Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Captain Andrew Frederick Weatherby Beauchamp-Proctor, VC, DSO, MC and bar, DFC was a South African recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was South Africa's leading ace for World War I; he was credited with 54 aerial victories. Beauchamp-Proctor was born 4 September 1894 in Mossel Bay, Cape Province, the second son of a school teacher. He was attending the University of Cape Town studying engineering when the European war broke out. He took leave from his studies to join the Duke of Edinburgh's Own Rifles. He served as a signalman in the German South-West Africa campaign. In August 1915 he was demobilised with an honorable discharge. He promptly went to work with the South African Field Telegraph and re-enrolled in university