert was a prisoner and was wounded. The Germans permitted prisoners to write but they were of course censored although careful drafting enabled Jack to conclude that Gilbert was being held near to Cologne but the gist was clear that Jack needed to send Gilbert maps showing anything approaching neutral frontiers such as Holland.

By that time Jack was a Wing-adjutant so access to maps was not difficult and he finally selected 30 huge sheets which made up a roll four feet long with the girth of a telegraph pole. These covered the Dutch frontier near to Aachen. Each were reduced photographically and printed in tissue paper about the size of a birth certificate. Jack just now needed a plan to get the maps to Gilbert.

Jack gets injured

Jack received a parcel from one of the squadrons containing a drum full of machine gun ammunition removed from a Lewis gun that had jammed during firing. The request was that a complaint was to be lodged with the manufacturer that the calibration of the cartridges had caused the problem. It was clear that one or two of the bullets had been severely mauled and when they fell off the table it went off with aloud “Crack!” and something struck Jack in the left eye.

The Hospital Medical Officer was told by the Colonel in Charge to whip out the eye so he could clear all walking wounded from the hospital to allow for an influx from the Somme. The MO refused and attempted some delicate surgery which involved the eyeball being scooped out held in pliers and the then trimming off three minute fragments of iris that were protruding from the surface of the eyeball.

The eyeball was saved but the he now became a one-eyed spectator on the seamier side of the wartime aviator’s life where he encountered dreadfully maimed and disfigured members of the RFC on return to London and treatment.

The battles of the Somme (1st July 1916 to 14th November 1916) raged while Jack recuperated in London with the RFC aircrafts increasing from 270 to 637. A return to service involved a posting to British Aeronautical Supply Depot in the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

French Intelligence Assist with Gilbert’s escape

Communications from Gilbert continued, after his letter reporting him being in hospital in Cologne he moved to Fort Prinz Karl, Ingolstadt then to Heidelberg. Escape attempts and names of fellow RFC prisoners were given in invisible ink along with news of an operation for appendicitis without aesthetic due to shortages in Germany.

There was code in the letter asking Jack to apply heat to the envelopes. A mass of microscopic writing sprung up on all but one of the envelopes by the use of a domestic flat iron. Gilbert had established that the German censors diligently examined all letters but never bothered with the envelopes! In one letter there was mention of a French Intelligence Officer who concerned himself with assisting prisoners to escape. Their father returned to Paris to make inquiries amongst his many acquaintances and patients to identify the man but to no avail. His mother Mary joined the Red Cross.

Jack called on the French and Allied War Ministry, Military Attaché at the British Embassy all to no avail.

The Heidelberg escape attempt

Gilbert’s latest letter informed of an unsuccessful escape from Heidelberg by means of a 40 yard tunnel laboriously excavated over a period of many weeks under a perimeter wall and wire. He was then snowed up in the Black Forest and recaptured when sheltering in a woodcutter’s cave.

Gilbert was now at Krefeld just 10 miles from the Dutch border and an opportunity presented itself for some assistance with the maps. The identity of the French Officer was doubly important to relay the details of the Heidelberg tunnel to new inmates via French Intelligence so they could make use of it.

A chance encounter

Mary and Esme Insall were by now active members of the Paris Red Cross and Mary arranged a tea-party with representatives of the RFC at which Jack overheard women talking of the Mission Analgise. Jack arranged an interview but they knew nothing of the mysterious French Officer. Here a remarkable set of events were set in train. When leaving the meeting at the Mission at the War Ministry it was raining and Jack left his coat with the concierge. His eye injury caused him to wear a black monocle. As he struggled into his coat a French Military Policeman who was stood watching gloomily the rain turned and Jack cannoned into him. On the spur of the moment after apologising for his clumsiness Jack asked the policeman of the French Officer, explained that his brother was looking to escape. Yes, he knew the officer and arrange an almost instant meeting just a few yards away.

The French Officer (who was never given a name in any reports) knew of the tunnel at Heidelberg which he reported at 45 (not 40 yards – note the attention to detail) yards long. The tunnel took months to construct, was dug at night with the aid of a screwdriver and extended from the basement bread store, in daily use by camp staff, to the far end of the perimeter wall. Excavated soil was stacked under the roof of the barracks, two or more tons. A German guard stepped on a weak part of the tunnel roof and it fell in. Other than that during the hue and cry of the escape it might never of been discovered. It had its own hand driven ventilating system, lighting was given by concocted candles.

The officer went on to share his knowledge at Krefeld. French PoW’s had made a tennis court to the side of which was a box seat used to store equipment and conceal a PoW who would begin digging during the tennis matches. The purpose was to create a tunnel to reach the fence. At the time of

telling the tale no more than 10” of tunnel remained to be dug but the French prisoners had been moved replaced with English PoWs and the purpose was to find a way of telling Gilbert of the tunnel so he could finish it. Gilbert’s first idea was to have photographs and instructions on sepia tissue and wrapped into cheroots. A better idea emerged and found a non-relative who assembled a range of pastime items which included dominoes to be sent to Gilbert. It was felt that items from a non-relative would come under less scrutiny. The domino sets were doctored by Cecil (an expert in such matters) who removed the rivets which secured the ivory to their ebony base and then scoop out enough ebony to create a void for the sepia pictures.

However the dominoes were so well doctored that they showed no evidence of being altered when they arrived and Gilbert was left to his own plans to escape.

The Krefeld escape attempt

The Germans had wind of a mass escape and all personal effects were loaded up on to a laundry cart. Gilbert slipped away from the group loading the carts and changed into his escaping mufti, climbed into the cart and lay low. The walking out mufti consisted of a lining created for his service jacket out of a grey flannel shirt sent to him by the Queen Alexandra Organisation. They were not found by the bayonet prodding on leaving the cart nor were they given away by the driver who was too frightened of being accused of complicity to raise the alarm.

Unchallenged they walked through the town, speeding up when someone approached them but were given away by a bright boy on a bicycle who gathered a hostile crowd until the German army arrived. From then he was moved to Hanover and a new plan needed to be developed.

The French Officer did advise how better to extract information form the envelopes and advised the use of two solutions and more handwriting emerged immediately.

Successful escape from Hanover

Gilbert requested wire cutters capable of cutting half inch diameter wire. These were smuggled in to Hanover with the aid of Huntley and Palmers tins. It was important to remove the lids without cutting the paper that protected the biscuits. This was achieved by wrapping the tins in hot towels which softened the glue and allowed the contents to be removed and be easily reassembled. Half the contents were removed and replaced with the cutter parts. Once the tin was re-assembled it became quite impossible to identify any sign of interference. The weight label needed to be replaced with the new heavier weight and a parcel number given to Gilbert in code in correspondence.

By the summer of 1917 the cutters were dispatched and Jack awaited the results. In August 1917 Gilbert reported himself at the British Embassy in The Hague after 9 nights walking 150 miles from Hanover. His escape was painstaking and required the design, manufacture and disguising of a trap door let into the floor of the ablution block which prisoners only had access to a fixed times of the day. They hid in the floor of the ablution block and remained hidden through the day while the search for them took place. At nightfall they prised up the lid of their hiding place but that took time as the last German Officer on the search had left the ablution block door open so it rested on the trap door and Gilbert had to force the door clear using a blade. Once escaped they took 9 days to march to Holland with a small supply of biltong and Horlicks tablets for food. They crossed the border at Enschede and only realised it when they saw a lad on a bicycle with tyres which were unavailable in Germany due to shortages.

Gilbert received a fine reception when he returned to Paris but first he had to go to London for debriefing and interrogation while his parents had travelled to Paris to meet him. August was a long month for his parents waiting in Paris while Gilbert was debriefed in London.

After his return to Paris Jack and Gilbert met with the French Officer (still with no name) and debriefed the French Officer with all he knew.

After the War

Imber, Sevington in the 1930’s with Gilbert Senior, Mary and Richard his grandson

Jack became a Trustee for the Imperial War Museum.

Gilbert Insall VC MC pictured at the National Portrait Gallery

Gilbert continued to serve in the RAF his postings included as TE Lawrence’s Station Commander, a command of the 4 Flying Training School at Abu Sueir in Egypt and during WWII he commanded RAF Padgate and No 11 RAF Recruits Centre in Skegness.

Gilbert Insall VC MC (right) with Duke of Kent in 1941

In his spare time took up aerial archaeology. He discovered Woodhenge, two miles from Stonehenge in 1925 and Arminghall Henge in Norfolk.

Woodhenge

Imber got its name from the forced 1943 evacuation of a small village in Wilshire called Imber by the army who needed somewhere to practice hand to hand fighting for the invasion

Imber, Wiltshire then and now