<i>Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940.</i><br><p>Pilots of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._73_Squadron_RAF" class="extiw" title="en:No. 73 Squadron RAF">No. 73 Squadron RAF</a> grouped round the Duty Office dugout at Rouvres.   Standing in the dugout entrance, wearing a balaclava, is Pilot Officer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_James_%22Cobber%22_Kain" class="extiw" title='en:Edgar James "Cobber" Kain'>E J "Cobber" Kain</a>, later to achieve distinction as the first Allied 'ace' of the War.<br>
The officers grouped around him are (clockwise from Kain):
</p>
<ul><li>Flying Officer R E Lovett</li>
<li>Pilot Officer P V Ayerst</li>
<li>Pilot Officer J G "Tubs" Perry</li>
<li>Flying Officer N "Fanny" Orton</li>
<li>Pilot Officers G F Brotchie</li>
<li>A B "Tommy" Tucker</li>
<li>"Smooth" Holliday.</li>
<li>Holliday's left can be seen the head of a Greek journalist who was visiting the Squadron</li></ul><p>Standing in a line on the roof are (left to right) :
</p>
<ul><li>Sergeants R M Perry</li>
<li>L J W "Humph" Humphris</li>
<li>B Speake</li>
<li>D A Sewell</li>
<li>G H Phillips</li>
<li>J Winn</li>
<li>Pilot Officer E "Henry" Hall (Squadron Adjutant)</li>
<li>Sergeants C N S Campbell</li>
<li>S G Stuckey.</li></ul>
Sgts Perry and Winn became the Squadron's first casualties when they were both shot down and killed north-east of Metz on 22 December 1939 by Messerschmitt Bf 109s of III/JG53.
<bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q112244814" class="extiw" title="d:Q112244814"><span title="press photographer and official photographer of the British Royal Air Force">Stanley Arthur Devon</span></a>
</bdi>
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//23/media-23152/large.jpg">http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib//23/media-23152/large.jpg</a>
</p>
<div style="margin:0.5em;"></div>
<div class="center centered" style="width:auto;">
<table style="width:100%; border:1px solid black; background:#E0E0E0; padding:0; text-align:center;"><tbody><tr><td align="left"><img alt="IWMLondonThumbnail.jpg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/IWMLondonThumbnail.jpg" decoding="async" width="80" height="54" data-file-width="80" data-file-height="54"></td>
<td>This photograph <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205127159">C 173</a> comes from the collections of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/">Imperial War Museums</a>.
</td>
<td align="right"><img alt="Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/80px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="80" height="48" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/120px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/160px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="177" data-file-height="106"></td></tr></tbody></table></div>