Bennett, RM
(1900 - 1918)
Key Facts
DATE OF BIRTH:
12th February 1900
YEARS ATTENDED THE COLLEGE:
1913 - 1917
HOME ADDRESS WHEN AT THE COLLEGE:
Corner House, Beckenham
REGIMENT
Royal Air Force
FINAL RANK:
Lieutenant
DATE OF DEATH:
28th September 1918
AGE AT DEATH:
18
WHERE HE DIED (or was wounded)
Houthem, Belgium
LOCATION OF GRAVE OR MEMORIAL:
Arras Flying Services Memorial
Lieutenant Risdon Mackenzie Bennett
Risdon was born in Kent on February 12th 1900, the son of Dr. James Bennett and his wife Lucy. He at first attended the Prep before coming to the College in December of 1913, a path which his younger brother Arnold would repeat three years later.
He left Dulwich at the end of 1917 and signed up for the Royal Naval Air Service, and proceeded to undergo training at Greenwich, Eastbourne, Cranwell and Friston in order to qualify as a pilot. In June 1918, having qualified, he was transferred to the continent, and attached to the 204th Squadron of the R.A.F. Over the next few months he shot down nine enemy aircraft, including notably in an incident on the 31st July, in which he flew twenty miles back to his aerodrome after having been wounded whilst bringing down his target. On September 28th he was acting as an escort for a group of bombers returning from a raid on Zeebrugge when he was caught in a storm and crashed in No Man’s Land. His body, along with the wreckage of his plane, was found several days later.
