News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A photograph of a German World War One pilot forming an unlikely friendship with a British flyer he had shot down just moments before has emerged.

The picture highlights the remarkable chilvalry between the rival air forces during the First World War.

The man on the right in the black and white snap is Oswald Boelcke, a legendary air ace regarded as the father of the German air force and the aviator who trained the famous Red Baron , Manfred von Richthofen.

Standing next to him is Robert Wilson, a captain of the 32 Squadron Royal Flying Corps - the foreruner of the modern RAF - who had to beat out the flames on his legs and arms after being forced to crash-land his bi-plane behind enemy lines near the Somme front in September 1916.

Boelcke followed him down but rather than hold him at gunpoint and send him away for interrogation, he shook Capt WIlson's hand, took him for coffee in the mess and gave him a tour of his aerodrome.

(Image: BNPS)

The German later wrote: “When he went down, his machine was wobbling badly, but that, as he told me afterwards, was not his fault, because I had shot his elevator to pieces.

“It landed near Thiepval - it was burning when the pilot jumped out, and he beat his arms and legs about because he was on fire too.

“I fetched the Englishman I had forced to land - a certain Captain Wilson - from the prisoners clearing depot, took him to coffee in the mess and showed him our aerodrome, whereby I had a very interesting conversation with him.”

Read more:Revealed - who really killed the Red Baron 97 years ago

Capt Wilson was Capt Boelcke’s 20th ‘kill’ of the war.

Seven months earlier he had risked his life to fly over British lines and drop a letter informing Allied troops that one of their missing airmen was alive and safe after Capt Boelcke had personally visited him in hospital.

(Image: BNPS) (Image: BNPS)

After being released at the end of the war, Capt Wilson described his encounter with Capt Boelcke as “the greatest memory of my life, even though it turned out badly for me”.

The picture that has now emerged 100 years later was one of the last taken of Capt Boelcke, as he was killed in action a month later after his plane was involved in a mid-air collision with another German aircraft.

He died from head injuries on impact because he never wore a helmet.

Read more:Satan the messenger dog who helped Allies turn tide of Great War

The picture is one of 105 World War One photos found in an old album amassed by an unknown German airman.

(Image: BNPS) (Image: BNPS) (Image: BNPS)

Other images depict German aircraft, battle damage and aerial photos of Verdun , the scene of one of the biggest battles of the conflict which took place between February and December 1916.

Matthew Tredwin, of C&T Auctions of Ashford, Kent, said: “Flying in the First World War was almost like a gentleman’s club no matter which side you were on.

“An unspoken camaraderie existed between Allied and German pilots.

"A lot of these men were celebrities of their time because what they did had a certain romance about it, even though it was deadly.”

The picture album is being sold at auction on March 30 with a pre-sale estimate of £1,000.