Thomas Culling

Flight Lieutenant Thomas Grey Culling DSC (31 May 1896 – 8 June 1917) was New Zealand's first flying ace of the First World War.

Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, Culling joined the Samoa Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of the First World War but was prevented from departing the country by his father, due to his age. He travelled to England in 1915 and joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). From September 1916, he flew with the No. 1 Squadron, RNAS, on the Western Front. He shot down his first German aircraft in April 1917 and would be credited with a total of six aerial victories, the first New Zealander to become a flying ace during the war, by the time of his death on 8 June 1917.

Early life Thomas Grey Culling was born on 31 May 1896 in Dunedin to a notable local family. His father, Thomas Shepherd Culling, was a businessman and local body politician, after whom Dunedin's Culling Park is named. His grandfather, also Thomas Culling, was a printer and paper mill director, and was one of Dunedin's early colonial settlers, arriving in the city just one year after its 1848 founding.

His family moved to the Auckland suburb of Remuera in 1906, and he was educated at King's College.

First World War Following the outbreak of the First World War, Culling volunteered for the Samoa Expeditionary Force, then being raised specifically for the capture of German Samoa. However, he was prevented from departing New Zealand by his father, who had contacted authorities, pointing out his age. Only men of 20 years or older were being allowed to serve aboard and Culling was still only 18.

The following year, in August, Culling left New Zealand for England to join the Royal Naval Air Service. In September 1916, as a flight sub-lieutenant,