Cobham's Circus – Louis Rowley?

Also to add and to thank the guys on the Great War Forum : )

He shows as a Special Reserve officer in the RFC right back to the ‘first page’ with some very illustrious names : )

He received RAeC certificate 223 on a Bristol biplane at Salisbury 4.6.12
He is shown as resigning a previous commission on 8.2.13 (Gazette 13.963) from a probationary 2Lt 11.9.12 (Gazette 12.6700)

He was Gazetted as awarded the MC on 16/9/18

He was awarded the AFC – Gazetted 3/6/18

He volunteered for the RAFVR in 1940 – being promoted to Flight Lt and prob temp/acting Sqn Ldr

As an aside to the OP question – I spent a little time trying to identify the ‘Mickey Jennings’ as quoted in post 2

Louis Rowley and Mickey
Jennings put up a very spectacular dual aerobatics show in
B.2 Trainers, mostly at low altitude.

I did wrongly think it might be this RFC special reserve pilot – he had the wonderful name of Montague Righton Nevill Jennings : )

21 sept 1916
2nd Lt. M. R. N. Jennings, Spec. Res.
4th Oct. 1916

From Wing Instrs. in Gunnery (graded as
Flight Comdrs.)—5th June 1917 : —
2nd Lt. (temp. Capt.) M. R. N. Jennings,
Spec. Res., and to retain his temp, rank
whilst so empld.

Flight Comdrs.—From Flying Officers, and to
be temp. Capts. whilst so empld. : —
Lt. M. R. N. Jennings, Spec. Res. 20th
Mar. 1918, with seniority from 27th May
1917.

Also looks like he may have been able to return to flying duties in WW2,as he was was transferred back to the general duties list !

Fig. Offs. to be transfd. to the Gen. Duties
M. R. N. JENNINGS (82822). 2oth Aug. 1942.

Flight Lieutenants retaining their rank :—
M. R. N. JENNINGS, M.C., A.F.C. (82822).

Sorry to hear he had a sad ending. Thanks for the info.

I asked about Louis Rowley on the RAF Commands forum and wwrsimon kindly supplied the following info…

He was the pilot of Hudson I T9343 ZS-Z, lost on a recce mission to Norway. Possibly shot down by Oblt Horst Carciganico of JG77 who claimed a Hudson. Info from Ross’s Coastal Command Losses Vol 1.

Joan Meakin later Joan Price. Is standing in front of a Rhonbussard glider in the photo.

Dave

Bit more about Joan in this clipping from 1936 –

[ATTACH=CONFIG]227306[/ATTACH]

Joan Meakin later Joan Price. Is standing in front of a Rhonbussard glider in the photo.

Dave

Hey baz

Thanks very much for all that. Sounds like a short though full life. Will try to find out what happened to him.

Can’t quite place which field they would have used for the Flying Circus. It’s not the flattest of areas round here.

The Joan Meakin clip is really interesting too.

A little more googling this morning brought up…

Could this be your man ?

Louis Percy Rowley

Confirmed as Pilot Officer 1 oct 1929

Promoted to Flying Officer 8 April 1930

And also sadly

Flight Lieutenant Louis Percy Rowley (27146)
Died 14 oct 1940
233 sqn

commemorated on Runnymede panel 4.

At that time 233 were operating Lockheed Hudson aircraft off norway etc but my info does not specify KIA,KOAS or Accident

There is a short Pathe News clip of Joan Meakin btw…

”Girl Glides The Channel 1934”

Unlikely to be the same person MM
H V Rowley was a well known pilot retiring as an Air Cdre in 1944

A quick google did not bring up much on Louis R but he is mentioned in Flightglobal 1937/1456…

Mr. Ken Waller gave a perfectly finished exhibition of aerobatics
in a Tiger Moth, and Messrs. Louis Rowley and Mickey
Jennings put up a very spectacular dual aerobatics show in
B.2 Trainers, mostly at low altitude.

This display was at Hanworth and so it might be a safeish assumption that Louis Rowley was an instructor at No.5 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (No.5 E&RFTS) Hanworth in 1937 (and obviously enjoyed aerobatics : )