Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Alexander Vallance Riddell Johnstone, (2 June 1916 – 13 December 2000) was a Scottish airman. He served as a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

squadron, wing and station commander during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the commander of

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces operating in

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation.

Early life

Alexander Vallance Riddell Johnstone was born in Glasgow on 2 June 1916 and was educated at

Kelvinside Academy Kelvinside Academy is a private day school in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1878. It has a capacity of over 600 pupils and spans two years of Nursery, six years of Junior School (primary school), a transition year of Senior Preparatory, and six ...

. He worked in an Edinburgh footwear company and in 1934 he joined No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Auxiliary Air Force Squadron as a weekend flier.

Royal Air Force

Early in 1938, Johnstone was a civilian navigation instructor at

Scottish Aviation Scottish Aviation Limited was an aircraft manufacturer based in Prestwick, Scotland. History The company was founded in 1935. Originally a flying school operator, the company took on maintenance work in 1938. During the Second World War, Scott ...

, moving later to the Civil Air Navigation School at

Prestwick Prestwick () is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, and the small vi ...

. In August 1939, he was called to full-time service with No. 602 Squadron. On 24 November 1939 George Pinkerton was promoted to squadron leader and given command of No. 65 Squadron RAF, with Johnstone taking over command of 'B' Flight from Pinkerton. After participating in engagements with lone German raiders off the Scottish coast in late 1939-early 1940, he was given command of 602 Squadron in July 1940 at the age of 24. By this time Johnstone had already claimed a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

, a

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

and a

Dornier Do 17 The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugwerke. Large numbers were operated by the ''Luftwaffe'' throughout the Second World War. The Do 17 was designed during ...

damaged. The squadron was transferred south to

RAF Westhampnett Royal Air Force Westhampnett or more simply RAF Westhampnett is a former Royal Air Force satellite station, located in the village of Westhampnett near Chichester, in the English County of West Sussex. It was built as an emergency landing ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...

, where it was stationed throughout the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. His tally after the battle (and his final wartime score) was 7 (and 2 shared) aircraft destroyed, 1 probable, and 6 (and 1 shared) damaged. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. After serving as operations controller at

RAF Turnhouse Royal Air Force Turnhouse, or more simply RAF Turnhouse, is a former Royal Air Force Sector Station located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is now Edinburgh Airport. History A landing ground was first established at Turnhouse in 1915. The airfield ...

in Scotland in 1941, Johnstone was posted in April 1942 to RAF Haifa in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

as sector commander. He then went to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

as station commander at

RAF Luqa Royal Air Force Luqa (or more simply RAF Luqa) is a former Royal Air Force station located on the island of Malta, now developed into the Malta International Airport. It hosted aircraft of Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta) during the Seco ...

, before commanding a

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

wing. In the spring of 1943 he returned to Britain to attend the

RAF Staff College The RAF Staff College may refer to: *RAF Staff College, Andover (active: 1922 to 1940 and 1948 to 1970) *RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park (active: 1941 to 1948) *RAF Staff College, Bracknell The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air ...

. In September 1943 he moved on to

RAF Fairwood Common Royal Air Force Fairwood Common, or more simply RAF Fairwood Common, is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, sector station located on Fairwood Common, on the Gower Peninsula, to the west of Swansea. It is now the ...

West Glamorgan West Glamorgan () is a former administrative county in South Wales. It is now a preserved county. West Glamorgan was one of the divisions of the ancient county of Glamorgan. It was created on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 fr ...

, as sector commander. In May 1944 Johnstone was promoted to acting

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

on the

Allied Expeditionary Air Force The Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), also known as the Allied Armies’ Expeditionary Air Force (AAEAF), was the expeditionary warfare component of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) which controlled the tactical air ...

operations staff preparing for the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

invasion. After the landings he moved to Normandy with General Eisenhower's headquarters staff. Early in 1945 Johnstone joined the RAF delegation in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He returned in June to

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...

No. 12 Group RAF HQ staff, receiving a permanent commission. In 1946 Johnstone was appointed air attache in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and went on to serve as station commander,

RAF Ballykelly Royal Air Force Ballykelly, or more simply RAF Ballykelly, is a former Royal Air Force station which opened in 1941 in Ballykelly, County Londonderry. It closed in 1971 when the site was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks. ...

. In 1953 he was made Commanding Officer of the Air Sea Warfare Development Unit at RAF St Mawgan. In 1954 he returned to No. 12 Group RAF as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO). In 1956 he was deputy air defence commander, Malaya and was then seconded to assist in the formation of the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force. After spells as station commander at RAF Middleton St. George, the

Imperial Defence College The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

, and director of personnel at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

, in 1964 he was posted to

as Air Commodore, Commonwealth Air Forces. In 1965 he returned to the UK to become an

air vice marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

. He headed Coastal Command's No. 18 Group RAF, was Air Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland, and was NATO's North Atlantic maritime air commander. Johnstone was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

in 1966 and, reflecting his years as an Auxiliary Air Force officer, also held the much-prized

Air Efficiency Award The Air Efficiency Award, post-nominal letters AE for officers, was instituted in 1942. It could be awarded after ten years of meritorious service to officers, airmen and airwomen in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Auxiliary and Royal Air Force ...

. Johnstone retired from the Royal Air Force in 1968.

Later life

From 1969 to 1979, Johnstone served as vice-chairman of the Territorial Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve. He was also secretary of Glasgow Golf Club, and as head of the

National Car Parks National Car Parks (NCP) is a private car park operator, with car parks in towns, cities, airports, London Underground and National Rail stations. History NCP was founded in 1931 by Colonel Frederick Lucas. In October 1948 Sir Ronald Hobson ...

(NCP) and secretary of Denham Golf Club. From 1971 to 1994 he was Deputy Lieutenant for Glasgow. He became a successful author and resided near Ipswich in Suffolk. Johnstone was an accomplished author, writing six books. Johnstone married Margaret Croll in 1940. They had a son, Iain Johnstone, an Army officer, and two daughters, Ann and Patricia. Sandy Johnstone died on 13 December 2000, aged 84.

Works

*''One Man's War'' (1964) *''Where no Angels Dwell'' (1969) *''Enemy in the Sky: My 1940 Diary'' (1976) *''Adventure in the Sky'' (1978) *''Spitfire into War'' (1986) *''Diary of an Aviator'' (1993)

References

External links

Quote from Johnstone about a day in the Battle of Britain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnstone, Alexander Vallance Riddell 1916 births 2000 deaths British military personnel of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Companions of the Order of the Bath People educated at Kelvinside Academy Military personnel from Glasgow Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air marshals Scottish airmen The Few Royal Air Force pilots of World War II British World War II flying aces Scottish flying aces Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies