Alfred Edward Ikin
Monday 11 March 1918
Army Rank: Second LieutenantNumber: Regiment: 93rd Squadron Royal Flying CorpsBorn: 1899Died: 11th March, 1918Age: 19Cause of Death: Killed in action Commemorated at Hereford Cathedral School, Hereford Cathedral and Lapugnoy Military Cemetery. Son of Dr. A. E. Ikin, B.Sc., LL.D., Director of Education, Biackpool.After Hereford Cathedral School, Ikin went to Norwich and then Clare College Cambridge, where he is listed as serving in the Norwich O.T.C. in The Cambridge Review’s War List, April 21st, 1917. However, his name does not appear in The War List of the University of Cambridge 1914-1918, edited by G.V. Carey (Cambridge University Press 1921). The April, 1918 edition of The Herefordian included his obituary:Sec. Lieut. A. E. Ikin was reported killed on March 22nd, 1918. He gained an open Scholarship to Clare College, Cambridge, in December, 1916, at the age of 18, and then joined the Artists’ Rifles. At the end of March, 1917, he joined on O.C.B., of which he was top, and was then gazetted to the R.F.C. on May 3rd. He was then transferred to a Flying Squadron and after a month with an elementary course was transferred to an advanced squadron, where after a further month’s flying he gained his “wings.” Later he proceeded overseas and was barely 20 years of age when he fell.His obituary also appeared in Flight & The Aircraft Engineer Magazine, April 4th, 1918:Second Lieutenant A. E. IKIN, R.F.C., who was killed while flying in France on May 11th, was the eldest son of Dr. A. E. Ikin, Director of Education at Blackpool, was 19 years of age, and was educated at Hereford Grammar School, and later at Norwich, and gave considerable promise in science and mathematics. He gained honours in the Cambridge Locals when he was only 14, and passed the London Intermediate Science Examination at 17. During his last year at school he won a Board of Education Exhibition of £50 a year at Cambridge, and also an open scholarship at Clare College.For two months before going to France Mr. Ikin had been engaged in night-flying against enemy air-raiders; but more recently he had taken part in night-bombing over the enemy lines and on other special flight work.