Medal Index Card
He was the son of John Gardner Brewis and Florence Mary Brewis, of Glengarriffe Grove, Gosforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Lieutenant Brewis lost his life on April 29th 1917 when his aircraft, Nieuport 17 A6739, was shot down by German ground fire near Hendecourt, about 30 miles north east of Amiens. He was posted as Missing, believed Killed. His body was found by the Germans.
April 1917 had already seen massive casualties for the men of the RFC but the morning of 29th April dawned with fine weather after a period of intermittent rain and cloud. Activity was extensive as the British Army successfully attacked German trenches across a mile ling front to the south of Oppy. By the end of the day the RFC had lost 20 machines and 12 men killed with a further 10 men wounded and 10 taken prisoner (1 of whom was wounded) for the claimed destruction of 11 German aircraft destroyed and 21 out of control.
Amongst those killed was 22 year-old Lieutenant John Arthur Gardiner Brewis of 40 Squadron, RFC. Lieutenant Brewis was a native of Newcastle (although he had been born in Sheffield) where his parents, John and Florence, lived at Glengariffe Grove, Gosforth. Lieutenant Brewis was the only male of six siblings (although some contemporary newspaper reports claim he was the second son) and before the war he was in his first year of medical studies at Newcastle Medical College where he and was also a member of the Officer Training Corps.
Source: Dr. Craig R. Armstrong
Lieutenant Brewis joined up immediately at the outbreak of war and was commissioned in the Durham Light Infantry. Posted to the Western Front in May 1915 with the DLI he served for sixteen months at the front and was promoted to Lieutenant. At this point he transferred to the RFC as an observer and flew for six months being wounded twice during this time. After suffering this second wound he undertook pilot training and qualified in February 1917.
Posted to 40 Squadron, flying Nieuport 17s, in March Lieutenant Brewis joined one of the best scout (fighter) squadrons of the RFC (he was a contemporary of Edward Mannock (who went on to become the leading British ace). At noon on 24th April Brewis was patrolling in the company of a Scottish comrade, Lieutenant I.P.R. Napier (known as ‘Old Naps’), when they sighted what they described as an Aviatik two-seater reconnaissance aircraft and engaged it. They were joined in the attack by the Australian ace Flight Sub-Lieutenant R.A. ‘Bob’ Little flying a Sopwith Triplane of Naval 8 Squadron and the German aircraft was brought down intact with the crew becoming prisoners of war (one of them had to rescue Bob Little from his overturned aircraft after he botched a landing next to the German aircraft!). the three airmen shared in the victory over what was later identified as a DFW CV aircraft. (the victory was Bob Little’s 8th and he went on to score 47 victories before he was killed attempting to shoot down a night-flying Gotha bomber on 27th May 1918. It was Ian Napier’s second victory and he went on to become an ace credited with shooting down 12 aircraft by the end of the war; he survived the war and died in 1977)
On the morning of 29th April 40 Squadron was detailed to dispatch aircraft on combat patrol to cover observation aircraft, to attack targets of opportunity and to ascertain the location of allied ground forces. Taking off at 6:45 AM in the company of 2nd Lieutenant W. A. Bond the two fliers came under heavy ground fire north of Hendecourt and Lieutenant Brewis’ Nieuport 17 (A6739) was hit, by Flak batteries 61 and 68, and was observed to crash-land. At first there was every hope that Lieutenant Brewis had survived as a prisoner of war but it was later confirmed that he had been killed. Lieutenant Brewis’ body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial.
Acknowledgements: Simon Glancey
Morpeth Herald 26/10/1917 carries a brief obituary:
Lieut. Brewis, second son of Mr and Mrs Brewis, Glengarral [sic], Gosforth, who was reported missing at the end of April, is now reported as having been killed on April 29th, while flying.
John Arthur Gardner Brewis is remembered in Alnmouth on A10.12, in Gosforth on G9.06 and G9.21 also in Newcastle on NUT066, NUT139, NUT139 and NUT179
