Hugh Terres was born on September 6, 1896 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was the son of John Terres, U.S. Consul at Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Hugh attended St. Peter's College in Westminster, England. He attended Oxford University, but he departed before finishing his degree. On May 15, 1917, Terres joined France's Service Aeronautique. He went through the aviation, acrobatic, and gunnery training pipeline at Avord, Crotoy, and the G.D.E. He received his brevet on the Caudron on November 20, 1917, and he graduated from training on March 30, 1918.

On April 16, 1918, Terres was assigned to the U.S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps as an Ensign, and on May 25 he became Naval Aviator #632 (HTA). Terres underwent more training at Stonehenge, England and was then assigned to the seaplane patrol station at Le Crotie, France. Later, he was transferred to serve with the Northern Bombing Group at Dunkirk.

In August 1918, Terres was directed to Italy to ferry a Caproni bomber from the factory in Turin back to France. On August 17, 1918, Terres and his two-man crew launched from Mirafiore Field in Caproni B-13 (#11523) for their return over the Alps. After takeoff, at an altitude of only 150 feet, the left engine failed. As Terres tried to return to land, the right engine failed and the aircraft crashed nose-down killing Terres and his aircrew. Terres was buried in the Milan cemetery. In 1928, he was reinterred to the Lafayette Flying Corps Monument just west of Paris.

Source of information: "The Lafayette Flying Corps: The American Volunteers in the French Air Service in World War One," by Dennis Gordon. Schiffer Military History, Atglen, PA: 2000