Raymond Collishaw, was a distinguished Canadian fighter pilot, squadron leader, and commanding officer who served in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and later the Royal Air Force. He was the highest scoring RNAS flying ace and the second highest scoring Canadian pilot of the First World War. He was noted as a great leader in the air, leading many of his own formations into battle. After the Great War, he became a permanent commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF), seeing action against the Bolsheviks in 1919–20, and subsequently commanding various Air Service detachments. During the Second World War, he commanded No. 204 Group in North Africa, achieving great success against the numerically and technologically superior Italian Air Force. He was retired in 1943.

Redcar Aerodrome is a former First World War airfield located in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The site hosted an elementary flying school for newly entered pilots into the Royal Naval Air Service, though some offensive and defensive operations were flown from Redcar as well. The base was created as part of chain of new air stations after the German naval bombardment of east coast towns in December 1914. The base had a brief operational lifespan between July 1915 and December 1919, after which it was decided not to retain Redcar as an active station, and much of the site has been re-used for housing.