Flight Lieutenant Arthur Clunie Randall (b. 6 February 1896) was a Scottish

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with 10 aerial victories. After earning a Distinguished Flying Cross during the war, he remained in military service until 1926.

Early life

Arthur Clunie Randall was born in Paisley, Scotland, on 6 February 1896. When he enlisted in the military, he was living in

Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

World War I

On 13 November 1914, Randall was among

cadets A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime o ...

and ex-cadets of the

Officers' Training Corps The University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), also known as the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), are British Army reserve units, under the command of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which recruit exclusively from universities and focus on ...

appointed as temporary second lieutenants in the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

. After serving in a reserve battalion of the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

, he was attached to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

on 27 October 1916, and appointed a flying officer, transferred to the General List, on 30 November. He was posted to No. 32 Squadron, flying an

Airco DH.2 The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater. The ...

. He scored his first aerial victory with them on 23 January 1917. He would score one more win with them, being wounded in the process, on 11 March 1917. On 1 April 1917 he was promoted to lieutenant, and on 3 June was appointed a

flight commander A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...

with the temporary rank of captain. His second combat tour was as a fighter pilot with No. 85 Squadron, flying a

Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5 The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the ...

a. This time around, he scored another eight aerial victories, between June and October 1918, culminating in the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross just days before the Armistice. His citation read: :Captain Arthur Clunie Randall. ::"A daring and skilful airman who during recent operations has accounted for six enemy aeroplanes. He is conspicuous for his determination and devotion to duty."

List of aerial victories

Post-war career

Randall remained in the RAF after the war, being granted a permanent commission with the rank of captain on 1 August 1919. He was then serving in the campaign in the Baltic in which British forces supported the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

against the Reds in the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. Randall took part in the Raid on

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

on the night of 17/18 August 1919. He flew one of the eight aircraft that created a diversion while Royal Navy

Coastal Motor Boat Coastal Motor Boat was a small high-speed British torpedo boat used by the Royal Navy in the First World War and up to end of the Second World War. During the First World War, following a suggestion from three junior officers of the Harwich ...

s attacked Russian warships. However, Randall suffered an engine failure en route. He was just about to land when his engine came back to life, and despite knowing that it could fail again at any time, he pressed on to take part in the attack. His engine failed completely on the return journey. Meanwhile, a flotilla of eight Coastal Motor Boats entered the harbour and launched their torpedoes, succeeding in sinking the

submarine tender A submarine tender, in British English a submarine depot ship, is a type of depot ship that supplies and supports submarines. Development Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally cannot carry large amounts of foo ...

''Dvina'' (formerly the

armoured cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...

), and damaging the battleships and , though three CMB's were sunk. On 26 March 1920, Randall was awarded the Cross of Liberty Second Class by the government of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, in recognition of his services during the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

. Randall then served in No. 210 Squadron, based at

RAF Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan district with borough status in Hampshire, England. At the 2021 Census, the town had a population of 70,131 and the district had a population of 81,952. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the west ...

, until 30 January 1922 when he was transferred to No. 203 Squadron, based at

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...

. However he was soon transferred again, moving to the RAF Depot (Inland Area) as a supernumerary on 3 April. From 6 January 1923 he served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the Inland Area Aircraft Depot. Randall was dismissed from the Royal Air Force by sentence of a General Court-Martial on 23 December 1926. He reportedly emigrated to

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, in the Caribbean, settled in the village of

Delices Delices is a small village in Dominica. It is located in the south-east of the island, between La Plaine and Petite Savanne. The village's name derives from the French words ''délices'', translated as "delights", or ''délice'' meaning "a deli ...

, and was still living there up until 1948.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randall, Arthur 1896 births Year of death unknown Military personnel from Paisley, Renfrewshire Border Regiment officers Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Air Force officers Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Scottish flying aces British World War I flying aces British Army personnel of World War I

Early life

World War I

List of aerial victories

Post-war career

See also

References