Written by Ken Bruce
The Battle of Britain ran from July 10 to October 31, 1940.
It is regarded as the first military campaign fought entirely by air forces.
The success of the RAF in defending Britain prevented Nazi Germany from launching an invasion across the English Channel.
Many pilots from Perthshire and Kinross-shire as well as many who came to live in these counties after the war took part in the battle.
To pay tribute to ‘the few’, I would like to tell you about some of the Battle of Britain pilots who once walked amongst us.
In the early 1930s, the Lord Provost of Perth, Thomas Hunter, first mooted the idea of an aerodrome for Perth.
In 1934, the government announced an expansion of the RAF so that Perth councillor Ure Primrose decided to revive Thomas Hunter’s plans for an aerodrome, hoping it would draw business to our area.
Work began in June 1935 and in December 1936, Airwork Limited undertook the delivery of RAF and civilian flying training at Scone Aerodrome.
By December 1940, RAF No 11 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School at Scone was equipped with 367 training aircraft.
With Perthshire having one of the main pilot training facilities on its doorstep, it naturally attracted its young people who dreamed of ‘spiffing’ aerial adventures and the glamorous ‘Brylcreem boy’ image.
Throughout the county, Air Training Corps units were formed and the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), established in 1936, became the recruitment pathway for civilian entry in the RAF.The turning point of the Battle of Britain took place on September 15, 1940, when the Luftwaffe launched a significant bombing attack on the City of London.
They were met by a large group of defending fighters. Fifteen hundred aircraft engaged in air battles which lasted until dusk, and which resulted in 56 aircraft being shot down.
The Luftwaffe felt at the time that they were close to victory, but that decisive day for the RAF showed that they had clearly not gained the air superiority they needed for invasion.
Winston Churchill visited RAF Fighter Command Headquarters on September 15, 1940 and saw first-hand the development of the struggle on this crucially important day. Three thousand aircrew from the UK, the Commonwealth, and other Allied countries took part in the Battle of Britain, a third of whom were either killed or wounded.
Winston Churchill fittingly paid tribute earlier on August 20, 1940 to the Battle of Britain pilots: “Never, in the field of human conflict, was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Here are some of the brave men who took to the skies for battle:
Great military strategist
The most highly awarded Perth-born pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain was Neil Cameron.
He was born at 32 Pitcullen Terrace, Perth, on July 8, 1920.
Cameron’s father was a Company Sergeant Major in the Seaforth Highlanders; he died when Neil was only three weeks old. Neil’s mother moved in with his grandparents who lived at 33 Balhousie Street, Perth.
Neil Cameron joined the RAFVR in May of 1939 and as a fighter pilot took part in the later stages of the Battle of Britain when he was posted to RAF 17 Squadron at RAF Martlesham Heath in Suffolk.
He later took part in the Battle of Alam el Halfa, the First Battle of El Alamein, and the Second Battle of El Alamein. As a squadron leader, Cameron served in actions over Burma flying the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
Cameron became a military thinker and strategist, and, in August 1977, the Chief of the Defence Staff. He later became Principal of King’s College, London, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree.
In 1983, he was created a life peer as Baron Cameron of Balhousie and later that year appointed a Knight of the Order of the Thistle.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Neil Cameron, Baron Cameron of Balhousie, KT, GCB, CBE, DSO, DFC died in London on January 29, 1985.
Perth quantity surveyor shot down several enemy planes
Alexander Henry Thom DFC from Perth was born on May 29, 1919.
His family home was 44 Crieff Road, Perth.
On June 24, 1939, he joined the RAFVR and started flying at weekends as an airman under training pilot.
During the Battle of Britain he was with RAF 6 OTU (Operational Training Unit) learning to fly Hawker Hurricanes. He moved on to RAF 79 Squadron at RAF Pembury, Carmarthenshire, and then RAF 87 Squadron at RAF Exeter on October 30,1940.
Alexander Thom’s first victory was not until July 18, 1941 when he was the first of his squadron flight to attack a Heinkel He 111 just to the south of the Scilly Isles.
Three days later, he shared in the destruction of another Heinkel He 111. On October 20, 1941 he shot down a Heinkel He 111 and on October 21, 1941 he shot down yet another Heinkel He 111.
RAF 87 Squadron next moved to Gibraltar and North Africa in support of the allied invasion of French North Africa, Operation Torch. He became a flying control officer at RAF Bone, Algeria, returning to Britain on September 27, 1943 as a flight instructor with RAF 55 OTU at RAF Annan.
His final posting was to RAF Inverness on May 8, 1945 as staff officer.
After the war Alexander Thom returned to his profession as a quantity surveyor. He was Regional Quantity Surveyor for the Western Region Hospital Board, Scotland.
Flight Lieutenant Alexander Henry Thom passed away on January 10, 2016 and is commemorated on the Battle of Britain Monument, Victoria Embankment, London.
Auchterarder man gave his life
Andrew Smitton Darling from 64 Fues, Auchterarder, joined the RAFVR in August 1937.
He did his initial training at RAF Perth and RAF Prestwick.
Flying Supermarine Spitfire’s with RAF 611 Squadron he participated in flying sweeps over the beaches at Dunkirk and, during the Battle of Britain, he was part of the Duxford Wing of RAF 12 Group, commanded by Douglas Bader.
On August 21, 1940, he shared in the destruction of two Dornier Do17s.
Posted to RAF 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, he chalked up in September and October of 1940, three probable and two damaged Messerschmitt Bf 109s.
On November 23, 1940, he shot down over the Straits of Dover, two Fiat Cr42s biplane fighters of the Regia Aeronautica.
On November 29, 1940, he shared in the destruction of a Dornier Do 17.
Andrew Smitton Darling was on a shipping reconnaissance patrol over the English Channel with RAF 91 Squadron on March 3, 1941 when he was shot down.
His Spitfire came down near Reindene Wood, Hawkinge, Kent. Sergeant Andrew Darling rests in Auchterarder Cemetery.
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If you would like to read more about local Perthshire flyers during the two world wars, see the August 26 edition of the PA and also visit madeinperth.org/past
There are to date over 130 researched flyer stories to read.
The madeinperth.org website is completely free and is an incredibly rich and detailed resource which is sponsored by Tippermuir Books Ltd, Perth.
