Sir John William Alcock (1892-1919), Airman who made first non-stop flight across Atlantic

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Aviator. Born in Manchester, Alcock served in the Royal Naval Air Service throughout the First World War. He was stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean and flew numerous missions over Turkey. A courageous solo attack on three Turkish planes won him the DSC. He was taken prisoner in 1917. On 14-15 June 1919 he and Arthur Brown as navigator made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic in a Vickers Vimy, a journey which took 16 hours 27 minutes. He was knighted that year, but died in a flying accident soon after.