World War One heroes One hundred years ago we were in the middle of probably the worst war ever known to mankind and we continue to remember this time with a series of comprehensions looking at three heroes of the war: The Red Baron, Edith Cavell and Lawrence of Arabia. The Red Baron was Germany’s flying ace. He began the war in a cavalry regiment, but when that was disbanded he joined the German Army Air Service because he didn’t want to spend the war as a telephone operator or dispatch runner. This was lucky for the German’s as he managed to shoot down over 80 enemy planes during the First World War! He became the most famous pilot of the war and he wanted to make sure his enemies could see him coming, so he painted his plane red. Edith Cavell was the most famous British female victim of the First World War. At the beginning of the war she was matron of a nursing school in German occupied Brussels. Edith treated men of all nationalities and risked her life to help Allied soldiers escape back to Britain. Eventually she was betrayed to the Germans who found her guilty of helping an impressive 175 British, French and Belgian men to escape. She was executed in 1915 and her story was exaggerated and used as propaganda which helped to encourage British men to enlist and fight against the Germans. Lawrence of Arabia was an archaeologist who had worked extensively in the Middle East before the First World War. He gained a good knowledge of Arabic and got on well with the Arabs, who were our allies. He led them on successful expeditions and missions behind enemy lines and became very famous, earning himself the nickname of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. Why not read more about each of them as part of our First World War comprehension category. The pages, which also include factsheets, provide clear and concise summaries as well as being an excellent starting point for further research. Go to World War One worksheets