Author Mike Rosel on Sopwith Pups and Air Ace Alec Little

Following an introduction by our own aviator Charles Morrison and his quote (" there are old pilots and bold pilots, but no bold & old pilots") we heard from past journalist come author Mike Rosel on the fruits of his research now published as the Unknown Warrior about an Australian born World War 1  fighter pilot Captain Alec Little.   Charles's quote was perfect for the story which followed.

Mike explained that Liitle's exploits had slipped under the Australian headlines for years because although Australian born and fascinatingly a past student of our nearby Scotch College there was no real prospect in the Australian forces in World War 1 for an aviation-mad young man to follow his passion.  Little financed his own way to the UK, joined the Royal Navy (there was no Royal Airforce at the time) and started flying seaplanes.     Despite various brushes with authority Little progressed to Sopwith Pups and thus began a couple of tumultuous years as a fighter pilot over the Western Front.   There followed stories worthy of an Errol Flynn movie.  Mike mentioned  47 kills of enemy aircraft,  many narrow escapes, chivalrous interactions with enemy pilots, a love affair(s), some dare devil flying and contempt for commanders.  

Mike had not heard of Little,  until he was at the RAF Museum in London and saw a British Sopwith Pup biplane from World War I with a sign saying Aussie Pups.   Reference was there to a Captain RA Little who had flown them in combat.

His historian's interest aroused, back in Melbourne Mike found that Little shot down more enemy planes than any Australian pilot in any war, and yet was only briefly mentioned in the Australian war histories.   Little was famous only among his peers and was nicknamed Rikki after the lethal mongoose in Rudyyard Kipling books.

Little died in combat aged 22 in 1918 over France in 1918.   The story was told of  only a month or so before he finally died after going after a bomber at night alone, he shot down a German Pfalz fighter and was ambushed by six more. His controls were shot away  the old bi and triplanes had open cockpits  and the plane dived and then the fuselage broke behind him. When the plane hit the ground he was thrown clear but the German planes swooped him like angry Magpies so he started shooting at them with his revolver. They were driven off by ground fire, he wrote in his logbook.   What a daredevil character. 

Mike, thank for the wonderful talk and story of Alec Little,  it doubtless rekindled some boyhood dreams of older members.