An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 37 mutiny of 1924. Nonetheless, the cuts continued, with some 800 officers leaving, including officers from the Aviation Service, which had been renamed the Irish Army Air Corps. A problem arose for Capt Hannon around this time when it emerged that he and another officer, Lt O Heron, were on the RAF's reserve list, in contravention of their oath to the Free State. However, this matter was resolved by the inter- vention of the chief of staff. In October 1925 Capt Hannon was charged with handing over a Martinsyde Scout fighter to A/Capt W Delamere in an unflyable condition. At the subsequent court martial Capt Hannon was honourably acquitted after a two-day trial. Nevertheless, Col Russell, OC Air Corps, suspended him from flying in November 1925. William remained in the Air Corps as an adjutant and tech- nical officer until 1930 when he was remustered as an ob- server due to the manpower shortage: in 1931/32 the Corps' strength amounted to 23 officers, 48 NCOs, and 143 privates. Further appointments followed for William, in the Aero- nautic School in 1932, followed by an appointment as a photographic officer in 1937. At this time the Air Corps ordered small numbers of more modern aircraft, such as the Gladiator fighter and the Anson patrol aircraft, in view of the threat of a possible European War. In 1938 William was appointed as a staff officer at Air Corps Headquarters, as the procurement of more modern, technological aircraft was desperately accelerated. His final appointment, in 1941, was as an armaments officer. Suffering from progressive deafness, Capt WI Hannon was medically retired from the Air Corps on 6 September 1941. Sadly, he did not have a long retirement, dying on 6 June 1943. He was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery and the mourn- ers at his funeral included his widow, Sarah Hannon; brother, Rev J Hannon SJ; stepbrothers Con and Jim Molony; stepsis- ter, Dr Mary O'Neill; Major W Delamere (OC Air Corps); and former colleagues from the Air Corps. William Ignatius Hannon's resting place is marked by a simple granite Celtic cross be- neath a yew tree. Over- head, his successors in today's Air Corps con- tinue to fly in the sky above, following the footsteps of those early airmen who started to fly at the same time as the fledgling Irish Free State took flight. I would like to acknowledge the fol- lowing who helped with the research for this article: Christine Beggs of the RUR Museum, Belfast, National Archives, London, the helpful staff at Military Archives, Dublin, Glasnevin Cemetery, and Harry Havelin. Glass plate negative of various bi-planes being serviced inside a hangar. Included are a Bristol Fighter F2B, an Avro 504K and two De Havilland DH9s, one of which appears to be serial number 6. Military Archives Collection (IE-MA-ACPS-GPN-306) De Havilland DH9 Serial DII: Glass plate negative showing a Bristol F2B Fighter on the ground at Baldonnel. An Avro 621 Trainer is visible in the background. Military Archives Collection (IE-MA-ACPS-GPN-306) The grave of Captain W. I. Hannon late of the Irish Air Corps, Glasnevin Cemetery. Photo: R. Molony.

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