James Templer (balloon aviator)

James Templer
Born27 May 1846
Greenwich, Kent, England
Died2 January 1924
Lewes, Sussex, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
RankColonel
UnitKing's Royal Rifle Corps
Royal Engineers
Battles / warsSecond Boer War

Colonel James Lethbridge Brooke Templer (27 May 1846 – 2 January 1924) was an early British military pioneer of balloons. He was an officer in the King's Royal Rifle Corps and Royal Engineers. Templer set out a scientific foundation for British military ballooning. In particular, he worked out routines for balloon handling, how to use hydrogen in cylinders and methods for training observers.