12 August 1914

On 12 August 1914, Lt. Robert R. Skene and Airman R.K. Barlow became the RFC's first fatalities of the war when their heavily loaded Bleriot XI crashed en route to Dover, soon after taking off. An inquest found that just over Netheravon, Lt. Skene made a sharp left-hand turn causing the machine to dive from a height of 150 feet. The jury returned a verdict of Accidental Death. Lt. Skene was 23 years old, and had been the first man in England to loop the loop.