Captain Loudon Pierce Watkins
Individual attestation record images are not available for this person.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
MILITARY INFORMATION
Captain (Air Force).
Military Cross
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Son of Edward James and Elizabeth Watkins, of Toronto, Ontario.
Capt. Watkins was a graduate of Upper Canada College. According to their Roll of Honour, Watkins had attended Wellesley Public School in Toronto prior to attending U.C.C. According to a brief biography prepared for the U.C.C. honour roll, Watkins' service was as follows:
Enlisted 10 August 1915, Lieutenant, R.F.C.Overseas 11 December 1915In France, 10 May 1916In England, 10 December 1916Capt. (Flight Commander) July 1917Zeppelin duty, east coast of EnglandMilitary Cross, 17 June 1917 (for bringing down a Zeppelin in East Anglia)France, March 1918Killed in Action, 01 July 1918A photo and article about his death appeared in the Toronto Evening Telegram on 08 July 1918. According to this source, Capt. L. P. Watkins had enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps with his brother, Capt. E. J. Watkins, after a course at the Curtiss School. Two other brothers served: Sapper John F. Watkins (Engineers) and Cadet Harry Watkins, R.A.F.
Military Cross: On the night of 16/17th June 1917, Lieutenant LP Watkins, a Canadian Army officer attached to No. 37 Squadron, was responsible for the destruction of the Zeppelin L48 over Suffolk; he was flying a BE12.
This photo of Captain Watkins appeared in the Red Deer News on July 18th, 1917. The caption was "Canadian Brought Down Zepp. Flight Lieut. L. P. Watkins, a 20-year-old Toronto airman who has been awarded the Military Cross for destroying a Zeppelin during a raid on England.
Additional photographs and newspaper reports are available on Capt. Watkins' CVWM record here.