Background
Alexander Ogilivie was born in 1882 in the Marylebone district of London.
Alexander Ogilivie was born in 1882 in the Marylebone district of London.
He was educated at Rugby School and Cambridge University.
During World War I Ogilvie served with the Royal Naval Air Service before transferring to the Royal Air Force on its creation in 1918. During the War in was chiefly employed in technical posts and after the War he worked as a consulting aeronautical engineer In 1908 Ogilvie watched Wilbur Wright carry out a demonstration flight in France and within two months he had ordered a Wright Biplane for himself.
Before the biplane was delivered in 1909 he practised flying at Friston, Sussex using a glider.
Ogilvie established a flying base on Camber Sands near Rye, Sussex and took part in a number of aviation meetings around the country. He joined the Royal Aeronautical Club on 11 May 1909 and gained only the seventh Royal Aeronautical Club aviator"s certificate on 24 May 1910.
The following year he had more success in that race, coming in fourth in his Wright at an average 55 mph. In 1912, Ogilvie invented an airspeed indicator which was later adopted by the Royal Naval Air Service (Royal Naval Air Service).
In 1911 he joined Orville Wright at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States during Wright"s experiments with soaring making several flights.
He continued to use a Wright aircraft up to 1914 including in 1913 flying H.G. Wells as a passenger. On 19 February 1915 Ogilvie was commissioned as an Royal Naval Air Service officer in the rank of squadron commander. Ogilvie initially was given responsibility for overseeing flying training at the Naval Flying School, Eastchurch.
On 5 April 1916 he took command of the aircraft repair depot at Dunkirk, and was promoted acting wing commander on 31 December 1916.
The rank of wing commander was confirmed on 30 June 1917. In early 1918, Ogilvie reported on flight tests of the Sopwith Snipe, stating that "its flying qualities are bad".
However, he was overruled by Trenchard and Brooke-Popham and orders were placed. On 1 April 1918, along with all other Royal Naval Air Service personnel, Ogilvie transferred to the newly established Royal Air Force in the rank of major (temporary lieutenant-colonel).
A note in his new Royal Air Force service record states, " flown most types of aircraft except single seaters." He was injured in a flying accident on 8 June 1918.
Ogilvie resigned from the Air Board in 1919, being placed on the Royal Air Force unemployed list on 10 March. He subsequently moved to Australia for some years. He died, aged 80, on 18 June 1962 at his home in Ringwood, Hampshire.
12 May 1917 - Acting Wing-Commander Alec Ogilvie Royal Naval Air Service was Mentioned in Despatches.
On 5 March 1917 he became a member of the Air Board, eventually serving as controller of the technical department.