HISTORIAN Barbara Riding tells the story of a Blackburn pilot killed in the First World War.

One name on the roll of honour at Blackburn Town Hall is that of Thomas Coupe, who was killed while serving in the Royal Flying Corps during the 1914-18 conflict.

He was the second son of William Coupe, a wholesale tea and coffee dealer, who went on to serve as the Mayor of Blackburn in 1936.

The family lived in Dukes Brow and attended Leamington Road Baptist Church.

Tom was also a member of the Sunday School there and a pupil at the grammar school.

His name also appears on its war memorial.

The Royal Flying Corps was employed in home defence against Zeppelin raids and involved in night flying, but the planes were not reliable and there were many accidents.

Indeed, following an inquiry, the reason for Tom’s death was given as ‘a nose dive after stalling’.

His machine had burst into flames on hitting the ground, but he had been killed before being burnt.

Tom was later buried in the Methodist churchyard at Mellor.

Eight other members of the RFC are buried in a cemetery in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, and a teacher there called Peter Bradshaw, who has been researching their lives, has now begun to look into the backgrounds and families of other pilots who are buried in their home towns.

He has recently been to Blackburn and Leamington Road Baptist Church, to visit the war memorial.