 On 14 May 1915 , Eaton transferred to the Royal Flying Corps ( RFC ) , undergoing initial pilot training at Oxford . While he was landing his Maurice Farman Shorthorn at the end of his first solo flight , another student collided with him and was killed , but Eaton emerged uninjured . He was commissioned in August and was awarded his wings in October . Ranked lieutenant , he served with No. 110 Squadron , which operated Martinsyde G.100 " Elephant " fighters out of Sedgeford , defending London against Zeppelin airships . Transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force ( RAF ) in April 1918 , he was posted the following month to France flying Airco DH.9 single @-@ engined bombers with No. 206 Squadron . On 29 June , he was shot down behind enemy lines and captured in the vicinity of Nieppe . Incarcerated in Holzminden prisoner @-@ of @-@ war camp , Germany , Eaton escaped but was recaptured and court @-@ martialled , after which he was kept in solitary confinement . He later effected another escape and succeeded in rejoining his squadron in the final days of the war . 
