Aircraftman 1st Class John Tyndel Farquhar RAFVR (1107691) of RAF 200 Squadron was a passenger onboard the SS Anselm on route from Gourock on the Clyde to Freetown, Sierra Leone, when it was torpedoed by the German submarine U-96, 300 miles off the Azores on 5 July 1941. The SS Anselm was built in Dumbarton in 1935 and owned by the Booth Steamship Company, Liverpool. It was a coal-fired passenger ship […]
In November of 1941, James Shaw left his position as manager of Perth Aerodrome to serve with the RAF. In 1944, James was serving with RAF 17 OTU (Operational Training Unit) in 1944. The unit moved to RAF Silverstone in 1943 to train night bomber crews with the Vickers Wellington aircraft. OTU’s were mainly training units, but they did on occasion take part in […]
Colin ‘Robbie’ Robertson RAF (33412) was a distinguished fighter pilot who as a member of RAF 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron engaged the first World War Two German aircraft to attack Great Britain – 16 October 1939. This and subsequent actions led him to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). ROBERTSON, Colin, P/O (33412, Royal […]
Sergeant Gilbert Cameron Gibson was with RAF 95 Squadron flying in Short Sunderland Mk.III DW105. Shortly after take-off at 11.05 hours on 5 January 1944, the aircraft was seen returning to base with smoke emitting from it and losing height. The starboard inner engine had developed a fault and caught fire filling the cabin with smoke and […]
Sergeant William Scrimgeour Walton RAF (654069) entered service with the RAF when he was 17 years old. He was the son of the late Mr William and Mrs Walton, 11 Shore Road, Perth. In June of 1943, he married Petty Officer Jean Mackintosh WRNS from Darlington. Walton’s father died on 12 August 1943. Walton was born in Perth and attended the […]
Sergeant Charles Duncan Powrie took off from RAF Stradishall on board Vickers Wellington Mk.Ic T2476 at 17.09 hours on 7 December 1940. The mission was to bomb Düsseldorf in Germany. Powrie was the son of Robert Powrie and Katherine Powrie, Homewood, 131 Glasgow Road, Perth. He was a former pupil of Perth Academy and before joining […]
Member for three years of the Third Ward, Perth Town Council, Councillor John (Jack) Littlejohn was a pilot officer with the RAFVR. Littlejohn served in the First World War at the age of 18 with the Royal Flying Corp. At the outbreak of Second World War, he was granted a leave of absence […]
Sergeant Charles MacFarlane DFM was the only son of the MacFarlanes, 27 Campbells Buildings, Dunkeld Road, Perth. He was educated at the Northern District School and worked as a waiter at the Salutation Hotel in Perth. MacFarlane joined the RAF in 1940 at the age of 20. On the night of the 12/13 May […]
David Robertson was the 20-year-old son of Alexander Rose Robertson and Margaret Robertson, 75 South Street, Perth. He served in the RAF for 18 months, latterly as an air gunner. Robertson was well known in Perth as an amateur cyclist and member of the Fair City Cycling Club. He was also a keen table tennis player and […]
Pilot Officer David Wood was called up at the start of the Second World War. Wood was one of the first volunteers from the Reserve Force which was inaugurated at Scone Aerodrome in late 1938. He was the star pupil of the volunteer school and became flight commander of Perth 38F Squadron (3rd Scottish), Air Defence Cadet Corps (later renamed […]
