Norman Macmillan (RAF officer)

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Norman Macmillan
Deputy Lieutenant

DL (9 August 1892 – 5 August 1976)[1] was a Scottish officer of the Royal Air Force, a World War I flying ace, test pilot
, and author.

Biography

Early life and background

Macmillan was born in

James Campbell (1789-1861), parish minister of Traquair, and consequently related to Rev George Campbell (1827-1904), minister of Eastwood, and to the Very Rev James Montgomery Campbell.[2]

World War I

On the outbreak of World War I in 1914 Macmillan enlisted as a private in the

No. 45 Squadron RFC flying the Sopwith 1½ Strutter and Sopwith Camel aircraft, he became an ace, being credited with nine aerial victories between 5 June and 20 October 1917.[1] He was also appointed a flight commander with the temporary rank of captain on 1 September 1917.[6] Macmillan was removed from front line service after a flying accident on 6 January 1918, and returned to England, where he served as a flying instructor.[7] He received the Military Cross "for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" in February 1918,[8] and also the Air Force Cross
.

Post-war career

Macmillan relinquished his RAF commission "on ceasing to be employed" on 10 June 1919,[9] though this was later cancelled.[10] He was re-employed by the RAF and granted a temporary commission as a flight lieutenant on 15 April 1921.[11]

He served as a flying instructor to the Spanish Navy and Army Air Forces, seeing action in the Spanish front lines during the Rif War in Morocco.[3]

In 1922 he, Major

Fairey IIIC floatplane G-EBDI, in the Bay of Bengal.[12] Macmillan would subsequently write of the attempt in his 1937 book, Freelance Pilot. The flying journal Aeroplane appeared to have little respect for the expedition, printing a weekly satirical cartoon based on the then popular Adventures of Pip, Squeak and Wilfred serial, as "The Adventures of Mac, Broome and Wilfred", followed by a satirical letter addressed to "My Dear Pilots and Ground Wallahs".[13]

During the early 1920s, Macmillan worked as a free-lance

market gardening
.

In addition to flying Macmillan wrote numerous magazine articles, as well as books on aviation, including a series detailing the history of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Despite being partly written during the war they are remarkably detailed and accurate. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II as a war correspondent, rising to the rank of acting wing commander.[1]

On 12 April 1946 Macmillan was commissioned as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch),[19] and was promoted to flying officer on 1 April 1947.[20] On 12 April 1954 his period of service was extended for another four years.[21]

Macmillan also served as the commander of the Cornwall Wing of the

Liveryman of the Guild.[3]

Among his other achievements Macmillan was the first pilot to fly from London to Sweden in a day; a prizewinner at the first International Light Aeroplane meeting; and was the first British pilot to fly across the Andes.[3]

He was appointed a

Deputy Lieutenant for Cornwall in September 1951,[22] and was appointed an Officer of the Military Division of the Order of the British Empire in the 1956 New Year Honours.[23]

In 1963 Macmillan was interviewed for the BBC documentary series

The Great War, made to mark the 50th anniversary of the war. In it he spoke about his experiences flying ground attack missions during the battle of Passchendaele, of air combat, and of the differences in the experience of fighting as an infantryman in the trenches and as a pilot. The full unedited interview was made available online in 2014.[24]

Norman Macmillan was married to actress Gladys Mary Peterkin Mitchell ("Pat"; stage name "Ena Beaumont"), Geoffrey Malins' former wife.[25]

Publications

Macmillan also gave a talk on

The Radio Times.[27]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Norman Macmillan". The Aerodrome. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  2. ^ Genealogical information sourced from records held by the General Register Office for Scotland and accessed through the Scotlandspeople internet site
  3. ^ a b c d "Wings of Fate : Norman Macmillan". flyingbooks.co.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  4. ^ "No. 29792". The London Gazette. 20 October 1916. p. 10087.
  5. ^ "No. 29991". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 March 1917. p. 2724.
  6. ^ "No. 30293". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 September 1917. p. 9721.
  7. ^ "Into the Blue". Casemate Publishers. 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "No. 30530". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 February 1918. p. 2161.
  9. ^ "No. 31416". The London Gazette. 24 June 1919. p. 7946.
  10. ^ "No. 31685". The London Gazette. 12 December 1919. p. 15485.
  11. ^ "No. 32319". The London Gazette. 10 May 1921. p. 3753.
  12. ^ Taylor 1974, pp. 87–9
  13. ^ "Wings Around The World, Part 1".
  14. ^ a b Wixey1990, pp. 117
  15. ^ Taylor 1974, pp. 91
  16. ^ Wixey1990, pp. 97, 104, 107, 105, 122
  17. ^ "The Parnall "Pixie" Light 'Plane". Flight. XV (774): 653. 25 October 1923. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  18. ^ Taylor 1974, pp. 15
  19. ^ "No. 37952". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 May 1947. p. 2127.
  20. ^ "No. 38147". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 December 1947. p. 5933.
  21. ^ "No. 40478". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 May 1955. p. 2861.
  22. ^ "No. 39338". The London Gazette. 21 September 1951. p. 4936.
  23. ^ "No. 40669". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 January 1956. p. 9.
  24. ^ "The Great War Interviews: Norman Macmillan". BBC TV. 1963. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  25. ^ "Norman Macmillan Obituary". The Times. London. 11 August 1976. p. 14.
  26. The Radio Times
    . No. 3. 12 October 1923. p. 13.
  27. The Radio Times
    (9): 291.

Bibliography

External links
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