Robert Gregory

William Robert Gregory (20 May 1881 – 23 January 1918) was an Irish flying ace who served as a fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He was also an accomplished artist and cricket player. His death was memorialised in a series of poems by W. B. Yeats.

Early life and family The only child of William Henry Gregory and Lady Gregory, an associate of W. B. Yeats, Robert was born in County Galway in Ireland in May 1881. He grew up in the couple's houses in Ireland and England (Coole Park and London). In 1907, he married Lily Margaret Parry, and they had three children.

Sport He excelled at bowls, boxing, horse riding and cricket. He was good enough at cricket to play once for the Ireland cricket team, taking 8/80 with his leg spin bowling in a first-class match against Scotland in 1912. He didn't score a run. His bowling performance in that match remains the tenth best in all matches for Ireland and the fourth best in first-class cricket for Ireland.

Art An accomplished artist, he studied in London at the Slade School of Fine Art, eventually marrying another Slade student, Margaret Parry; his best-man was Augustus John, who had assisted him in developing his style. He worked in Paris at the design studio of Jacques Émile Blanche, and had his own exhibition of paintings in Chelsea in 1914. He was also an illustrator for books and stage. His colleagues Mick Mannock and George McElroy, with many more victories, became much better known, but he was the first of the Irish pilots to achieve ace status in 40 Squadron RFC. France made him a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 1917, and he was awarded a Military Cross for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty."

Death and legacy He was killed in Italy at the age of 36. It has been commonly stated that he was the victim of "friendly fire", when an Italian pilot mistakenly shot him down; In 2017, Geoffrey O'Byrne White, a director of the Irish Aviation Authority, great-grandnephew of Lady Gregory, and former pilot in the Irish Air Corps, said he believed Major Gregory had become incapacitated at high altitude, attributing this to an inoculation for influenza.

Robert's death had a lasting effect on W. B. Yeats, and he became the subject of four poems by him, although Lady Gregory is reported not to have agreed with all of their content. They are: "In Memory of Major Robert Gregory", "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death", "Shepherd and Goatherd", and "Reprisals".