'It is a romance, all this, such as the world had never known before - a romance of speed, of h...

'It is a romance, all this, such as the world had never known before - a romance of speed, of human ingenuity, of immense technical achievement; a romance also of tremendous courage and personal skill … We have seen this great movement of the air go forward irresistibly. Nothing has been able to stop it. And today it has a future before it which will bring benefits and advantages to the entire world.'

'GPO' Olley - one of aviation's 'greats' - writing in 1934, the same year in which he established 'Olley Air Services'; A Million Miles in the Air, refers.

The important - and extremely rare - Great War fighter ace's M.M. group of four awarded to Sergeant G. P. Olley, Royal Air Force, late Royal Flying Corps, one of just 53 members of the R.F.C. to be likewise decorated for services in the air

Appropriately enough for 'The first pilot to fly one million miles', 'GPO' undertook his successful combat career in Nieuports of No. 1 Squadron, motto In omnibus princeps - 'First in all things'

Having gained his laurels as a Corporal Observer, he qualified as a pilot and - at high cost to the enemy - went into action in the second half of 1917: in a little over five months he raised his score to 10

His most memorable combat was that fought over Becelaere on 26 June 1917, for on that occasion he mixed with a flight of Jasta 11 under Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen: taking out one of the Red Baron's comrades in convincing style, he nonetheless had to undertake a tricky landing back at base with most of his undercarriage shot away

His subsequent pioneering work in the golden age of civil aviation in the 1920s and 1930s - he was one of the 16 founder pilots of Imperial Airways - is recounted in his popular and entertaining title A Million Miles in the Air

It is a remarkable story, rich in the romance of the 'Silver Wing service' and rarely lacking drama. During his first flight to Paris in a converted Handley-Page he carried out 17 forced-landings before ending up in a field; on another outing to Belgium he forced-landed in the grounds of a monastery - he and his passengers 'were received hospitably' and spent the night in the monks' cells

In the summer of 1928 he hit the headlines for his part in a 'novel stunt', a much-publicised London to Edinburgh 'race' between him - piloting an Armstrong-Whitworth airliner - and the famous locomotive "Flying Scotsman." He won by 15 minutes

Meanwhile his special-charter work brought him into close contact with a host of household names, among them Albert, King of the Belgians, Feisal of Iraq, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and the Hollywood star Douglas Fairbanks

One of his more unusual assignments was a special flight to Paris to collect the entertainer - she of banana fame - Josephine Baker. He later described her as a 'temperamental star' but they got on jolly well all the same

Military Medal, G.V.R. (6313 Sjt: G. P. Olley. R.F.C.); 1914-15 Star (6313 2-A.M. G. P. Olley. R.F.C.); British War and Victory Medals (6313 Sjt. G. P. Olley. R.F.C.), good very fine and better (4)


M.M. London Gazette 17 September 1918.

Gordon Percy Olley - better known to his contemporaries as 'GPO' - was born in Harleston, Norfolk on 29 April 1893. By 1901, his family had moved to Bristol, where his father found employment as a tobacconist and hairdresser. In his mid-teens, young Gordon commenced an apprenticeship in a wholesale clothing factory but by 1912, his employment suggested more glamourous ambitions: he was a 'motor salesman' at Selfridges, the famous London department store.

Dispatch rider

Olley enlisted in Queen Victoria's Rifles in August 1914 but, having thumped an objectionable Sergeant with his rifle , made haste to re-enlist in the Royal Fusiliers: 'I was a motor-cyclist, and had a machine of my own, so I found myself appointed as a dispatch-rider' (A Million Miles in the Air, refers).

Tiring with delivery work on the Whitehall run, he next transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, who were in need of qualified dispatch riders and, in March 1915, joined the strength of No. 1 Squadron in France. A few weeks later, he went to see the Squadron's C.O., Major Salmond, and told him that he wanted to learn to fly.

Baptism of fire - Corporal Observer

His request resulted in his appointment as a Corporal Observer. Olley takes up the story:

'I flew with an extremely fine Canadian pilot, Lieutenant Dore. Fighting in the air was a queer sort of affair away back then. We went up first with nothing more formidable than Winchester rifles, and took pot-shots at enemy aircraft which seldom came nearer to us than about a thousand yards. The, after a time, machine-guns were mounted in aeroplanes and we had to cruise about over German rail-heads, looking out for troop-trains. Whenever we managed to spot one we dropped a few bombs, and when the Germans came running out of the train, we dived low and opened fire with our machine-guns' (ibid).

On "Archie":

'The German "Archie," or anti-aircraft guns, kept loosing off at us. Their shells, when they burst anywhere near one's machine, did not explode with any ear-splitting roar, but simply with a puff of white smoke and a "wuff" rather like a dog barking. The pilot I used to fly with, Lieutenant Dore, became a master at dodging in and out of anti-aircraft fire. But, even so, the air casualties began to grow considerably, and there was an urgent demand for new pilots' (ibid).

That urgency led to Olley being sent home to qualify for his 'Wings'. He began his tuition on a Maurice Farman biplane on Salisbury Plain, and flew his first solo after just three hours tuition:

'The exhilaration of that first solo flight was a sensation I shall never forget; it drove everything out of my mind … I flew off across the Plain and made my first landing - actually I made something like thirty landings that afternoon; until I last I found myself in a field near Newbury, having quite lost my bearings, and with only a few drops of petrol in my tank. But I did not care. I was too happy for that' (ibid).

Unfortunately for Olley, his flying instructor - who eventually located his errant pupil - did care. He was subjected to a severe reprimand and grounded for three days. But following this escapade, his training continued apace and, on reaching around 20 hours of flying time with just one 'prang', he was ordered to France, where he re-joined No. 1 Squadron in May 1917.

Sergeant Pilot - fighter ace

He was quickly in action in unit's Nieuports:

'A newly arrived N.C.O. pilot, Sergeant G. P. Olley, displayed early promise on the 27 May when he single-handedly tackled two E.A. scouts. The fight took place at 10.40 over Tourcoing and although no decisive results were gained, it was to be the start of another distinguished career' (A History of No. 1 Squadron, by Russell Gannon, refers).

On the first day of June, Olley attacked a 2-seater over the Messines Ridge at 07.50 hours. The enemy aircraft went down vertically after he had fired 50 rounds and although he followed it down for some distance he did not observe it crash. On his return he found that British A.A. had seen its fall but were unable to confirm whether it crashed due to the Ridge. He was credited with one down, out of control.

Gannon's history continues:

'A report of a three 2-seaters over British lines near Wulverghem brought 2nd Lieutenant Campbell (B1700) and Sergeant Olley (B1681) into action on the 23rd. As they approached the E.A. formation, two immediately turned towards the East but they were still able to engage the third, which they described as an LVG. Sergeant Olley...