Background

James Talmage Hanning was born February 15, 1887 in New Maryland, New Brunswick to James Hanning Jr. and Jane McElveny. While there is limited information on when James and Jane married one another, census records reveal that they had five children, including Talmage. The other children’s names were John Edward, Mary, Robert, and Bessie. At the age of nine, Bessie was diagnosed with diphtheria and passed away in 1886. Talmage’s father would pass five years later from heart failure leaving Jane a widow raising four children. After her husband’s death, the family took up residence in Fredericton on Charlotte Street where Janie ran a local store, later residing at 217 Saint John Street. In 1895, according to the Daily Gleaner, to her friend’s surprise, Janie married James Bird, a former city councilor and lumberman in the area. All of Janie’s children attended local schools as well as St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. After graduating from Fredericton High School, Talmage attended the University of New Brunswick where he qualified as a civil engineer and land surveyor before moving out west to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway. As an engineer, in addition to working for the CPR, newspapers suggest he was part of early developments in Canadian aviation managing proposed flight projects across the Atlantic prior to the war. As such, when war broke out in 1914, his skills as an engineer and aviation expert made him a good fit for the Royal Flying Corps. While out west, Talmage, or “Tal” as his brother called him, went to Ottawa for a meeting with Colonel Guthrie where he was quickly granted a commission to join the Aviation Corps of the British Army. Before going overseas, Talmage visited his hometown and family one last time in early 1916 before paying his own way on a passenger ship for England. He formally enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps in England on January 15, 1916 at the age of twenty-seven. According to RFC records, James Talmage Hanning was described as having brown hair, brown eyes, and having a medium complexion while standing five feet ten inches tall. Tal’s brother, Edward, also would enlist during the war choosing to serve as a signaler with the Canadian Engineers before joining the Royal Flying Corps. He received the Military Cross for actions during the war. Prior to the war, Edward had graduated from the Provincial Normal School as a teacher and had taught in St. Stephen and schools out west prior to enlisting.       

Wartime Experience

Although there are few official records of his active service during the war because Talmage had enlisted with the Royal Flying Corps and not the Canadian Expeditionary Force, newspapers offer important details of his time while overseas. As the Battle of the Somme began in early July 1916, Tal was active in artillery observation and reconnaissance missions in the air with the RFC and continued this work until the Somme ended in November. By late November the plane he was flying in went missing behind German lines. Although newspaper reports would indicate him as missing, months went by before Tal’s brother, Edward, wrote home explaining to his mother what had happened and why:

“I have made many enquiries about Tal all the time from every pilot and observer that I have met. I had at last met an observer who was in No. 9th squadron and also in Tal’s flight. (The squadrons are divided into flights). He was a great friend to both Tal and Strauss and the news he has is anything but good. I hesitated to write the news to you. He has no definite news but has made enquiries everywhere after the machine failed to return and finally found a major who was in an observation post, observing for the artillery at the time. This major saw the machine come down, and from the way it fell they gave up hope for them as a wing fell off the machine. One of the officers in the machine was seen to fall out. He was supposed to be the observer as he would not strapped in. There is no doubt of the observer’s fate and has been reported officially killed. It looks very much as if there was not a chance in the world for Tal. I did not want to write this, but when your letter arrived saying to let you know at once even if I got bad news. I decided to write all I have found out. Tal went out on military observation that morning and after having a few hours over the German lines, he returned to the aerodrome, reporting that it was impossible to see the target owing to the low clouds. Although it was a rotten day, and everybody realized that it was an impossible day, he was sent out again in the afternoon. Tal apparently decided to do the work at all costs and came down to a low altitude, about 1000 feet, and the machine was brought down by a machine gun fire from the ground. It fell close to the German front line trenches. The wreckage of the machine was found when the British advanced, but the ground was so torn up with shell fire that no information could be got from it. I have had strong hopes for Tal, mainly owing to your dreams of him being alive, but the news does not look at all good. This observer had flown with Tal many times and said that he had the reputation of being their stoutest pilot. On one occasion a six-inch shell passed through the tail of his machine, carrying away half of the tail, but in spite of the fact that the machine was almost unmanageable, he continued on till his work was finish before returning. One of the observers won a Military Cross with a bar to it while flying as Tal’s observer, so Tal must have done at least as much as he did. But as Tal is just the sort to give the other fellow all the glory. Another time this observer that I met was flying next to Tal’s machine in a bombarding raid on a German, just behind their lines. They came under heavy shell fire and four shells burst together, almost making a direct hit on Tal’s machine. He saw it go into a spinning nose dive straight for earth and supposed that Tal and Straus were done for, but shortly after reaching the aerodrome, they came in with a riddle machine, but uninjured. Tal had succeeded in getting it under control again. If Tal is gone mother, you have the satisfaction of knowing that he has been able to kill several hundred Huns besides getting valuable information. There is of course the slimmest chance that he may have landed without being killed, but it is really a very slight one. I am trying to get the name and address of the Major who saw it and expect to be able to, although this observer has forgotten it. I will then write him and get his story in full. I certainly don’t like to write this letter, but I believe it would be your wish that I do so. But you must look on it from the brighter side, whether Tal is alive or dead he has done much more than most people do in a life time and he had done it well.”

According to details received from his brother’s letter and RFC reports, 2nd Lieutenant James Talmage Hanning was killed by machine gun fire at 2:40 pm, November 27, 1916 while carrying out a reconnaissance mission at a very low altitude behind German lines in the area of Bapaume, France. Tal was twenty-seven years old and unmarried. His body was never recovered.   

Lest We Forget

2nd Lieutenant James Talmage Hanning is honoured at the Arras Flying Service Memorial in Arras, France. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission he is one of thousands of airmen from the First World War who have no known grave.