Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Roderic Stanley DALLAS was born on 30th July, 1891 in Mount Stanley near Esk in Queensland

His parents were Peter McArthur DALLAS & Honorah CURRY

He served in the Australian Military Forces, the Royal Naval Air Service & the Royal Air Force and was awarded the DSO, DSC & Bar and the Croix de Guerre (France)

Roderick was killed in action in France on 1st June 1918 & is buried in the Pernes British Cemetery

                              IN MEMORY

Dallas, Roderic Stanley (1891–1918)

Australian Dictionary of Biography  by E. P. Wixted

Roderic Stanley Dallas (1891-1918), airman, was born on 30 July 1891 at Mount Stanley station near Esk, Queensland, son of Peter McArthur Dallas, labourer, and his wife Honora, née Curry. The family moved to Tenterfield, New South Wales, and about 1898 to Mount Morgan, Queensland. Dallas attended the local school and in July 1907 joined the assay office of the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Co. At night he studied chemistry and technical drawing at the technical college.  ......

By 1912 Dallas was 6 ft 2 ins (188 cm) tall and weighed 16 stone (101 kg). He did not drink and smoked rarely. His voice, said by his father to be made for a bullocky, was useful on the stage but he usually spoke quietly, and was never heard to swear. His eyesight was exceptional. He paid his own way to England in 1915 but met with difficulties in trying to become an airman. He thought of an acting career in the United States of America, but advice from an Australian aviator, Sydney Pickles, and assistance from Australia House gained him entry to the Royal Naval Air Service. At the entrance examination he topped the eighty-four students, and on 5 August won pilot's licence No.1512. ....

He became a flight sub-lieutenant with No.1 Squadron, R.N.A.S., remained with it in 1916-17 and finally as a lieutenant-commander became its commanding officer.  .......

Read the full Australian Dictionary of Biography transcript by clicking the link to the left under the image gallery.

Major DALLAS Roderick Stanley (Stan)         Royal Naval Air Service
 
Stan Dallas was born at Mount Stanley Station on the headwaters of the Brisbane River on 30th July 1891. Mount Stanley Station was an isolated grazing property that had originally been part of the vast Colinton Pastoral Run which had been selected in 1841 when the area was still part of New South Wales. Stan’s parents, Peter and Honorah, were employed at Mt Stanley and Stan was the first child of European descent to have been born at Mount Stanley. The station was very isolated and was described at the time to have been located via Esk but this was probably because Esk, at that time, was the terminus of the Brisbane Valley Line and all mail for Mt Stanley would be directed “via Esk.” Mount Stanley is almost 80 kilometres from Esk and in the 1890s was a two day ride on horseback. A second son, Norvel, was born to Peter and Honorah at the Station in 1893 and the Dallas family then moved to Tenterfield NSW.
 
The Dallas family moved again in 1898 to Mount Morgan (Q), where Peter obtained work at the Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company working underground. Stan and Norvel attended Mount Morgan Boys School (primary schools of that era were often segregated) and once Stan left school in 1907, he secured work in the assay office of the mine while attending night classes in chemistry and technical drawing at the very successful technical school established to provide a constant workforce at the mine. Stan also worked at two islands, Iron Island and Marble Island in the Stanage Bay area, where raw materials for the various smelting operations of Mount Morgan Gold Mining were quarried. At about this time Stan developed an interest in flying and he and Norvel built a number of gliders.
 
In 1913, Stan enlisted in the Port Curtis militia, a citizens part time military force where he was commissioned as a lieutenant. At the outbreak of war in August 1914, Stan was determined to join as a pilot. Military aviation at that time was in its infancy and the Australian authorities had no plans for a branch of the AIF to cover aviation. Stan’s other option was to apply to the Royal Flying Corps which was part of the British military. His application was rejected, perhaps on the basis that did not have the necessary background considered essential for the RFC. Undaunted, Stan sailed to England to apply to the RFC personally. He was rejected for the second time but luckily was accepted into the other flying arm of the armed forces, the Royal Naval Flying Service when he came first out of 83 applicants in the entry exam.
 
Stan was commissioned as a Sub Flight Lieutenant and received his wings and pilot’s license on 5th August 1915 whereupon he was sent to his first squadron on the Western Front. In the early years of the air war, tactics were still evolving and most aerial combat was more like a duel between knights. There was a hint of chivalry about the way in which the air battles were reported, accompanied by fanciful sketches of air to air combat. The reality was far less glamorous. Fatalities due to inexperience, mechanical or structural failure outweighed those attributable to enemy action. Many of the aero engines of the time relied on castor oil as a lubricant and the exhaust fumes caused chronic diarrhoea. There were no parachutes and the airframes were experimental.
 
Stan flew the French built Nieuport single seater fighter, a biplane powered by a rotary engine and armed with a single Lewis machine gun. Neither the French nor the British had mastered the ability to have machine guns fire through the propellor arc and the Nieuport’s Lewis gun was mounted on the top of the upper wing. To reload the Lewis, the pilot would have to stand in the cockpit and replace the drum on the top of the gun; quite a difficult task. Stan mastered the Nieuport well enough to avoid serious injury and in February 1916 scored his first Victory.
 
In response to the increased manoeuvrability of the Fokker Triplanes being flown by the Germans, the British manufacturer Sopwith designed its own triplane and the prototype was issued to Stan’s RNAS squadron in June 1916. The aeroplane was painted in an experimental camouflage pattern and Stan named the plane “brown bread” when he flew it. In the same month, Stan was promoted to Flight Lieutenant. In July 1916, Stan went to the aid of a French aeroplane being attacked by a number of German fighters for which he received a Mention in Despatches and the French Croix de guerre. Stans victories in the air continued to climb and in September 1916, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and made a Flight Commander.
 
In April 1917, Stan received a bar to his DSC for his action at Bellvue. In June, Stan was given command of #1 Naval Squadron RNAS and directed to create a new base near Bailleul. By this stage of the war, the way in which the air war was waged had fundamentally changed. Single aircraft operations over enemy lines were considered too dangerous and the fighters flew in flights of three or more, covering each other in the event of an attack. The fighters were also given the task of protecting observer aircraft that took photographs of the front to aid artillery or to gather intelligence. In November 1917, #1 Squadron was issued with Sopwith Camels and Stan was Mentioned in Despatches a second time. The Squadron was ordered back to England to assist in home defence.
 
Stan’s squadron was ordered back to the Western Front in February 1918, being stationed on the Belgian coast. On the 1st April 1918, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service was combined to create the Royal Air Force. Stan was given the rank of Major in the new service but through some strange arrangement continued to wear naval uniform; leading to his being referred to as “The Admiral.” Stan was given command of #40 Squadron RAF flying SE 5s. On 14th April, Stan received gunshot wounds to his thigh and heel. While recovering in hospital, Stan was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. The DSO is awarded to officers for leadership rather than acts of gallantry. Stan’s score of victories stood at 37, putting him almost at the top of all the so called “Aces” of the day. It was rumoured that there had been several recommendations for the Victoria Cross but if so, they were not approved.
 
On 1st June 1918, Stan took off alone for a sortie over enemy lines. On that same day, a communication arrived at #40 Squadron advising that Stan had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and he was to cease all flying. Stan’s SE5 was pounced on by three Fokker triplanes over the front line at Lievin. The plane came down in no man’s land and a couple of British soldiers rushed out to the crash to discover that Stan was dead. His body was taken back to the British lines and a number of his personal effects were recovered from the wreckage. Stan was buried in Pernes British Cemetery.
 
All of Stans personal belongings, which in the case of officers included all uniform items including sword, toiletry items, books letters, cards and photographs were packed in a valise and forwarded to Stan’s father in Mount Morgan. His medals, including campaign medals and the other awards were also sent to Mount Morgan. The Dallas family chose the following inscription for Stan’s headstone: NOT LOST BUT GONE BEFORE.
The Dallas family donated Stan’s uniform, sword and medals to the Mount Morgan Historical Museum where they are still proudly displayed.