27-581: Captain Arthur Whitehair Vigers MC , DFC (20 January 1890 – September 1968) was a British World War I flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories . He was the third ranking of the 27 aces who flew the Sopwith Dolphin , and the highest scoring ace in his squadron. Vigers was born in Isleworth , Middlesex , the son of Thomas William Vigers and Margaret Mary (née Whitehair), and
54-582: A Sopwith Gnu . However, he was forestalled by Lieutenant Arthur Leonard Long , who flew his Boulton Paul P.9 biplane from Stanley, Tasmania , to Melbourne on the 17th. On 26 December 1919 Vigers took part in an air display organised by the Larkin Company at the Epsom racecourse, Mordialloc , to an audience of about 10,000. It began with Vigers, flying a Sopwith Dove , in a mock dogfight with Captain Roy King , in
81-528: A Sopwith Gnu. There was then an air race between Vigers, King, and Long, in his Boulton Paul. The race, the first in Australia, was flown over the 37 miles (60 km) from the racecourse to a balloon tethered over Wirths' Park and back. Vigers won, but owing to a misunderstanding regarding the finish, Long and Vigers re-flew the race, with Long winning this time. Captain Gordon Campbell Wilson then made
108-641: A flying officer (observer), with seniority from 1 February 1917. He flew as an observer in No. 15 Squadron RFC , and was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1917. He then trained as a pilot, and was appointed a flying officer on 16 November 1917. He was posted to No. 87 Squadron RAF to fly the Sopwith Dolphin single-seat fighter. He gained his first victories on 3 June 1918, shooting down two enemy fighter aircraft. On 10 August he accounted for three more, taking his total to five and making him an ace. He shot down three in August, and
135-617: A forced landing, but in avoiding crowds on the ground, hit telegraph wires, flipping the aircraft over, and smashing it into the ground. The two men were extricated from the wreckage, but Nunn died from his injuries a few days later. At the inquest it was proved that a fractured piston had caused the accident, and that Vigers was in no way to blame. By June Vigers had recovered from his injuries, and took his Sopwith Gnu with three passengers to an altitude of 15,200 feet (4,600 m), setting an Australian record for an aeroplane carrying more than one person. In August Vigers set off in his Sopwith Gnu on
162-465: A parachute descent from the Gnu at about 2,000 feet (610 m), and Vigers made a mock attack on the racecourse, and gave an exhibition of aerobatics. On 2 January 1920 Vigers took off from Glen Huntly to fly to various resorts around Port Phillip . In the passenger seat was Phillip Roff Nunn, an 18-year-old student from Elsternwick . However, on approaching Mornington , his engine failed. Vigers attempted
189-486: A proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be recommended posthumously. The award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of captain or below and for warrant officers . The first 98 awards were gazetted on 1 January 1915, to 71 officers, and 27 warrant officers. Although posthumous recommendations for the Military Cross were unavailable until 1979,
216-628: A temporary captain on 1 May 1919. Vigers left the RAF and moved to Australia, where he worked for the Sopwith Larkin Aviation Company , which had been founded by Herbert Joseph Larkin , who had served alongside Vigers as a flight commander in No. 87 Squadron. On 15 December 1919 Vigers announced his intention to make the first flight over the Bass Strait , from Melbourne to Launceston, Tasmania , in
243-647: A two-week tour of Victoria with Howard Jolley and Dr J. Webb from the Life Insurance Company of Australia as passengers. However, on 2 August, while taking off from Kerang , the aircraft crashed. Fortunately no one was injured. In mid-March 1923 Vigers flew the last of the Avro aeroplanes built by the Australian Aircraft & Engineering Company from Sydney to Melbourne. In May Vigers was surveying an air route from Adelaide to Sydney via Melbourne on behalf of
270-564: Is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces , and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land" to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank. In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II approved
297-658: The 2021 census . It is a small suburb, approximately 1 km from north to south and 800 metres east to west at its widest point. Its borders are Neerim Road in the north, Booran Road in the west, Grange Road in the east and Woodville Avenue and Oakleigh Road in the south. Glen Huntly is named after a ship, the Glen Huntly , that arrived in Port Phillip in April 1840, after setting off from Greenock , Scotland carrying 157 new immigrants, skilled manual labourers who were heading for
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#1732858081353324-604: The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross . The Military Cross was designed by Henry Farnham Burke , while its ribbon was created by Victoria Ponsonby, Baroness Sysonby . In the Medal Yearbook 2015 it is described as follows: Since 1914, over 52,000 Military Crosses and 3,717 bars have been awarded. The dates below reflect the relevant London Gazette entries: In addition, approximately 375 MCs have been awarded since 1979, including awards for Northern Ireland ,
351-663: The Defence Department . He and Air Mechanic G. Held successfully flew their Airco DH.9 from Sydney to Adelaide, but on the return flight crashed at Jerrawa near Yass . The aircraft was wrecked, but both men escaped with only minor injuries. Vigers also worked for the Qantas Aerial Mail Service, until leaving in May 1924. In November 1925 he was working for the West Australian Mail Service, taking part in
378-676: The Falklands , and the wars in the Persian Gulf , Iraq , and Afghanistan . The above table includes awards to the Dominions: Glen Huntly, Victoria Glen Huntly is a suburb in Melbourne , Victoria , Australia , 11 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District , located within the City of Glen Eira local government area . Glen Huntly recorded a population of 4,905 at
405-553: The Frankston railway line . The 2016 census showed that the median age of people in Glen Huntly was 32 years. Children 0 – 14 years made up 13.4% of the population and those aged 65 years and over made up 10.6% of the population. 38.2% of people living in Glen Huntly were born in Australia and then the next most common countries of birth were India 20.0%, China 9.3%, South Africa 2.3%, England 2.0% and Ukraine 1.4. The census listed
432-534: The 1993 review of the honours system , as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in awards for bravery the Military Medal , formerly the third-level decoration for other ranks , was discontinued. The MC is now the third-level award for all ranks of the British Armed Forces for "exemplary gallantry" on land, not to the standard required to receive the Victoria Cross (for "the most conspicuous bravery") or
459-614: The Cross were entitled to use the post-nominal letters MC, and bars could be awarded for further acts of gallantry meriting the award, with a silver rosette worn on the ribbon when worn alone to denote the award of each bar. From September 1916, members of the Royal Naval Division , who served alongside the Army on the Western Front , were made eligible for military decorations, including
486-460: The Military Cross, for the war's duration. Naval officers serving with the division received 140 MCs and eight second award bars. In June 1917, eligibility was extended to temporary majors , not above the substantive rank of captain. Substantive majors were made eligible in 1953. In 1931, the award was extended to equivalent ranks in the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground. After
513-719: The Second World War, most Commonwealth countries created their own honours system and no longer recommended British awards. The last Military Cross awards for the Canadian Army were for Korea. The last four Australian Army Military Cross awards were promulgated in The London Gazette on 1 September 1972 for Vietnam as was the last New Zealand Army Military Cross award, which was promulgated on 25 September 1970. Canada , Australia and New Zealand have now created their own gallantry awards under their own honours systems. Since
540-419: The first awards included seven posthumous awards, with the word 'deceased' after the name of the recipient, from recommendations that had been raised before the recipients died of wounds or died from other causes. Awards are announced in The London Gazette , apart from most honorary awards to allied forces in keeping with the usual practice not to gazette awards to foreigners. From August 1916, recipients of
567-511: The new colony settled in Melbourne. Fever, most likely typhoid , struck the ship mid journey and 10 died before reaching Port Phillip Bay. The Glen Huntly was forced to land at Little Red Bluff (now Point Ormond ) where Victoria's first quarantine station, consisting of tents, was set up to deal with the crisis. Three more men died at the camp. Supplies and provisions were brought down a dirt track that became Glen Huntly Road. The official name of
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#1732858081353594-649: The regular army. On 11 July 1915 Vigers was appointed a temporary lieutenant. He received a mention in despatches for "gallant and distinguished service in the field" from Field-Marshal John French , the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in France on 30 November 1915, and on 14 January 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross . On 12 May 1917 Vigers was seconded for duty with Royal Flying Corps , being appointed
621-462: The suburb is Glen Huntly, as shown in the Victorian Register of Geographic Names. Since its foundation, the suburb has been known at various times as Glen Huntly (two words) and Glenhuntly (one word) and this still causes confusion; a glance at various local businesses names reveals both versions being used. Glen Huntly railway station opened on 19 December 1881 as Glen Huntly Road. The station
648-647: The transportation by air of a body from Fitzroy Crossing on a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) flight to Perth , Western Australia, for burial. Vigers married Marjorie Frances Vigers, of Kippington House, Sevenoaks, at St. Mary's Church, Kippington, Sevenoaks , Kent , on 10 August 1929. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. Vigers died in Bunbury, Western Australia , in September 1968. Military Cross The Military Cross ( MC )
675-533: Was appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 1 September, going on to account for six more aircraft that month. On 1 November 1918 Vigers was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . His citation read: Vigers remained with No. 87 Squadron after the Armistice, receiving a second mention in despatches from Field-Marshal Sir Douglas Haig on 16 March 1919, and was again appointed
702-695: Was educated at Mill Hill School , London. In 1908 he enlisted into the London Cable Signal Company, part of the London District Signals , a Territorial Force unit of the Royal Engineers Signal Service . Vigers was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the London Cable Signal Company on 5 September 1914, and on 9 December 1914 he was one of the many officers from the London Signal Companies who were seconded to
729-442: Was renamed Glen Huntly on 1 September 1882, and then Glenhuntly on 20 April 1937. When the station was temporarily closed in April 2023 to remove the level crossing it was announced that the new station would revert to Glen Huntly. The Glen Huntly Post Office opened in 1907 as Glenhuntly Post Office before the name was changed to the current name in 1993. The suburb is serviced by tram route 67 and Glen Huntly railway station on
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