Cecil Hughes Dickson was a pilot on WW1, and spent some time in France.

World War I In April 1914 six pupils (with the probationary ranks of lieutenant in the ACF) were sent to England to undergo further training.[1] Five of them eventually qualified. When World War I broke out in August 1914, these pilots were granted permission to join the newly formed Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The number of South Africans in the RFC eventually reached approximately 3,000, with 260 active-duty fatalities. They took part in aerial reconnaissance and artillery spotting missions over France during the war. No fewer than 46 of them became fighter aces shooting down five or more enemy aircraft, with the most successful,