Harold Beamish

Harold Francis Beamish, (7 July 1896 – 16 October 1986) was a New Zealand flying ace of the First World War.

Born in 1896 at Hastings, Beamish joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916. His training was completed by early 1917 and he was posted to No. 3 Squadron RNAS. In the course of his service with the squadron, he secured 11 victories in aerial dogfights. He was on leave in New Zealand when the war ended. In his later life he was a farmer. He retired to Havelock North where he died in 1986.

Early life Beamish was born on 7 July 1896 in Hastings, New Zealand, to a farmer and his wife. Raised on the family farm, Whanawhana, he attended a boarding school in Marton before going on to Wanganui Collegiate School. In 1915 Beamish left school to train as a pilot. However, a bad heart meant that he failed the medical examination required to enter the New Zealand Flying School. He decided to travel to England to seek specialist medical advice for his heart. On arriving in London in July 1916, no issues were found with his heart so he promptly joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). An uncle had served in the Royal Navy and had provided him with a referral to a contact in the service.

First World War Beamish was commissioned in the RNAS as a flight sub-lieutenant and after a two-week induction period, Beamish received flight training at the RNAS training school at Cranwell. He soloed on 10 August 1916, and before the end of the year, had completed his training with qualification on four types of aircraft. In January 1917 he was posted to No. 3 Squadron RNAS, which was operating on the Western Front. He was presented with the DSC the following February by George V at a ceremony in London. Returning to duty, he shot down three German aircraft during the period of April to May and contributed to the destruction of three more. In 1937, he and his brothers took legal action in respect of debts owed to the estate of their father. When he retired, he moved to Havelock North, in the Hawkes Bay, where he died on 26 October 1986 at the age of 90.

A replica of the Sopwith Pup flown by Beamish during his service with No. 3 Squadron is on display at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Wigram, Christchurch.