Lives of the First World War

Studio portrait in Flying Corp uniform - Egypt

A copy of a German photograph of the wrecked aircraft of Lieutenant Jack Diamond Sumner Potts AFC, which fell in the German lines. The body of Sumner Potts (pilot) is on the ground and the men around the aircraft are German soldiers 2nd Lt Vincent John Parkinson, AFC, was the wireless operator and observer, he survived the crash with a fractured skull and was taken prisoner of war

Studio portrait of Jack's brother

The original graves of: Lieutenant (Lt) Jack Diamond Sumner Potts; Captain (Capt) Harald Hewett; Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt) A Butt who died during combat over enemy territory on 4 January 1918. The men were buried with full military honours by German airmen who set a broken propeller to the head of the grave. The inscription on the cross translates to: "Here rest in God three fearless English flyers, fallen 4/1/18" and lists the names of the men. A photograph (or photographs) and a message were dropped over Australian lines from an enemy aircraft believed to be that of Oberleutnant (Lieutenant) Gerhardt Felmy, the leading German pilot facing No. 1 Squadron, who earned the admiration of his adversaries. It was not uncommon for him to drop messages from and photographs of recently captured Australian airmen on their home field

Photo of Jack's grave in Israel taken by Fred Strauss

Informal portrait of Lieutenant Jack Diamond Sumner Potts