Book makes sure wartime exploits are not forgotten

Lieutenant Robert Orr served for just a month with the newly formed RAF in the summer of 1918 before he was shot down and killed on the Western Front, on the first day of the campaign which brought the war to an end.

By that time he had already racked up an enviable record of success, scoring enough hits against the Germans in one afternoon to be recognised as a fighter "ace" in most circumstances.

But the 21-year-old's achievements were never recognised by the military authorities and may have been overlooked entirely had they not been documented by his commanding officer.

Flight Lieutenant Samuel Kinkade detailed his junior colleague's successes against enemy aircraft and the "kite balloons", used by spotters to watch activity behind the allies' front line, but they never caught the attention of senior officers.

They were unearthed as author and New Forest MP Julian Lewis researched a biography on Mr Kinkade.

He survived the war, winning a series of gallantry medals, and went on to serve in other campaigns before dying in an attempt to break the air speed record in the 1920s.

The book, Racing Ace, is expected to be published by Yorkshire company Pen & Sword next year.

Mr Lewis said records showed Mr Orr's home address as Dale House in Cove Road, Malham, but he had been unable to trace his family.

He was killed in action on August 8, 1918, the first day of the so-called Hundred Days offensive.