Russell Winnicott

Winnicot was the youngest son of Alderman Richard Weeks Winnicott and Anne Smith Winnicott of Mannamead, Plymouth.^[2][3]

Winnicott was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Devonshire Regiment on 2 October 1915,^[4] and was appointed a temporary lieutenant on 15 October 1916.^[5] He was seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps on 11 November 1916,^[6] and was appointed a flying officer the same day.^[7] He relinquished his temporary rank on 12 April 1917.^[8]

Winnicott was posted No. 41 Squadron RFC to fly an Airco DH.5 single-seat fighter, and gained his first aerial victory on 6 September 1917, driving down an Albatros reconnaissance aircraft out of control. He scored three more times in September; then his fifth and sixth victories on 30 September made him an ace. He scored again in mid-October, on the 18th.^[1] On 26 October 1917 Winnicott was awarded the Military Cross.^[9] There was a pause in his scoring while he upgraded to a SE.5a. On 29 November, Winnicott shared a triumph with fellow ace Loudoun MacLean and two other pilots. The next day, Winnicott destroyed an Albatros D.V at 1340 hours; 20 minutes later, he teamed with MacLean, Meredith Thomas, and Frank Harold Taylor to drive a German two-seater down out of control over Rumilly to become a double ace. His final tally was two enemy aircraft destroyed, eight driven down out of control.^[1][10]

Russell Winnicott was killed in a flying accident on 6 December 1917,^[1][2] when he collided with another aircraft,^[10] and is buried in the Military Cemetery in Varennes, Somme.^[11] On 29 January 1918, he was posthumously promoted to lieutenant, effective 1 July 1917.^[12]