First tour Lavers originally served domestically in the
West Yorkshire Regiment from September 1915 through May 1916. He then shipped out to France, serving in the 1st Battalion until September, when he transferred to the
Royal Flying Corps. He was assigned to No. 23 Squadron as an observer/gunner on
Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2s. He survived a head wound inflicted in November 1916 to become a pilot. When his squadron transitioned to
SPADs, Lavers was returned to England for pilot's training. On 1 June 1917, he was posted to
No. 1 Squadron RFC. There he scored his first victory on 18 June 1917 flying a
Nieuport fighter, working with fellow aces
Louis Fleeming Jenkin and Harry Reeves to destroy an
Albatros D.V over
Oostaverne. Lavers went on to tally a string of four "out of control" wins, with the last one on 17 August being shared with
William Rooper.
Second tour Lavers then converted to
Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5as and went back to England to serve in
NO. 44 Home Defence Squadron in early 1918. He was promoted to captain on 1 February 1918. He returned to No. 1 Squadron and began scoring again. On 1 June 1918, he shared in the destruction of a German
Pfalz D.III fighter;
Percy Jack Clayson,
Harold Albert Kullberg, and eight other pilots also received credit. On the 17th, he again shared credit for a triumph, with three other pilots. The 15 September saw Lavers,
William Ernest Staton, and four other pilots capture a
Pfalz D.XII. Lavers last victory, on 1 October 1918, seems to have been a squadron affair, with twelve other pilots also receiving credit for driving down a
Fokker D.VII out of control. ==Postwar==