{"id":2520,"date":"2017-10-05T12:18:20","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T18:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/?page_id=2520"},"modified":"2022-11-16T11:36:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T18:36:40","slug":"walter-ferguson-halley","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/the-biographies\/walter-ferguson-halley\/","title":{"rendered":"Walter Ferguson Halley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

(Rapid City, South Dakota, March 15, 1895 \u2013 Chicago, February 3, 1932).1<\/a><\/p>\n

Halley\u2019s grandfather, James Halley, came to the U.S. from Scotland in about 1856 and was working on the C&O Canal when he sent for his family to join him. They settled in Washington, D.C. One of his sons, James Halley II, became a telegraph operator in Wyoming and later a banker in Rapid City, South Dakota, where Walter was born, the eighth of nine children.2<\/a><\/p>\n

Halley attended the Harvard Military Academy in Los Angeles and entered Cornell University with the class of 1917. He completed three years and then enlisted in the army in April 1917.3<\/a> He transferred to the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps and attended ground school at the University of Illinois, graduating August 25, 1917.4<\/a><\/p>\n

About one third of the men in this class, including Halley, chose or were chosen to go to Italy for flight training and were thus among the 150 men of the \u201cItalian\u201d or \u201csecond Oxford detachment\u201d who sailed to England on the Carmania<\/i>. They departed New York on September 18, 1917, and, after a stopover at Halifax to meet up with a convoy for the Atlantic crossing, docked at Liverpool on October 2, 1917. There they learned that they would not proceed to Italy, but would remain in England and attend ground school, again, this time at the Royal Flying Corps\u2019s No. 2 School of Military Aeronautics at Oxford University.\u00a0 Once arrived at Oxford, Halley was able to room with men he knew from Illinois\u2019s School of Military Aeronautics: John Warren Leach, George Orrin Middleditch, and Chester Albert Pudrith.4a<\/a> After some initial disgruntlement, the detachment made their peace with the change of plans and in retrospect recognized the benefit of R.F.C. training. They enjoyed the beauties of an Oxford autumn and took advantage of their proximity to London to sightsee, shop, dine, and attend the theater. It was perhaps during such an excursion that Halley \u201cwas an interested spectator of the air raid of October 29th<\/sup>,\u201d when a German Gotha bomber made a nighttime raid on Essex:\u00a0 \u201che was not near the scene, but he was near enough to know that he did not want to be any nearer.\u201d5<\/a><\/p>\n

On November 3, 1917, Halley travelled with most of the detachment to Harrowby Camp near Grantham in Lincolnshire to attend machine gun school.\u00a0 \u00a0He initially trained with a group that included Joseph Kirkbride Milnor, who kept a photo<\/a> of them.\u00a0 While fifty of the men at Grantham were sent on to flying schools on November 19, 1917, the rest, including Halley, continued their course at Harrowby Camp through the end of November.<\/p>\n

\"A
From Fremont Cutler Foss’s list of men assigned to squadrons on December 3, 1917.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, on December 3, 1917, the remaining men at Grantham were posted to flying squadrons, and Halley, along with John Joseph Devery, Clayton Knight, Clark Brockway Nichol, Wilbur Carleton Suiter, and Grady Russell Touchstone, was assigned to No. 44 Squadron at Hainault Farm northeast of London.6<\/a> No. 44 was a home defense squadron; it pioneered the use of Camels at night as part of the London Air Defense Area. Shortly after his arrival, Halley \u201chad the privilege of seeing an air raid at fairly close quarters.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. It would have been quite thrilling if it hadn\u2019t been at such an ungodly hour of the morning.\u201d7<\/a> Indeed, this raid on December 6, 1917, much larger and more lethal than the one in October, began targeting Kent, Essex, and London around 2:00 a.m. Halley learned from the next day\u2019s newspapers that \u201ca couple of the Hun machines were brought down before they could get away\u201d\u2014there is a record of two Gothas having been brought down by antiaircraft fire.8<\/a><\/p>\n

Winter weather meant German raids became less frequent, but it also restricted flight time for Halley and his fellow cadets: \u201cThe bad days are overwhelmingly in the majority . . . so most of our work is inside. Have had a little joy-riding during what nice weather we have had.\u201d9<\/a> Needless to say, Halley and his fellow trainees did not receive instruction on Camels (single-seaters, notoriously difficult for inexperienced fliers), but rather on a B.E.2c that was available at the airfield.10<\/a> The B.E.2c was a two-seater, originally designed for reconnaissance and bombing, but by this time obsolete. Halley wrote of his first flight: \u201cMy first ride was a corker. We didn\u2019t do it by degrees a bit, but jumped in and got wet all over first time up but didn\u2019t mind it a bit, in fact was pretty tickled to get all the sensations gettable right off the bat. We looped the loop, side-slipped, did spiral nosedives and all sorts of peculiar antics. Am looking forward now to the time when I will be able to do them as pilot instead of simply as a passenger.\u201d11<\/a><\/p>\n

At some point in January 1918 the six Americans at No. 44 Squadron were \u201cposted away to a regular flying training unit at Stamford.\u201d12<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0Halley progressed fairly quickly through the initial stages of his training and by the latter part of March was recommended for his commission\u2014his was among the many recommended in ten cables from Pershing between March 30 and May 4, 1918, that were finally confirmed en masse<\/i> on May 13, 1918.13<\/a> Halley\u2019s commission became official on May 20, 1918.14<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A
From The Official National Guard Register for 1927.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, he \u201chad a week\u2019s graduation leave in London about the end of March and spent most of the time just loafing an[d] taking things easy. Went to a few shows\u2014the only one that amounted to anything was \u2018The Maid of the Mountains,\u2019 and it had some mighty good music.\u201d15<\/a> While Clayton Knight continued his training at Stamford,16<\/a> Halley was reassigned: \u201cA few days after I got back from leave was transferred to another airdrome to go on more advanced machines.\u201d17<\/a> Although he does not name his new station in his letter home, Halley notes in passing \u201ca little panel in the wall of a house in the town where we are stationed to the effect that William Cowper lived there from 1765 to 1767,\u201d i.e., in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.18<\/a> \u201cOur billets are a little way from the town but close enough so that we can walk in occasionally and have dinner and a good smoke and chat in the inn \u2018lounge\u2019 afterward.\u201d19<\/a> The billets were perhaps in nearby Wyton, and Halley was probably assigned to No. 5 or No. 31 Training Squadron there. It was presumably around this time that his future as a pilot of bomber and reconnaissance planes was determined. At Huntingdon he ran into a fellow Cornellian, Guy Brown Wiser, who later recalled that \u201cThe DH-4 . . . was used as a graduation test at Wyton Base, Huntingdon, England. . . .\u201d20<\/a> In a later letter, Halley writes that \u201cI only wish I were driving a fighting scout instead of one of the big bombers as the bombing machines do not have much chance to do fighting and I certainly would like to bag a few Hun machines.\u201d21<\/a><\/p>\n

There is no indication whether this last letter was written from Huntingdon or whether by this time Halley had again been reassigned. At some point he was sent to Marske-by-the-Sea in North Yorkshire. There is no indication of the length of his stay there or what the training consisted of. In early July 1918 he and fellow second Oxford detachment member Allen Tracy Bird, along with Harold Ernest Goettler and Claude Stokes Garrett, both of whom had trained with the R.F.C. in Canada, were ordered to travel from Marske to London, preparatory to going overseas.22<\/a> By July 4, 1918, Halley was in London with Goettler, \u201cbumming around town visiting the Regent Palace and the Savoy Hotel.\u201d23<\/a>\u00a0Halley was one of a large group of pilots directed to report to the American 3rd<\/sup> Aviation Instruction Center at Issoudun in the Loire region of central France, where they arrived on July 10, 1918.24<\/a><\/p>\n

Halley\u2019s next documented posting was to the American 7th<\/sup> Aviation Instruction Center at Clermont-Ferrand in France, where he served \u201cas flying instructor in gunnery-combat, acrobatics, etc.\u201d25<\/a>\u00a0The 7th<\/sup>\u00a0A.I.C. served as a bombardment training school, and Halley presumably flew DH-4s. On November 4, 1918, he was assigned to the U.S. 11th<\/sup>\u00a0Aero, stationed at Maulan and flying DH-4s as part of the 1st<\/sup> Day Bombardment Group.26<\/a>\u00a0He is not among those who flew missions on November 4 and 5, 1918, and the 11th<\/sup> flew no further missions before the armistice.27<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A
From the 166th Aero Squadron’s newspaper, Cent Soixante Six.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At some point after the armistice Halley was reassigned to the 166th<\/sup> Aero, which became part of the Army of Occupation and was stationed at Trier and Coblenz.28<\/a>\u00a0At the end of February 1919 he was among those in the 166th<\/sup> who received orders to proceed to Colombey-les-Belles in anticipation of returning to the U.S.29<\/a>\u00a0Along with Tracy Bird, he sailed from Brest on the S. S.\u00a0Suriname<\/i> on April 4, 1919, arriving at Hoboken on April 29, 1919.30<\/a><\/p>\n

Having returned to South Dakota, Halley initially worked at his father\u2019s bank.31<\/a> In the late twenties he went into business with his brother Samuel Russell Halley (who had served with a French squadron in 1918) to create airline service in South Dakota and neighboring states. They also for a time ran the Black Hills College of Aviation in conjunction with their Rapid Air Lines Corporation.32<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 mrsmcq October 5, 2017; revised February 2020 to reflect Goettler diary and articles in <\/em>Rapid City Daily Journal<\/span><\/p>\n

Notes<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

(For complete bibliographic entries, please consult the list of\u00a0works and web pages cited<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

1<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Halley\u2019s birth and death dates are taken from his obituary in the\u00a0Cornell Alumni News<\/i> (see \u201cObituaries\u201d). His place of birth and place of death are taken from \u201cWalter Halley Dies in Chicago.\u201d\u00a0 The photo is a detail from a photo of the five Halley brothers that was posted to Find A Grave memorial #31041050 for Samuel Russell Halley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0Information on Halley\u2019s family is taken from Wells, \u201cScotland to the Black Hills of Dakota,\u201d and from other documents available at Ancestry.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u201cWalter F. Halley: His Company Helped Build His State.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGround School Graduations [for August 25, 1917].\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

4a<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u201cChester Pudrith, with American Detachment Royal Flying Corps, Writes from England.\u201d In the newspaper\u2019s publication of the letter, one man\u2019s name is given as \u201cWarren Teoch,\u201d almost certainly a mistranscription of \u201cWarren Leach.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5<\/strong><\/a> \u00a0\u201cLocal Boy Close to London Air Raid\u201d; Castle,\u00a0Zeppelin Raids, Gothas and \u2018Giants\u2019<\/i>, page for 29th<\/sup> October 1917.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

6<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Foss, \u201cCadets of Italian Detachment Posted Dec 3rd<\/sup>\u201d (in Foss, Papers).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

7<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0From a letter home quoted in \u201cWalter Halley Tells of Experiences in England.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Ibid.<\/i>; Castle,\u00a0Zeppelin Raids, Gothas and \u2018Giants\u2019<\/i>, page for 6th<\/sup>\u00a0December 1917.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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9<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWalter Halley Tells of Experiences in England.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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10<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Kilduff, \u201cClayton Knight\u2014Artist & Airman,\u201d p. 199.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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11<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWalter Halley tells of Experiences in England.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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12<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Knight, quoted in Kilduff, \u201cClayton Knight\u2014Artist & Airman,\u201d p. 203.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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13<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Cablegram 823-S, dated March 30, 1918, recommends Halley; 1303-R confirms the appointment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

14<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0See the entry for Halley on p. 923 of Militia Office,\u00a0Official National Guard Register for 1927<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

15<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0From a letter home quoted in \u201cWith the Boys in Service\u201d (May 16, 1918).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

16<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Kilduff, \u201cClayton Knight\u2014Artist & Airman,\u201d p. 206.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

17<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWith the Boys in Service\u201d (May 16, 1918).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

18<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Ibid<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

19<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Ibid<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

20<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Wiser, Recollections of the DH-4, pp. 125\u201326.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

21<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0From a letter home reproduced in \u201cWith the Boys in Service\u201d (July 19, 1918).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

22<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Biddle, \u201cSpecial Orders No. 109.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

23<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Goettler, diary entry for July 4, 1918.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

24<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Goettler, diary entry for July 10, 1918.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

25<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0See \u201cWalter F. Halley: His Company Helped Build His State.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

26<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Sloan,\u00a0Wings of Honor<\/i>, p. 248.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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27<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0First Day Bombardment Group<\/i>, pp. 148, 150, 151.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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28<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWalter Halley Dies in Chicago\u201d; Wikipedia, \u201c166th Aero Squadron.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

29<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cExodus to S.O.S. Begun.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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30<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0War Department, Office of the Quartermaster General, Army Transport Service,\u00a0Lists of Incoming Passengers, 1917 – 1938,<\/i>\u00a0Passenger list for the S.S.\u00a0Suriname<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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31<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0See Ancestry.com,\u00a01920 United States Federal Census<\/i>, record for Walter F Halley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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32<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0See \u201cWalter F. Halley: His Company Helped Build His State\u201d and \u201cBlack Hills College of Aviation Brochure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Rapid City, South Dakota, March 15, 1895 \u2013 Chicago, February 3, 1932).1 Halley\u2019s grandfather, James Halley, came to the U.S. from Scotland in about 1856 and was working on the C&O Canal when he sent for his family to join him. They settled in Washington, D.C. One of his sons, James Halley II, became a … Continue reading “Walter Ferguson Halley”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5192,"parent":30,"menu_order":55,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2520","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2520"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7115,"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2520\/revisions\/7115"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parr-hooper.cmsmcq.com\/2OD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}