Biography:
John Frederick Lascelles was born 13 November 1895, the youngest son of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Arthur Lascelles MVO and Caroline, daughter of the Hon. Charles Gore, of Woolbeding House, Midhurst, Sussex. He was one of three Wykehamist brothers, the others being Francis William Lascelles (A 1903-1908) and Edward Charles Ponsonby Lascelles (A 1898-1902).
John came to Winchester from Mr GT Worsley's school at Hillingdon in September 1909. He was in A House, Chernocke House, and played cricket for his house XI and in Lords XI in 1913 and 1914.
He left Winchester in the summer of 1914 for RMC Sandhurst and was then gazetted to the Rifle Brigade, his father's regiment, in December 1914. Shortly afterwards he was attached as observer to the Royal Flying Corps and immediately went out to France. His first operation was on 4 February 1915 in a BE2a flying from St Omer on a two hour reconnaissance flight. In April 1915 he brought down a German aeroplane with a rifle and was awarded the M.C. and mentioned in Despatches. The control wheel of the German plane was presented to Lascelles as a souvenir, and kept at Woolbeding until being given away and used, it is believed, in the restoration of a vintage car. Its whereabouts are currently unknown.
4 Squadron's records give a detailed account of Lascelles' service and details of several near misses, both from engine failure and avoiding enemy fire. However his luck ran out on 31July 1915 when Lascelles, acting as observer, and a new and inexperienced pilot took off in a BE2c to carry out a front line reconnaissance. They were close to Vert Galand, at Beauquesne, at around 80 feet when the plane suddenly slipped sideways and the inexperienced pilot could not control the plane which crashed. The pilot, though injured, survived but Lascelles was killed. He was buried on 1 August 1915 in grave A1 of the Beauval Communal Cemetery.
An article by Nigel Wood appeared about Lascelles in Cross and Cockade Volume 28, Number 4 (1997): The Brief Life of 2/Lt JF Lascelles MC (4 Sqn RFC); most of the information in this account is taken, with thanks, from that article.