Norman Clifford oil painting - Roby Lewis Manuel, A.F.C.

Captain Roby Lewis Manuel, D.F.C. and Bar, was a highly decorated Australian pilot of the Great War.

The following biographical information was taken from the Virtual War memorial of Australia"

"Roby Manuel enlisted in the 43rd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force on 5 April 1916.

He transferred to the Australian Flying Corps on 30 April 1917. He was posted to No. 2 Squadron AFC in France as a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a pilot on 6 February 1918. He scored his first aerial victory on 2 April 1918, in company with Captain Henry Garnet Forrest; they destroyed a German two-seater reconnaissance machine over Demuin.

Two months later, on 2 June, he destroyed two Pfalz D.III fighter planes, then drove down a third one out of control within the half hour. Ten days later, on 12 June 1918, he became an ace by setting another Pfalz D.III afire north of Bussy. His exploits earned him the award of a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on 2 July 1918.

Manuel was then promoted to captain as he was appointed a Flight Commander. He switched airplanes. He had scored his first five wins in serial number B184; he would use number C1948 for his final seven victories. He began on 22 July 1918, driving down a Pfalz D.III and a Fokker D.VII, both out of control. On the 31st, he drove down an Albatros D.V. The destruction of a Fokker D.VII on an evening patrol on 14 August 1918 brought Manuel's total to nine wins.

On 16 September, Manuel claimed two more Fokker D.VIIs in two separate dogfights. When the second Fokker went down near Droglandt, France, Manuel landed nearby. Unable to aid the German pilot he had wounded, Manuel could only watch him die, then help bury the dead German. For this action he was awarded a Bar to his DFC. British military intelligence later exhumed this German pilot's body to examine the parachute he was wearing."

Norman Clifford is one of Australia's foremost aviation artists. His works are held in the R.A.A.F. Museum at Point Cook, the Australian War Memorial and in many other public and private collections.