Frederick John Shaw Britnell was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England on 16 April 1899.
[1] Just past his 18th birthday on 3 June 1917, Britnell was appointed a Flight Officer in Royal Naval Air Service on the same day as John Denis Breakey.
His victory streak with them continued as the unit transitioned into 203 Squadron RAF, culminating in his destruction of an observation balloon on 2 October 1918.
On 30 August 1919, he transferred to the Royal Air Force's unemployed list; with that, he dropped from history's eye for almost two decades.
[5] On 10 May 1938, he was commissioned in the Equipment Branch of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as an acting Pilot Officer with seniority from 15 May 1936.