British airman, born in Manchester on the 6th of November 1892. He received his technical training there at the Empress motor works and obtained the flying certificate of the R.A.C. in 1912. He joined the R.N.A.S. at the beginning of the World War, being appointed instructor at Eastchurch and, later, chief instructor to the aeronautic squadron. He then went to the Turkish front, winning the D.S.O. for an attack on three enemy seaplanes, and also establishing a record for long-distance bombing flights. He was taken prisoner by the Turks in 1917 and released after the Armistice. On June 15, 1919 Alcock, as pilot, with Lt. A. W. Brown as observer, won the prize offered by the London Daily Mail for the first successful flight across the Atlantic. For this achievement both airmen were knighted. On December 18, 1919 Alcock was killed by the crashing of his aeroplane at Côte d'Evrard, north of Rouen, in France.
