Sergeant Peter Straiton was the elder son of Peter and Janet Davidson Straiton of Cray Cottage, Glenshee. Educated at Blackwater School and Blairgowrie High School, he was then employed as a gardener at The Cairnies, Glenalmond. He was a member of a dance band and the local ATC Straiton joined the RAF about 18 months before he was killed in an aircraft accident in […]
Note: April 2025, new information found, revision in progress It is not well known that a young 24-year-old Perth aviator played a key role in bringing a period of peace to Afghanistan by bombing the city of Kabul in 1919. His bombing of Kabul had a considerable psychological effect, impacting […]
Squadron Leader James Crawford Halley DSO of RAF 502 (Ulster) Squadron was the son of the late Mr and Mrs Halley, Hay Street, Perth. James Halley was educated at Perth Academy and on leaving joined the RAF. He was granted a short service commission and later transferred to the RAFC (Royal Air Force College) […]
On Monday, 6 April 1942, Sergeant David Laing took off for a mission to Essen in Germany from RAF Grimsby. Also known by locals as RAF Waltham or Waltham Grange Aerodrome, RAF Grimsby was built in the early 1930s. The airfield re-opened as RAF Grimsby in late 1941. RAF 142 Squadron […]
On 6 June 1944, D-Day, the largest amphibious invasion in military history took place. It was officially called ‘Operation Overlord’. It involved 156,115 troops, 6,939 ships and 2,395 aircraft along with 867 gliders. At the beginning of the invasion, RAF 575 Squadron dropped around a thousand airborne troops from the 1st Canadian and […]
Captain John Neil Campbell Denholm, (63451) 1st Battalion, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), seconded to The Glider Pilot Regiment, Army Air Corps, was the only son of John and Gertrude Denholm of Boatland, Isla Road, Perth and Bo’ness, Linlithgowshire. It was officially reported to his parents that he had been killed […]
Leading Aircraftman Denholm Gow RAF (532923) was the son of John Boyd and Margaret Reoch Gow, Winterpark, Muirton of Ardblair, Blairgowrie. He was born at 33 William Street, Blairgowrie, had two brothers and two sisters and was married to Joan (neé Carter). Gow was reported missing after an engagement with […]
Pilot Officer James McCash, RAFVR (78977) was the son of David and Ruby McCash, Waverley Bank, Viewlands Road, Perth. David McCash was a well-known businessman – a junior member of J McCash & Sons, Feus Road, Perth. The former Perth Academy pupil started flying training at Perth (Newlands) Aerodrome, gaining his wings at the end on November 1938 having trained […]
This is the (updated 25/02/2025) story of Lieutenant John Watson McCash, his missions, and the broader narrative of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during 1917. McCash’s two missions during the Battle of Cambrai provides a vivid picture of the challenges and heroism of the time. It captures the bravery, skill, […]
The only son of John Christopher and Maud Laidlay of Lindores, Fife and Perth, Pilot Officer John Laidlay RAFVR (79740) flew Bristol Blenheims with RAF 254 Squadron. He attended Ardvreck School, Crieff and Malvern College, Worcestershire between 1930 and 1934, a public school where he was remembered in 1940: ‘At school he was chiefly remarkable for his initiative and […]
