American Red Cross Flying Squadron in WWI London
The Flying Squadron in this photograph was an American Red Cross emergency unit in Great Britain during World War I. It was not a racing team or an aviation outfit. Based in London, the group used machines like this Harley-Davidson sidecar outfit to answer calls quickly when help was needed.
A Red Cross Emergency Unit in London
By late 1917 or early 1918, as American Red Cross work expanded in Britain, the Flying Squadron appears to have become part of the Emergency Department in London. Period Red Cross and War Department captions describe it as an emergency outfit that could be rushed wherever immediate relief was needed, including ports, military transport trouble spots, and other scenes where soldiers or sailors needed help quickly.
The unit was made up of roughly a dozen American Red Cross men. Period captions identify several members by name, including Capt. H.S. Wells, Lieut. Charles E. Hemp, Lieut. W.T. Higgins, and Lieut. James Jeffers, along with sergeants from cities across the United States. The names matter because this was not an anonymous vehicle pool. It was a small, mobile group expected to solve problems before normal channels caught up.
Ready Around the Clock
The Flying Squadron was on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. After dark, two members were always on active duty while the others stayed on call. After midnight, Red Cross calls went directly to the Squadron’s own line, so late-night emergencies did not have to wait for the next morning’s office routine.
Contemporary descriptions treated the unit almost like a fire brigade. Men, dispatch riders, supply trucks, and other equipment were kept close enough that the Squadron could move within minutes of a call. The three-minute response claim attached to the group fits that model: keep the men and machines ready, then get help moving before delay became part of the emergency.
Motorcycles, Sidecars, Ambulances, and Supply Trucks
The Flying Squadron used more than motorcycles. Its working fleet included dispatch motorcycles, sidecars, ambulances, and supply trucks, all built around the same job: fast practical relief. These were wartime service machines, not show motorcycles or parade equipment.
A period War Department caption connected with Flying Squadron imagery identifies a Harley-Davidson Model F10, a 61 cubic inch F-series V-twin from the World War I era. That should not be stretched into a claim that every Squadron motorcycle was identical, but it gives the original photograph useful mechanical context. A big American V-twin with a sidecar could carry a passenger, small supplies, medical gear, or another Red Cross man across London faster than a slower office-bound system.
That combination of speed and carrying capacity is what made sidecar combinations useful in early military motorcycle use. A sidecar combination could do more than deliver a message; it could move people and material when an ambulance or truck was not necessary.
Turning Red Cross Offices Into Barracks
The clearest example of the Squadron’s practical latitude came near the end of the war, when London was crowded with American and British soldiers who had no particular place to go and no proper lodging. Instead of waiting for a formal solution, the Squadron opened Red Cross buildings after the staff left and turned the offices into temporary barracks.
Soldiers were given food and blankets, then shown to whatever space could be made useful: an office chair, a desk, or a spot on the floor. Early the next morning, they were awakened and fed again while the Squadron converted the rooms back into offices before the regular staff arrived. Reportedly, the arrangement went on for some time before the rest of the Red Cross staff realized what was happening after hours.