Cyril Probyn Napier Raikes was awarded the Military Cross in the 1st World War Mesopotamian Campaign flying in the British army's Royal Engineers monitoring the oil pipelines there. He had previously fought in the Boer War.Cyril Raikes was born 12 November 1875 in Swanmore, Hampshire, England the son of General Robert Napier Raikes. He was a Lieutenant in the Boer War, South Africa 1900-1902 gaining a medal and four bars.