Mexborough & Swinton Times, September 23, 1932

War flights – A Wombwell Pilot

The sentence, Mr. It is probably the only man in the world who has flown solo, our last issue drew a response from Mr Lister Carter, 6, John St, Wombwell, he too, has flown solo and during the war brought a plane back from the German lines under difficult circumstances!

When slightly over the age of seventeen he enlisted, in 1915, at Leeds, in the Royal Flying Corps. He was sent to Farnborough Aerodrome and trained as mechanic. After twelve months be was promoted first-class air mechanic. He was transferred to No. 2 Squadron at Merville, France, which was about thirty miles behind the lines. He was a mechanic on the type of ‘plane known as the “R.E.B” model. Later he moved to a small village south-east of Bethune and attached to No. 22 Squadron, which was a fighting squadron. He was promoted sergeant aerial gunner. He was with the squadron three months and the type of ‘plane he flew was the Bristol Fighter, which carried 120 h.p. Rolls Royce engines.

He rose further in the rank to first-class sergeant observer as the result of shooting down a German ‘plane 14 miles south-east of Arras. He intended to capture the machine by driving the pilot over the British lines. The German signified surrender by raising his hand, but as he persisted in flying towards the German trenches Mr. Carter had no alternative but to shoot him down. The machine fell in a lanes of flames from a high altitude.

Two days later he had one of the most thrilling adventures of his flying career. Following a fight with a German ‘plane he was wounded in the left arm and hand. He brought the enemy, but during the fight his pilot (Lieut. J. Goldy) was severely wounded. The engine “jibbed, ‘ but though wounded Mr. Carter flew back forty miles by gliding from an altitude of 18,000 feet.

Mr. Carter returned to England and was stationed at Blamford. During his stay in England he was attached to No. 52 Squadron at Beverley and trained officers for aerial gunnery. He also spent almost a year and a half in Italy. He was first stationed with No. 41 Squadron at Genoa as first-class observer, and was mainly engaged bombing railway stations and bridges. Hs has a photograph of a transport bridge over the Piave which he blew up on Jan. 2nd, 1918.

During 1918 he bad a narrow escape when he crashed in a fog with a British machine on a bombing expedition. This occurred at an altitude of 3000 feet. Both ‘planes were locked and the pilot in the other machine was killed.

Mr. Carter’s flying time France was 160 hours and in Italy about hours. He flew with the dawn patrol, bombed, escorted, made gunnery observations, fought and photographed. He had to do a good – deal of night flying. He was one of the British airmen who fought the notorious “ace,” von Richter. The highest altitude at which he has flown is 23,000 feet, in Italy. The lowest was in France, over the German trenches, when he was with the Counter Battery Patrol.

Invariably he found landing places in Franco bad for pilots. He crashed on twelve occasions, and on three of them the machine took fire. Fortunately, through not fastening his safety belt, he managed to free himself.

In 1918 he returned to Henlow to qualify for his pilot’s first-class certificate, but hostilities concluded before this was accomplished. After the war he went into the Air Force Reserve. The only occasion on which has flown since the war was on being called up at Farnborough during the 1921 strike for observation work. He has had several offers from firms at Croydon to become engaged as ground pilot, but has refused them.

Among his proud possessions is a section of a German propellor which he retrieved from a burning machine. He has a commendatory note from Major C. D. Fuller, who at the head of a party of British officers crossed the Atlantic in the dirigible R 34.

Mr. Carter has flown in practically every kind of weather, rain, snow, fog, and high velocity winds; and has landed with a wheel off. He takes a great interest in all sides of aviation, and one of his ambitions is to inaugurate an aero or gliding club in Wombwell, providing he can get a sufficiently large membership.