Acting Flight Lieutenant William M Walton from Guildtown, Perthshire, was awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) during the Second world War. Walton, the son of Mr and Mrs Edward Walton, Mavisbank, Guildtown was educated at Guildtown School and Balhousie Boys’ School. He was later employed at Newmiln Estates where his father was farm manager. He also worked as a ground mechanic at Scone Aerodrome for nearly two years.
Alexander McInnes, the son of the local police force Depute Chief Constable, Stanley Place, Perth, joined the RAF at the same time as William Walton. They sailed together to the US where they trained in the same RAF training centres. They passed their examinations on the same day in November 1942 and were awarded the silver wings of the American Army Air Corps at the same ceremony. Alexander McInnes had been employed as a clerk by MacDonald Fraser & Co., Livestock Salesmen, Perth.
After the training in Canada, Alabama, and Georgia, William Walton and Alexander McInnes passed out as sergeants. Walston was later commissioned as a pilot officer and subsequently promoted to flight lieutenant.
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