Born 29th March 1893 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a civil engineer from Edmonton, Alberta, John Gerald Manuel was the son of George M. and Edith Manual. Having served in the militia—19th Alberta Dragoons—he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (No. 687203) on 27th November 1914. As Gunner with the Canadian Field Artillery in France, he was wounded on 5th October 1916. On 4th March 1917 he joined the Royal Naval Air Service as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant (on probation). Posted to 10 Naval Squadron on 12th August 1917, he downed his first enemy machine at 18:30 hrs on the 21st while flying Sopwith Triplane (N5380), an Albatros D.V east E of Menin. He was wounded again on 8th May 1918 when, while flying on patrol, a Very pistol exploded in his hand. Upon recovering he was discharged to duty on 29th May 1918. He made his final victory, his 13th on the 9th Jun 1918 at 08:35 hrs while flying Sopwith Camel (D3410), a Pfalz D.III north-east of Ploegsteert Wood. He was killed the following day in a collision with another Sopwith Camel. John Gerald Manuel was buried in the Y Farm Military Cemetery, Bois-Grenier, Bois-Grenier Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) Flt. Sub-Lieut. John Gerald Manuel, R.N.A.S.

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in air fights and bombing raids, particularly on the 26th September, 1917, when he attacked alone the Abeele Aerodrome, dropping his bombs from about 1,500 feet with good results. A machine gun then opened fire on him, but he dived down low and silenced it by firing fifty rounds from his machine gun.

Supplement to the London Gazette, 19 December 1917 

Ron Eisele