大象传媒

When asked to imagine a 鈥渢ypical鈥� pilot of World War One; a young, fresh-faced, Japanese man may not spring immediately to mind.

Harry Fusao O鈥橦ara was born in Tokyo but was in India at the outbreak of World War One. It was there he joined the Sikh Regiment and was posted to France. He went on to serve with the Middlesex Regiment and was injured six times.

In 1917, Harry was transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and qualified as a pilot at the Royal Provincial Flying School, Edgware.

In 1918 Harry was wounded once again, suffering a gunshot to the jaw. He was sent back to Britain and was eventually discharged from the military in 1919. After the war he settled in London.

Harry Fusao O鈥橦ara died in 1951.

Location: Stag Lane Aerodrome (former site of the London & Provincial Aerodrome Company), Stag Lane, Edgware Greater London HA8 5LW
Image: Harry Fusao O鈥橦ara, courtesy of Geraldine Reedijk