Henry Botterell
Henry John Lawrence Botterell (November 7, 1896 – January 3, 2003) was a Canadian fighter pilot who served in the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Air Force during World War I. When he died at 106, he was considered by many to be the last surviving pilot who had seen action in the Great War.
Early life
Botterell was born in Ottawa. His father, also named Henry, died of pneumonia when Henry Jr. was a boy. He attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute and worked as a bank clerk at the Bank of North America (later the Bank of Montreal) before the war.
World War I service
In 1916, Botterell joined the Royal Naval Air Service as a civilian flying trainee. His sister Edith helped him get in, and he trained in England. He earned his wings on August 15, 1917, and was nicknamed “Nap” after Napoleon. He joined No. 8 Naval Squadron (Naval 8) and went to France to support the Royal Flying Corps. His squadron was led by Canadian Flying Ace James White and commanded by Christopher Draper, known as the “Mad Major.”
On September 18, 1917, during his second flight in combat, Botterell’s Sopwith Pup crashed at Dunkirk. He survived with a head injury, a fractured leg, and broken teeth. After six months in hospital, he returned to Canada.
On the journey home, former colleagues helped him re-qualify as a pilot. He went to Manston in England for refresher training and was cleared to fly again. He then went to Serny on the Western Front and rejoined No. 208 Squadron RAF (the former Naval 8). From May 11 to November 27, 1918, he flew many missions in various aircraft, conducting patrols and combat over areas including Serny, Tramecourt, Arras, Foucaucourt, and Estrées. In 60 days between June and August 1918, he flew 91 sorties. Botterell’s only confirmed air victory came on August 29, 1918, when he shot down a German observation balloon near Arras, firing 400 rounds in a dive; the observer parachuted to safety.
During the war Botterell flew several aircraft, such as the Sopwith Pup, Camel, Snipe, RE8, SE5, Maurice Farman, and others, totaling about 251 combat hours. He finished the war as a flight lieutenant in the RAF.
Post-war life
After returning to Canada, Botterell did not fly again except on commercial flights. He worked for the Bank of Montreal, becoming Assistant Chief Accountant and living in Quebec and Montreal, retiring in 1970. In 1929 he married Maud Goater; they had two children, Edward and Frances. During World War II, he served as an Air Cadet Squadron Commander in Lachine, Quebec.
Later life and legacy
In 1998, Botterell celebrated his 102nd birthday in Lille, France, with other veterans marking the war’s end. In 1999, he attended a dinner for the 75th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 2001, members of today’s 208 Squadron visited him. The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa now houses a fence post that was caught in the wing of Botterell’s Sopwith Camel during a low-altitude sortie.
Botterell once said: “I had good hands. I didn’t have the fighting acumen of some, like Billy Bishop. I was just a bank clerk. I wasn’t one of the very best, but I had my share of action.”
He died in a Toronto nursing home. His portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 21:43 (CET).