Flight Lieutenant
Gorman, Joseph
Unit
Branch
Service Component
Royal Naval Air Service
Service Number
birth
1889/12/17
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
death
1917/12/17
Italy
grave
Padua Main Cemetery, Italy
Gender
Male
Joseph Gorman was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on 17 December 1889. A member of an influential Montréal and Ottawa family, Gorman was a well-known lacrosse player and sports writer before the war. His brother, Tommy, was a founding member of the National Hockey League and part owner of the Ottawa Senators hockey club.
Gorman travelled to San Antonio, Texas, in 1915 to train as a pilot under the tutelage of the famous American aviator Marjorie Stinson. In December 1915, he became the first graduate of the Stinson School of Flying. After obtaining his flying certificate, Gorman enlisted with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1916. He flew flying boats at Felixstowe, England, and became a flight instructor. Among his students was Robert Leckie, who later became Chief of Air Staff, Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.
From 1916 to September 1917, Gorman flew anti-submarine patrols out of Malta, mainly on Curtiss flying boats. He then transferred to Italy, where he flew Caproni Ca.1, Ca.3, and Ca.4 bombers. For a short while, Gorman flew Handley-Page bombers in Dunkirk, France, before going to Kent, England, for training.
Posted to Italy once again, Gorman died in a crash on 17 December 1917, while testing an airplane for the Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare (Military Aviation Corps) in the presence of Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy. It was Gorman’s 28th birthday.
Joseph Gorman is buried in Padua Main Cemetery, in Italy.
