Captain William Ernest Reed, DFC (23 March 1896 – 15 December 1952) was an English World War I flying ace credited with nine aerial victories.
[2] Both were Royal Engineers units of the Territorial Force, engaged in coastal defence works in the north-east.
[7] On 1 July 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant, with precedence from 1 June 1916, in the Royal Engineers, while remaining seconded to the RFC.
[8] On 1 April 1918 Reed was appointed a temporary captain "whilst so employed"[9] to serve as a flight commander in the newly formed No.
[12] Between 24 May[13] and 8 July 1921[14] he served as a temporary lieutenant in the Defence Force, a unit "formed to help maintain law and order, and to render any necessary assistance in protecting those employed on carrying on the essential services of the country, without which the people of the country might starve",[15] during the industrial unrest around the 1921 miner's strike.