Herbert Gould

Captain Herbert Ruska Gould (23 December 1891 – 14 August 1918) was a British World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.

Biography Gould was born in Sydney, Australia, the second son of English journalist and novelist Nathaniel "Nat" Gould and Elizabeth Madeline Gould (née Ruska). When he was four his family returned to England, living in Bedfont, Middlesex, where Gould attended the Highfields Road School in Chertsey. Gould then obtained a position as a clerk in an oil firm in the City of London, and joined the City of London Yeomanry as a private at the outbreak of World War I.

In mid-1917 Gould transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as a cadet, being appointed a probationary second lieutenant on 5 July 1917. He was confirmed in his rank, on completion of his training, on 8 October.

Gould was assigned to No. 18 Squadron on the Western Front, flying the Airco DH.4 day bomber. He gained his first victory on 26 March 1918 destroying an Albatros D.V over Bihucourt. On 12 April he took a share in the downing of two Pfalz D.III's over Estaires, and drove down another solo in the same area on 9 May. He drove down another Pfalz D.III over Douai, France on 31 July, and a shared in the driving down of a Fokker D.VII west of there on 9 August.