Edwin Edward Hunnisett

Serjeant Mechanic Edwin Edward Hunnisett (1896 – 30 June 1918) was a World War I British aviator who was shot down by German flying ace Hans Goerth.

Background Edwin Hunnisett was born in 1896 in Newhaven, East Sussex, England. He was the son of Benjamin Hunnisett and his wife Harriet Sarah Daniels. His father also served in World War I, receiving the Victory Medal, British War Medal, and the 1914 Star and Clasp.

Military career Edwin Hunnisett enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 6 January 1913. In the spring of 1918, Hunnisett became a member of the No. 217 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. By June 1918, the aviator had the rank of serjeant mechanic.

Death

On the evening of 30 June 1918, Edwin Hunnisett's Airco de Havilland DH.4 (A8013) engaged in aerial combat with the Albatros D.Va with serial number 7167/18 piloted by German flying ace Hans Goerth. The plane was shot down over Mariakerke, Belgium by the Vizeflugmeister of Marine Feld Jasta III, and the serjeant mechanic, who had been acting as observer, died in the conflict. The downing of the plane was the first of seven aerial victories for Vizeflugmeister Goerth. Edwin Edward Hunnisett is commemorated on a headstone at Newhaven Cemetery in Newhaven, East Sussex, England. However, the British aviator is also represented on a second cenotaph, the Arras Flying Services Memorial, at the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery in Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France. There are two additional memorials which acknowledge the contribution of Serjeant Mechanic Hunnisett. One is the Newhaven War Memorial, which is located in the park adjacent to Newhaven Harbor in Newhaven, East Sussex, England. The obelisk records 127 names of the area's fallen from the Great War. The last memorial is in Saint Michael and All Angels Anglican and Methodist Church in Newhaven, East Sussex. It records 90 names of the parish's fallen, in the chronological order of their deaths.