Six months after the outbreak of of WWI, Germany began sending bomb-laden Zeppelins — which were notoriously hard to shoot down — across the North Sea to terrorize Britain.
Dozens of middle-of-the-night Zeppelin raids killed hundreds of British citizens and injured hundreds more.
Finally, in the wee hours of September 3, 1916, William Leefe Robinson became the first British pilot to shoot down a German Zeppelin over the United Kingdom.
Accounts of Robinson’s achievement — attributable to bravery, skill, and newly developed incendiary bullets — ran in newspapers and magazines across the country, along with photographs of the heroic 21-year-old airman.
On September 9, King George V presented Robinson with the Victoria Cross, the British military’s most prestigious award.
On October 22, in a letter to his parents, Robinson wrote:
As I daresay you have seen in the papers — babies, flowers and hats have been named after me also poems and prose have been dedicated to me — oh, it’s too much!
I am recognised wherever I go about Town now, whether in uniform or mufti — the city police salute me, the waiters, hall porters and pages of hotels and restaurants bow and scrape — visitors turn around and stare — oh it’s too thick!
Due to the commonness of the names William and Robinson, we may never know how many babies were named with William Leefe Robinson in mind. But here are several likely namesakes (all born in England):
- Samuel Leefe R. Batley (b. Sept. 3, 1916)
- George Leefe R. Smith (b. Sept. 5 1916)
- William Leefe R. Cox (b. Sept. 9, 1916)
- William Leefe R. Telford (b. Sept. 14, 1916)
- William Leefe Robinson (b. Sept. 15, 1916)
- William Leefe Robinson (b. Sept. 23, 1916)
- William Leefe Robinson Jarrett (b. in the third quarter of 1916)
- Leonard Leefe Robinson Martin (b. in the fourth quarter of 1916)
- Walter Leefe Robinson Welland (b. May 18, 1917)
Soon after the first airship was shot down, others followed. (One that landed in Wigborough inspired a local family to name their baby girl Zeppelina.)
The final Zeppelin raid took place in August of 1918 — several months before the Armistice was signed and Germany was defeated.
Sources:
- Ashcroft, Michael. Heroes of the Skies. London: Headline Publishing Group, 2012.
- Leatherdale, Duncan. “Leefe Robinson: The man who shot down a Baby Killer.” BBC News 3 Sept. 2016.
- William Leefe Robinson – Wikipedia
- Zeppelin raids – The National Archives
- FamilySearch.org
Image: Adapted from Leefe Robinson (public domain)
[Latest update: Sept. 2024]