Group portrait of a Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) officer, flanked by two British officers. ...

Group portrait of a Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) officer, flanked by two British officers. Identified in the centre is Squadron Commander Roderick Stanley (Stan) Dallas, No 1 Squadron, RNAS. Born in Queensland, Dallas sailed to England at the start of the First World War, seeking flight training and after being accepted into the RNAS, was commissioned as a Flight Sub Lieutenant, joining No 1 Squadron in December 1915. During his service on the Western Front, in 1916 and 1917, he proved himself as an exceptional pilot and on 14 June 1917 he was made Commanding Officer of his Squadron. In 1918 after the amalgamation of the two air services to form the Royal Air Force (RAF), he was transferred to 40 Squadron RAF and held the rank of Major. While on a reconnaissance operation, Dallas was struck by three bullets to his leg, after his safe return to base he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) having already been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) and Bar and the French award, the Croix de Guerre and Palm. Major Dallas was killed in action on 1 June 1918, aged 26, while engaged in combat with Fokker Triplanes over France and is buried at Pérnes British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. Major Dallas is officially credited with shooting down thirty nine enemy aircraft.