Captain Francis Stanley Symondson MC (27 March 1897 – 1 May 1975) was a British World War I flying ace credited with 13 confirmed aerial victories.
He survived over three years of ground warfare and overcame early setbacks as a fighter pilot on the Western Front to become an ace in Italy.
It was the beginning of a string of a dozen enemy losses, as Symondson destroyed another balloon and ten aircraft by 28 August 1918.
The citation read: In November 1918 he was awarded the Silver Medal for Military Valour by the Italian government.
[13] He was briefly restored to the active list as a flying officer for temporary duty between 9 April[14] and 5 June 1921.
He was both entrant and pilot of the Gypsy Moth G-AARU during the King's Cup Race in June 1930,[18] but dropped out of the event en route.
[22] A month later, in July 1931, at the opening of Plymouth airport, he also flew aerobatics for His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales.