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Two aerial photos of Battle Wood taken by a 6 Squadron RE8, the first prior to the preparatory bombardment and the second immediately prior to the Battle of Messines 6 Squadron Aerial Photos - Battle Wood and Ypres-Comines Canal The two aerial photographs on Page 1 were taken over Battle Wood and the Ypres-Comines canal / railway line by an RE8, as part of 6 Squadron's aerial reconnaissance operations over the Western Front during WW1. The two photographs cover the same area as defined by the mapping coordinates 28. I. 36. C - an area measuring 500 yards by 500 yards. The first photograph was taken on the 29th April 1917 and the second on the 5th June 1917, after the preliminary bombardment but before the attack started on the 7th June 1917 when 19 mines were detonated beneath the German lines along the Messines ridge, from Mount Sorrel to the north and St Ives to the south. The extent of the shelling by the Allies is evident.

Map of 1894 Basingstoke, overlaid by present-day Google Earth image, as referred to in Steve Buster Johnson's books 'For God, England and Ethel' and 'Leaning on a Lamp Post' Map of Basingstoke (UK) Composite Image 1894 and 2014 Whilst researching for my book on 6 Squadron, For God, England and Ethel , I needed to determine the location of my grandfather's house. Also, for my historical novel (an autobiography) Leaning on a Lamp Post , I needed to know exactly how the town centre of Basingstoke has changed over the years and visit the locations (where possible) that featured in a major section of the story that was set in 1910. Note that the old central hub of Basingstoke - the wharf, canal and iron foundries - has long since been demolished and is currently the site of a bus station. To more easily see the layout of old Basingstoke I have attached the black and white map beneath the composite image. For a wider view of the 1894 map of Basingstoke, showing local villages as well as the main waterway leading into the old wharf, view this post on my website.

This page shows photographs of every headstone in Plot 4 of the Habbaniya Military Cemetery Plot 4 Headstones - Habbaniyah War Cemetery This page contains photographs of the sixty (60) headstones in Plot 4 of the Habbaniyah War Cemetery. The photographs appear below in Row and Grave sequence but can also be accessed directly by clicking on the name of the person of interest by via the cemetery diagram page. The background image for this page (visible on all devices except mobile 'phones) is a wide-angle photograph taken of Plot 4 at Habbaniyah. Click HERE to see a copy of this photo. Anchor 1 Anchor 2 Anchor 3 Anchor 4 Anchor 5 Anchor 6 Anchor 7 Anchor 8 Anchor 9 Anchor 10 Anchor 11 Anchor 12 Anchor 13 Anchor 14 Anchor 15 PLOT 5 HEADSTONES Anchor 16 A

Page 2 of a RFC / RAF wireless training booklet, giving the formula for the inductance of single layer coils RAF 1918 Wireless Notes - Inductance This page of the Royal Flying Corps book (wireless training notebook) shows the formula for inductance of single layer coils. The notebook was complied by my grandfather after he was invalided out of 6 Squadron and became a wireless trainer at Flowerdown, near Winchester and was in use during 1918.

Photo gallery of places, people and artefacts that were used in researching 'For God, England and Ethel' and 'Over the Western Front', by Steve Buster Johnson Research Gallery - 6 Squadron RAF Researching 6 Squadron's operations during WW1 in my books 'For God, England & Ethel' and 'Over the Western Front' Abeele Church, Belgium Abeele Church, Belgium Map of Ypres during WW1 with artillery shoots marked and matching coordinates as used by the aircraf Map of Ypres during WW1 with artillery shoots marked and matching coordinates as used by the aircraft of 6 Squadron Royal Flying Corps 'Grote Markt' - Market Square in Poperinghe, Belgium 'Grote Markt' - Market Square in Poperinghe, Belgium My grandfather, Corporal Fred Johnstone's score for a pistol test whilst on the Western Front during My grandfather, Corporal Fred Johnstone's score for a pistol test whilst on the Western Front during WW1 Small pond on the western half of the aerodrome at Abeele, Belgium, extant during WW1 when 6 Squadro Small pond on the western half of the aerodrome at Abeele, Belgium, extant during WW1 when 6 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was in residence and still there today Looking south today towards the end of the lane that bisected the aerodrome at Abeele (used to be th Looking south today towards the end of the lane that bisected the aerodrome at Abeele (used to be the entrance in WW1 for 6 Squadron and others. Folkestone Station, just off the pier, a crucial arrival/departure point for WW1 servicemen on leave Folkestone Station, just off the pier, a crucial arrival/departure point for WW1 servicemen on leave from fighting on the Western Front Talbot House, Poperinghe, the original home of Toc-H Talbot House, Poperinghe, the original home of Toc-H The White Chateau at Hollebeke, Belgium, prior to WW1 The White Chateau at Hollebeke, Belgium, prior to WW1 The White Chateau, Hollebeke, after being shelled during WW1 The White Chateau, Hollebeke, after being shelled during WW1 Captain Freddie Powell of 5 Squadron (also based at Abeele) demonstrating the new mounting for his L Captain Freddie Powell of 5 Squadron (also based at Abeele) demonstrating the new mounting for his Lewis gun on his FE8 scout. circa February 1916 Map of Western Front c1917, as printed in For God, England & Ethel, by Steve Buster Johnson Map of Western Front c1917, as printed in For God, England & Ethel, by Steve Buster Johnson Present day De Ranke coffee shop in Poperinghe, Belgium, that used to be the popular venue 'a la Pou Present day De Ranke coffee shop in Poperinghe, Belgium, that used to be the popular venue 'a la Poupee' during WW1 Large pond on the eastern half of Abeele aerodrome that was extant during WW1 when 6 Squadron was ba Large pond on the eastern half of Abeele aerodrome that was extant during WW1 when 6 Squadron was based there and is still there today. A 'Then' (1916) and 'Now' aerial photograph of Abeele aerodrome, Belgium A 'Then' (1916) and 'Now' aerial photograph of Abeele aerodrome, Belgium The inner harbour, Folkestone, England The inner harbour, Folkestone, England Abeele cemetery, created post WW1 and built on the site where the officers' and men's tents once sto Abeele cemetery, created post WW1 and built on the site where the officers' and men's tents once stood in 1916 Looking south along the access lane that split the site of the WW1 aerodrome at Abeele, Belgium Looking south along the access lane that split the site of the WW1 aerodrome at Abeele, Belgium A postcard of Godewaersvelde Station as it was in 1916 A postcard of Godewaersvelde Station as it was in 1916 All that remains of the station and level crossing at Godewaersvelde, Belgium. The whole railway tra All that remains of the station and level crossing at Godewaersvelde, Belgium. The whole railway track from St Omer to Ypres was removed in the inter-war years A post card of Godewaersvelde Station pre-WW1 (see present-day photo) A post card of Godewaersvelde Station pre-WW1 (see present-day photo) My grandfather Fred Johnstone (on the right) as manager of Botley and Lewis jewellers just before hi My grandfather Fred Johnstone (on the right) as manager of Botley and Lewis jewellers just before his retirement The final resting place of Lt Charles Sinclair Hickie 6 Squadron Royal Flyiung Corps at LIJSSENTHOEK The final resting place of Lt Charles Sinclair Hickie 6 Squadron Royal Flyiung Corps at LIJSSENTHOEK MILITARY CEMETERY, near Abeele, Belgium The swinging railway bridge crossing the inner harbour at Folkestone, England The swinging railway bridge crossing the inner harbour at Folkestone, England Julia Denneker's autograph and drawing of a BE2c in Fred Johnstone's diary (referred to in For God, Julia Denneker's autograph and drawing of a BE2c in Fred Johnstone's diary (referred to in For God, England & Ethel' A photograph of what used to be the eastern landing area of Abeele aerodrome. Note the Abeele Milita A photograph of what used to be the eastern landing area of Abeele aerodrome. Note the Abeele Military Cemetery now in the background The final resting place of Lt G E H Fincham and Lt Graham Price at the Lijssenthoek Military, killed The final resting place of Lt G E H Fincham and Lt Graham Price at the Lijssenthoek Military, killed when their BE2c Serial No: 4181 was shot down on 9th March 1916

Diagram of Western Front around Ypres , showing map grid system of Sheet 28 and two examples of airborne artillery shoots that were carried out by aircraft from 6 Squadron WW1 Army Map Artillery Grid System (with examples of Shoots) The map below is included in my books, For God England and Ethel , Over the Western Front and Rising From the Flanders Mud and shows two examples of artillery 'shoots' carried out by 6 Squadron in its time serving on the Western Front and the way in which enemy positions (or targets) could be recorded by the observer in an aircraft using a common mapping grid system and transmitted by wireless to the artillery on the ground - to an accuracy of plus/minus five yards. By flying between the battery and the target, the observer in the aircraft could then watch where the shells fell and transmit aiming corrections by means of a clock code system until the target is destroyed. There are many internet sites that explain the principles of the Clock Code, so I won't go into too much detail here. If you imagine the target as being a bullseye at the centre of eight concentric circles (Y - 10 yds, Z - 25 yds, A - 50 yds, B - 100 yds, C - 200 yds, D - 300 yds, E - 400 yds and F - 500 yds) then the observer would transmit the position of the shell burst in relation to the bullseye with the appropriate letter followed by the angle as depicted by the hours on a clock. For example, if the shell burst 70 yards to the west of the target, the observer would transmit to the battery his Squadron's call sign (J - 6 Squadron) followed by his personal number within the squadron (eg 11) followed by the battery call sign (eg AR2) followed by the correction (in this case B9) - the complete message being J11AR2B9.

This section of my website covers the restoration of the previously abandoned MaAsker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery (formerly known as the Hinaidi RAF Peace Cemetery) as well as details of the British servicemen and women who were buried there, burials occurring between 1921 and 1937. Ma' Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery (Rasheed) Hundreds of British and Commonwealth Air Force personnel died whilst serving in Mesopotamia, from the 30th July 1915 to the closing down of the last base at RAF Habbaniya on the 31st May 1959 at which time all British forces were withdrawn from Iraq. Due to British Government policy, no bodies were repatriated but instead were buried at various cemeteries in Iraq, with 300 burials recorded at the Hinaidi RAF Peace Cemetery, re-named Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery (more commonly referred to as the Rasheed Cemetery) when RAF Hinaidi was handed over to the Iraqi government in 1937. With the kind assistance of the late Peter Burlton (for many years the head researcher at the RAF Habbaniya Association who gave me access to his research notes as well as the official burial details kept by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) coupled with 'on the ground' assistance provided by the British Embassy in Baghdad and hundreds of hours of my own research, I have been able to compile a service profile for most of the 197 RAF burials at Ma'Asker as well as basic details for the other 103 Army, Navy and civilian burials. In November 2018 whilst researching a 6 Squadron RAF officer who was killed in action in Iraq 'between the wars' and was buried at Baghdad, I became aware of a long-abandoned RAF Cemetery at Hinaidi, the final resting place of 300 service personnel and civilians who died whilst serving in Iraq between 1921 and 1937. After a year of research and time-consuming but fruitless lobbying of various departments of the Royal Air Force, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the British Ministry of Defence, as a last resort I sought the help of the British High Commissioner to Iraq in Baghdad. Though my letter took five months to reach the British Embassy, I was contacted by the Defence Attaché Brigadier Adam McRae the very day it was received and we worked together as a team for the next two years two years on a project to secure the perimeter of the cemetery as a matter of urgency, thereby putting a halt to the progressive desecration of the graves, until such time as resources could be allocated by the CWGC/MoD for the restoration & replacement of the 300 headstones. Pictured above is Brigadier Adam McRae standing in front of the headstone for 8 month old baby Phoebe Marks , in October 2021. Phoebe died on the 17th July 1929 of unknown causes. Her father, an electrician with the Royal Air Force, was also buried at Ma'Asker, after being shot by a disgruntled local on the 11th September 1934 and dying the following day. Under the guidance of British Embassy staff and with the co-operation of the British Ministry of Defence and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Stage 1 of the project was completed at the end of October 2021, with a brick perimeter wall erected around the cemetery and a steel security gate installed in the Eastern wall with Commonwealth War Graves signage. A Remembrance Day service and re-dedication of the cemetery was held on site on November 11, Armistice Day, attended by Air Marshall Martin Sampson CDE, DSO, Defence Senior Advisor to the Middle East and Brigadier Adam McRae MBE, at that time the UK Defence Attaché to Iraq (both seen saluting in photograph below). During the wall-building process, 77 headstones (partial or complete) were recovered and photographs of these can be seen collectively by clicking on this page or selecting an individual headstone photo using the interactive cemetery diagram if you know the name of the dead. Stage 2 , the restoration of the cemetery to its former glory by preparing the site and eventually reinstating or re-making the headstones, was then investigated, with the contractor tasked with Stage 1 providing costings by the end of 2022 for the levelling of the complete cemetery as well moving the existing headstones to one side of the new wall where they would be clearly displayed. Despite approval being given to proceed, a temporary halt was called by the JCCC until the CWGC and the MoD could set up a team (in the 2023/24 financial year) and decide upon whether to use sub-contractors or CWGC staff. In the meantime, a local caretaker was employed to keep an eye on the cemetery. (see photo below) Click HERE for more photographs of the Remembrance Day ceremonies for 2021, 2022 and 2023 and HERE for 2024 and 2025. 197 of the 300 graves at Ma'Asker are for Royal Air Force casualties from eight RAF squadrons (1, 6, 8, 30, 45, 55, 70 and 84) as well as a variety of other ground-based RAF Units. Forty-six (46) of the burials were for pilots who had served across a combined total of more than forty Royal Air Force squadrons during their air force career, with half of this number seasoned and decorated WW1 pilots, including 4 'Aces' and 3 aviation pioneers. Apart from 197 RAF graves, there are 72 graves for British Army personnel (representing more than 20 Regiments, the RA/RFA and other British Army entities such as the Royal Signals and Army Services Corps) and 2 for Royal Navy men, a Chief Petty Officer from HMS Hastings and an Able Seaman from HMS Ormonde. There are also 29 graves for British civilian RAF contractors (24 men and 5 women) who were employed in various capacities in Baghdad and 1 grave for an 8-month-old baby girl, Phoebe Marks . However, the most significant grave at Hinaidi is for Brigadier-General Sir Gilbert Clayton KCMG KBE CB, British High Commissioner for Iraq , who died in September 1929 from a heart attack after a game of Polo. The topics covered in this section of my website include the 2021 Remembrance Day re-dedication ceremony, old and present-day photographs of the cemetery layout, photographs of the seventy-seven headstones that survived over the years, details and position of every grave as well as various searchable databases and statistics detailing the service records and honours (where applicable and/or available) for every man buried at Hinaidi. Book Reviews - Readers (old file - page soon to be deleted) Book Reviews - Trade (old file - page soon to be deleted)

6 Squadron was based in Iraq from Jul 1919 to Oct 1929 and at RAF Hinaidi, Baghdad, from Oct 1922 to May 1924 and Oct 1926 to Oct 1929 6 Squadron Stationed at RAF Hinaidi As explained on the Mesopotamia 1919 page of my website, 6 Squadron arrived in the Middle East in July 1919, equipped with the Royal Aircraft Factory RE8. These were ageing aircraft that the squadron had flown on the Western Front during the latter part of WW1, before being transported by ship to Basra via Egypt. Over the next twelve months, the RE8s were gradually replaced by new two-seater Bristol F2B Fighters, which were to remain on charge with 6 Squadron until June 1932, by which time the squadron was based in Egypt and flying the Fairy Gordon, a two-seater light bomber. In September 1919, after three months building the squadron up to full strength in the southern Iraqi port of Basra, the squadron moved north to Baghdad and operated out of the RAF base on the Baghdad West aerodrome. In February 1920, 6 Squadron was joined by the newly-reformed 30 Squadron (from 63 Squadron) and they remained there until late 1922 when they were moved to the newly-completed RAF Headquarters at RAF Hinaidi , located in the southern suburbs of Baghdad; 6 Squadron on the 9th October and 30 Squadron on the 3rd December 1922. 6 Squadron spent seven years at RAF Hinaidi (apart from a posting to Mosul between the 19th May 1924 and the 20th October 1926), leaving RAF Hinaidi for the last time on the 28th October 1929, bound for Ismailia in Egypt. Operating from RAF Hinaidi was dangerous and keeping the peace in Iraq in driving back invading rebels through strafing, bombing and working closely with the Armoured Car Companies came at a cost. A total of seventeen 6 Squadron men died and were buried at the Hinaidi RAF Cemetery (name later changed to the Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery). 30 Squadron fared even worse, with eighteen men buried at Ma'Asker. For a detailed breakdown of the 300 burials at Ma'Asker, visit the Ma'Asker Burials Statistics page or the read the complete Ma'Asker section of my website. Shown below are photographs of 6 Squadron men and aircraft, taken when the squadron was operating in Iraq during the nineteen-twenties. The photographs were taken by Pilot Officer (later Air Commodore) David W F Bonham-Carter who was a pilot with 6 Squadron during the nineteen-twenties. His grandson, Jim Cownie, has kindly given me permission to include them here.

A brief history of 55 Squadron, from its formation in 1916 until 1935 when it was serving in Mesopotamia and based at RAF Hinaidi, Iraq 55 Squadron Royal Air Force Pages 4 and 5 of "An Introduction to Iraq" provide a brief history of 55 Squadron (one of the Royal Air Force squadrons to be based at RAF Hinaidi during the inter-war years). At the time of publication (August 1935) the commanding officer of 55 Squadron was Squadron Leader A R M Rickards OBE, AFC. The photograph is a view of the airfield at RAF Hinaidi, looking towards the south-west with a cluster of hangars on the left-hand side, the nearest to the camera used by 70 Squadron and 55 Squadron. Hussar Road runs diagonally across the top right corner of the photograph. Gloucester (Nieuport) Nighthawk Though 55 Squadron officially operated the two-seater DH9a medium bomber from June 1920 to February 1930 when it was re-equiped with the two-seater Westland Wapiti, it did test one of three Gloster Nighthawk fighters that were sent to Iraq for evaluation. This photo was taken of the 55 Squadron Nighthawk when it was parked outside the 55 Squadron Hangar at RAF Hinaidi during trials of the aircraft in 1923. Note the custom desert exhaust. Photo taken by Pilot Officer (later Air Commodore) D.W.F Bonham-Carter DFC (via his grandson Jim Cownie) Westland Wapiti (55 Squadron)

The building of a wall around Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery in Baghdad, Stage 1 of the restoration in 2021. Photographs and a video show how progress was made. Ma'Asker Al Raschid (Hinaidi) Cemetery Restoration - Stage 1 The photographs on this page are of the Rasheed Cemetery (originally the Hinaidi RAF Peace Cemetery and later the Ma' Asker Al Raschid Cemetery), taken prior to, during and after the construction of a new perimeter wall around that was completed at the end of October 2021. The top four photos show the appalling condition of the graves prior to the work being carried out. Note that the cemetery adjoins a large rubbish dump, used for household waste and building rubble. Rubbish is strewn over the cemetery and most of the headstones have been pushed over, defaced, damaged or displaced. Until October 2021, a busy access track ran diagonally across the south-eastern corner of the cemetery, used by Iraqi trucks to access the nearby Al Rasheed military air base (the path of the track is visible in the 5th photograph below).

This is another sample of 6 Squadron WW1 facts and figures, taken from Steve Buster Johnson book, For God, England & Ethel. 6 Squadron WW1 Facts 2 Extract from my book 'For God, England & Ethel' In F or God, England & Ethel , a book about 6 Squadron operations over the Western Front during WW1, I have prefaced a few of the chapters with background narrative to cater for the more demanding readers. The section below details the operational changes to the Royal Flying Corps that were put into effect in early 1916: "The first two months of 1916 brought significant changes to the Royal Flying Corps. Before then, every squadron had several types of aircraft on charge in order to fulfill its many varied duties. However, with the acceleration in the formation of new squadrons, the decision was made to split these duties into two main areas and allocate squadrons to either a Corps Wing or an Army Wing. Wings would be under the control of a Royal Flying Corps Brigade, with each Brigade supporting a single British Army. As part of this plan, both squadrons at Abeele became part of the 2nd Corps Wing, II Brigade, to be used solely for artillery support, aerial photography and close reconnaissance for the 2nd Army. This left the roles of strategic reconnaissance, distant bombing and air fighting in II Brigade predominantly to those squadrons allocated to the 11th Army Wing. The impact of this directive was immediate. The popular FE2 fighter bombers ('Fees') of 6 Squadron were reassigned, as were the ageing Vickers FB5 fighter biplanes ('Gunbuses') of 5 Squadron. With the exception of a few single-seater scouts that the two squadrons would be permitted to retain for a few more months, the only type of aircraft operating from Abeele was the largely unpopular BE2c, a type not originally intended to carry weapons. The final re-organisation at Abeele came into effect in early March when it was decided that Number 5 squadron would be replaced by a newly-formed Army Wing squadron, Number 29, equipped with the new DH2 scout. "

These are photographs taken of the Remembrance Day wreath laying in 2020, 2021 and 2022 at Hinaidi RAF Cemetery (later renamed the Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery and now known as Al Rasheed Cemetery) Remembrance Day at Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery (2020/2021/2022) Remembrance Day 2020 at Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery On the 11th November 2020, for the first time in decades, the British Embassy’s Defence Attaché in Baghdad, Brigadier Adam McRae, laid a wreath at the foot of the grave of Brigadier-General Sir Gilbert Falkingham Clayton KCMG KBE CB, British High Commissioner to Iraq at the time of his death in 1929. This was probably the first time in more than half a century that Remembrance Day has been commemorated at the Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery. Shown below is a photograph that Brigadier McRae took to mark the occasion. Though the headstone is missing its upper section, it can be seen that some remedial work has already been carried out re the state of the cemetery. Remembrance Day 2021 at Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery A Remembrance Day service as well as a re-dedication ceremony was held at the Ma'Asker Al Raschid cemetery (originally named the Hinaidi RAF Cemetery) on-site at the on the 11th November 2021, with wreaths laid by Air Marshall Martin Sampson CDE DSO (the DSAME) and Brigadier Adam McRae MBE (British Defence Attache to Iraq) on behalf of No 1 Squadron and No 6 Squadron respectively. Wreaths for the six other Royal Air Force squadrons with men buried at Hinaidi were later laid at the Remembrance Service carried out at the British Embassy. Remembrance Day 2022 at Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery Wreaths were laid at the Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery on the 11th November 2021by Brigadier Ed Sandry MBE (British Defence Attache to Iraq) on behalf of the British Embassy in Baghdad as well as one for several descendants or men buried in the cemetery (three of whom offered to pay for the making and erection of new headstones for their fallen ancestor).