The families of the Red Baron and the first two British pilots he killed will meet to mark the centenary of the deaths and toast to the soldiers' memory.
On 17 September 1916, Englishman Lionel Morris, 19, and Tom Rees, 21, of Wales, became the first victims of Manfred von Richthofen - the man who would later be known as the Red Baron, Germany's most famous fighter pilot of the First World War.
Now, to commemorate the centenary of the event, representatives of all three families will meet to honour the deaths of Captain Rees and Second Lieutenant Morris, and the moment the Red Baron began his path in military history.
Families of first Britons to be killed by the Red Baron will drink schnapps with the pilot's relative to mark centenary of their deaths
Representatives of the families of Manfred von Richthofen, and his first two kills, will meet on the 100th anniversary of the event Credit: Getty Images/Whitgift School
Cristina Criddle
30 August 2016
The Telegraph
The families of the Red Baron and the first two British pilots he killed will meet to mark the centenary of the deaths and toast to the soldiers' memory.
On 17 September 1916, Englishman Lionel Morris, 19, and Tom Rees, 21, of Wales, became the first victims of Manfred von Richthofen - the man who would later be known as the Red Baron, Germany's most famous fighter pilot of the First World War.
Now, to commemorate the centenary of the event, representatives of all three families will meet to honour the deaths of Captain Rees and Second Lieutenant Morris, and the moment the Red Baron began his path in military history.
The Red Baron downed 80 men in his fighter plane Credit: : EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH
With every plane downed, the Baron would commission a silver schnapps cup and toast to the death.
To mark the anniversary of the first 'kills', relatives of the men will have a toast of reconciliation, sipping from a replica goblet commissioned by Whitgift School in Croydon, south London.
The independent boys' school has a special connection to the flying ace.
Before serving in the Great War, 2d Lt Morris used to attend the school and, when Richthofen was himself gunned down eighteen months later, another Whitgiftian boy, Lt. Col. George Barber, supervised the autopsy.
Whitgift School in Croydon, south London
The silver goblet forms part of a public exhibition marking 100 years since the Battle of the Somme.
The headmaster has invited members of the three men's families to visit the school in recognition of the first deaths at the hands of the legendary Red Baron.
“Morris had transferred into the Royal Flying Corps. He had not got much experience when they met," said Christopher Barnett, headmaster of the school.
With an inferior plane, the pair no were match for Von Richthofen, who killed 80 British and other Allied pilots in total.
"In a fraction of a second I was at his back with my excellent machine," Von Richthofen wrote of Morris and Rees in their two-seater plane.
"I gave a short burst of shots with my machine-gun. I had gone so close that I was afraid I might dash into the Englishman.
"Suddenly I nearly yelled with joy, for the propeller of the enemy machine had stopped turning. Hurrah! I had shot his engine to pieces; the enemy was compelled to land, for it was impossible for him to reach his own lines."
The Red Baron then ordered a silver goblet, beginning the tradition which became his trademark, honouring the men gunned down by the pilot.
“He commissioned it from a Berlin silversmith," Dr Barnett said. "Each time he shot a plane down he got a silver cup. He stopped at 60 though. I think he ran out of silver."
As only a few original cups remain, the school created a replica made of the "Number 1 cup" for the schnapps toast.
Representatives of the families, including Donat von Richthofen - who, unlike his famous relative, is actually a baron - will travel to the exhibition for a dinner on September 17.
Families of first Britons to be killed by the Red Baron will drink schnapps with the pilot's relative to mark centenary of their deaths
On 17 September 1916, Englishman Lionel Morris, 19, and Tom Rees, 21, of Wales, became the first victims of Manfred von Richthofen - the man who would later be known as the Red Baron, Germany's most famous fighter pilot of the First World War.
Now, to commemorate the centenary of the event, representatives of all three families will meet to honour the deaths of Captain Rees and Second Lieutenant Morris, and the moment the Red Baron began his path in military history.
Families of first Britons to be killed by the Red Baron will drink schnapps with the pilot's relative to mark centenary of their deaths
Representatives of the families of Manfred von Richthofen, and his first two kills, will meet on the 100th anniversary of the event Credit: Getty Images/Whitgift School
Cristina Criddle
30 August 2016
The Telegraph
The families of the Red Baron and the first two British pilots he killed will meet to mark the centenary of the deaths and toast to the soldiers' memory.
On 17 September 1916, Englishman Lionel Morris, 19, and Tom Rees, 21, of Wales, became the first victims of Manfred von Richthofen - the man who would later be known as the Red Baron, Germany's most famous fighter pilot of the First World War.
Now, to commemorate the centenary of the event, representatives of all three families will meet to honour the deaths of Captain Rees and Second Lieutenant Morris, and the moment the Red Baron began his path in military history.
The Red Baron downed 80 men in his fighter plane Credit: : EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH
With every plane downed, the Baron would commission a silver schnapps cup and toast to the death.
To mark the anniversary of the first 'kills', relatives of the men will have a toast of reconciliation, sipping from a replica goblet commissioned by Whitgift School in Croydon, south London.
The independent boys' school has a special connection to the flying ace.
Before serving in the Great War, 2d Lt Morris used to attend the school and, when Richthofen was himself gunned down eighteen months later, another Whitgiftian boy, Lt. Col. George Barber, supervised the autopsy.
Whitgift School in Croydon, south London
The silver goblet forms part of a public exhibition marking 100 years since the Battle of the Somme.
The headmaster has invited members of the three men's families to visit the school in recognition of the first deaths at the hands of the legendary Red Baron.
“Morris had transferred into the Royal Flying Corps. He had not got much experience when they met," said Christopher Barnett, headmaster of the school.
With an inferior plane, the pair no were match for Von Richthofen, who killed 80 British and other Allied pilots in total.
"In a fraction of a second I was at his back with my excellent machine," Von Richthofen wrote of Morris and Rees in their two-seater plane.
"I gave a short burst of shots with my machine-gun. I had gone so close that I was afraid I might dash into the Englishman.
"Suddenly I nearly yelled with joy, for the propeller of the enemy machine had stopped turning. Hurrah! I had shot his engine to pieces; the enemy was compelled to land, for it was impossible for him to reach his own lines."
The Red Baron then ordered a silver goblet, beginning the tradition which became his trademark, honouring the men gunned down by the pilot.
“He commissioned it from a Berlin silversmith," Dr Barnett said. "Each time he shot a plane down he got a silver cup. He stopped at 60 though. I think he ran out of silver."
As only a few original cups remain, the school created a replica made of the "Number 1 cup" for the schnapps toast.
Representatives of the families, including Donat von Richthofen - who, unlike his famous relative, is actually a baron - will travel to the exhibition for a dinner on September 17.
Families of first Britons to be killed by the Red Baron will drink schnapps with the pilot's relative to mark centenary of their deaths
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