espionage agent across enemy lines. Dodging an attack by three German fighters, as well as anti-aircraft fire, he landed in a deserted field, only to find that the agent refused to get out of the aircraft. While he was on reconnaissance duties with No. 8 Squadron, the London Gazette announced that he had been awarded the Military Cross "for conspicuous skill and gallantry on many occasions," particularly for "one occasion [when] he attacked six in one flight". This was not unusual; throughout his career, Ball generally attacked on sight and heedless of the odds. He professed no hatred for his opponents, writing to his parents "I only scrap because it is my duty ... Nothing makes me feel more rotten than to see them go down, but you see it is either them or me, so I must do my duty best to make it a case of them". Ball's 20th birthday was marked by his promotion to temporary captain and his return to No. 11 Squadron. He destroyed three Roland C.IIs in one sortie on 22 August 1916, the first RFC pilot to do so. He ended the day by fighting 14 Germans some behind their lines. With his aircraft badly damaged and out of fuel, he struggled back to Allied lines to land. He transferred with part of No. 11 Squadron to No. 60 Squadron RFC on 23 August. His new commanding officer gave Ball a free rein to fly solo missions, and assigned him his own personal aircraft and maintenance crew. One of the squadron mechanics painted up a non-standard red propeller boss; A201 became the first of a series of Ball's aeroplanes to have such a colour scheme. He found that it helped his fellow squadron members identify his aircraft and confirm his combat claims. By end of the month, he had increased his tally to 17 enemy aircraft, including three on 28 August. Ball then took leave in England. His feats in France had received considerable publicity. He was the first British ace to become a household name, and found that his celebrity was such that he could not walk down the streets of Nottingham without being stopped and congratulated. Prior to this the British government had suppressed the names of its aces—in contrast to the policy of the French and Germans—but the losses of the Battle of the Somme, which had commenced in July,