Alfred Edwin McKay
A daring Canadian pilot whose brief, brilliant combat career in the skies of WWI ended in a mysterious disappearance.
1892–1917 (age 25)·Canadian flying ace·Birthday: December 27·The Lost Generation
Biography
Alfred 'Eddie' McKay's story is one of meteoric rise and enigmatic loss. From Galt, Ontario, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps, trading the trenches for the perilous freedom of the air. Flying a Sopwith Camel with 23 Squadron, he quickly proved a natural and aggressive fighter pilot. In just over two months of intense combat in the fall of 1917, he was credited with downing seven enemy aircraft, earning the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry. His final flight came on December 17, 1917, during a patrol over the battle-scarred landscape of Flanders. He simply never returned, listed as missing in action with no known grave. McKay's legacy is that of the classic flying ace: incredibly skilled, fiercely brave, and swallowed by the very war he fought so effectively in.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Alfred was born in 1892, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alfred Was Born
The biggest hits of 1892
Alfred's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1892Born
President: Benjamin Harrison
1897Started school
President: William McKinley
1905Became a teenager
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Could drive
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Could vote
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1913Turned 21
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1917Died at 25
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
Key Achievements
- Officially credited with seven aerial victories as a Sopwith Camel pilot during World War I.
- Awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in aerial combat.
- Achieved all of his combat victories within a concentrated period between late September and December 1917.
Did You Know?
He was a schoolteacher before enlisting in the army in 1915.
His younger brother, Harry, also served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and survived the war.
He is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial in France, which lists airmen with no known grave.
His nickname 'Eddie' was derived from his middle name, Edwin.
“The Hun in the sun is a dead Hun; keep the sun behind you.”
