Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Lieutenant A. G. MacKay, 20th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, attached Royal Flying Corps, who served as an Observer with 12 Squadron, and was killed in action on 18 May 1917 when his BE2e was shot down by the German ace and Pour le Merite recipient Lieutenant Karl Allmenröder - often flying as wingman to the Red Baron, this was Allmenröder’s 15th victory of the War, out of an eventual total tally of 30

British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. A. G. Mac Kay.) good very fine (2) £300-£400

Arthur Gordon MacKay, a native of Montreal, Canada, attested for the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force, and was posted to the 20th (Reserve) Battalion. He served during the Great War attached to the Royal Flying Corps, and was killed in action on 18 May 1917 when his BE2e of 12 Squadron, piloted by Second Lieutenant Benjamin Strachan, with MacKay as Observer, was shot down by the German ace and Pour le Merite recipient Lieutenant Karl Allmenröder. The casualty report stated that they did not appear to notice their attacker until it was too late, and although MacKay returned fire, the wings of their machine crumpled as they folded back and upwards, giving neither man any chance of escape as they plunged to the ground. This was Allmenröder’s 15th victory of the War; he went onto score a further 15 kills, giving him a total tally of 30 victories, before his own death on 27 June 1917.

MacKay is buried alongside Strachan in Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery, Arras, France.