The son of Katherine Lale of Bristol, Horace Percy Lale emigrated to Canada before the war. He enlisted at Calgary, Alberta on 5 January 1915 and served with the Canadian Mounted Rifles before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps on 26 September 1916. Flying the Bristol Fighter, Lale scored 4 victories with 48 Squadron in 1917 and 19 victories with 20 Squadron in 1918. For post-war service in Waziristan, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross.
Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)
2nd Lieut. (A./Capt.) Horace Percy Lale. (FRANCE)
A bold and courageous officer, who leads his patrol with marked skill and judgment. He has accounted for twelve enemy aeroplanes—five crashed, four shot down in flames, and three driven down out of control. On 6th September he led his patrol of nine machines to the assistance of some formations that were attacked by thirty or forty enemy aircraft; in the engagement he and his Observer accounted for two Fokkers; eventually the enemy was driven off, five of their machines being destroyed and three shot down out of control.
Supplement to the London Gazette, 3 December 1918 (31046/14323)
