Cecil Arthur Lewis

Who was Cecil Arthur Lewis?

Cecil Arthur Lewis MC was a British fighter pilot who flew in World War I. He went on to co-found the BBC and enjoy a long career as a writer, notably of the aviation classic Sagittarius Rising.

Lewis joined the Royal Flying Corps and learned to fly at Brooklands in late 1915 after lying about his age. In 1916, he flew the Morane Parasol in combat with Number 3 Squadron and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during the Battle of the Somme. Flying the S.E.5a with 56 Squadron, he was credited with eight victories during May and June 1917. Back in England, Lewis served with 44 and 61 Squadrons on Home Defence before returning to France in late 1918 with 152 night-fighter Squadron, flying the Sopwith Camel.

After World War I ended, Lewis was hired by the Vickers company to teach the Chinese how to fly and to establish a Peking-Shanghai air service using Vickers Commercials, the civilian version of the Vickers Vimy bomber. It was in Peking that Lewis married Doushka Horvath, the daughter of a Russian general. Lewis returned to England when the air service project was abandoned by Vickers after a couple of years.