Lomer, HC

Captain Horace Clifford Lomer

Horace was born on September 4^th 1889, the only son amongst four children of a stock exchange worker, also named Horace Lomer, and his wife, Fanny. He joined Dulwich at the start of 1903 and was a pupil for the next four years, leaving at Christmas 1906 whilst in the Modern Lower Fifth. After leaving he took up acting and was in many Shakespeare plays directed by Gerald Laurence; he was also a gifted ventriloquist, a talent he would often use for entertainment during his time in service.

Horace enlisted in the military in November 1914, around three months into the war, at first as a member of the Royal Naval Division. He took up a commission the following January in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and a year later was promoted to Captain. In August 1916 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and became a fully-qualified pilot later that year. In January 1917 he was sent to France where he joined up with No. 10 Squadron. On the morning of May 5^th that year he was flying at a height of 8000 feet above the front line when his plane was brought down by anti-aircraft fire, killing both him and his observer instantly.