You wouldn't know it to look at him, but Frank Alberry only had one leg. He is also one of two known one-legged aces in World War I. Alberry was born in Hobart and grew up in Port Arthur and as a young man worked his way from Burnie, to Melbourne, to Bendigo, to England and Edinburgh. Eventually he ran out of work and joined the English Regular Army. In 1911 while on leave he got the opportunity to return to Australia on a ship - he reconciled his desertion by telling himself if war broke out he would return.

Three years later that event happened and he turned up at an Australian recruitment station and was given the option of returning to his English unit or joining the Australian Army; he chose the latter and posted to the 1st Division's 8th Battalion. In July 1916 the 8th Battalion were involved in the Somme offensive at Pozieres, Alberry was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal in the battle but a bullet shattered his kneecap and his leg was amputated above the knee.

Alberry writes;

After a few weeks practice [with an artificial leg], I became fairly active on it and I was employed doing clerical work at our Headquarters in Horseberry Road, London. During lunch hours planes would be seen flying around overhead and occasionally they would do stunting. The thought came to me - if I cannot walk, I will fly.

I went to the Air Board office to obtain a transfer but they would not listen to me. They stated that they did not have the authority to accept me with one leg, although I was otherwise fit, and informed me, 'Only the King could do that." So I went to see the King, and his Majesty after hearing my story instructed his secretary to give me a letter to the Officer-in-Charge, Air Board, requesting that I be accepted for training in the Air Force.

I think it is pretty obvious Alberry was not going to accept no for an answer. Alberry passed flight training and was posted to No.2 Squadron Australian Flying Corps in June of 1918. No.2 Sqn was flying the SE5a in France. The SE5a was a powerful aircraft with two machine guns that was not as manoeuvrable as its German opponents but was strong in a dive and faster in a race. This meant the Australian pilots adopted the tactics of getting high above an opposing flight, often as high as 18,000 ft, and diving through them at speed.

Frank Alberry's combat report for September 16th, 1918 reads;

As the patrol dived on the formation of enemy aircraft encountered 1 mile NW Lille, I singled out one and dived on it firing about 50 rounds at close range. The enemy aircraft did a side-slip, left hand turn, and flames and smoke were coming out of the cockpit.

That combat took place at 17,000 ft - a very cold and inhospitable place for open aircraft without cabins or internal heating. Alberry scored seven victories which makes him an ace. After the war he returned to Australia and settled in East-Gippsland. He worked as a timber feller and machinist before returning to the Army in World War II as a recruiter. Frank Alberry passed away in 1969 at the age of seventy-seven after having lived a quite remarkable life.

More Reading on Australian flying corps

• Australian Flying Corps
• AFC
• No.2 Sqn AFC
• World War I
• Frank Alberry
• ANZACs: The Domestic Cultural Revolution
• WW1 Servicemen; In Their Own Words
• The Problem And Fun of History
• Flag History
• Was the Sopwith Snipe An Improvement Over the Sopwith Camel?
• Lt Colonel Louis Strange and the Australian Flying Corps
• The Issue of Health in WWI and the Australian Flying Corps
• PC10 and Doping Variation in WWI
• History of No.2 Squadron Australian Flying Corps
• Arthur Cobby on Aerial Fighting