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 ...

Donald Osborne Finlay, DFC, AFC (27 May 1909 – 18 April 1970) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

and

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 ...

officer.

Early life

Born on 27 May 1909, Donald Osborne Finlay was educated in Southampton, where he attended Taunton's Secondary School. In 1925 he joined the

(RAF) , training as ground crew. He qualified as a Fitter, Aero Engines, in August 1928.

Athletics career

A member of Milocarian Athletic Club and Surrey Athletics Club (based in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

), he represented Great Britain in three Olympics both pre- and post-

World War II 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 ...

. In 16 international dual meets, Finlay only lost two hurdles races: to

Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598), was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from ...

in 1931 (vs. Italy) and to John Thornton in 1937 (vs. Germany). He first competed in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

held in Los Angeles, United States in the 110 metre hurdles where he won the bronze medal. He was also a member of the British relay team which finished sixth in the 4 × 100 metre relay event. He returned to the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

held in Berlin, Germany where he improved to win the silver medal in the 110 metre hurdles. With the British relay team he was eliminated in the first round of the 4 × 100 metre relay competition.Don Finlay
sports-reference.com He was the British Team Captain in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

in London and was chosen to take the

Olympic Oath The Olympic Oath (distinct from the Olympic creed) is a solemn promise made by one athlete, judge or official, and one coach at the Opening Ceremony of each Olympic Games. Each oath taker is from the host nation and takes the oath on behalf of a ...

, though he failed to win any medals in these Games when he was eliminated in the first round of the 110 metre hurdles event, hitting the last hurdle with his leading foot and falling at the finish. In 1949, at the age of 40, he won his eighth AAA title and he was the AAA indoor champion in both 1937 and 1938. At the 1934 Empire Games he won the gold medal in the 120 yards hurdles competition. He also participated in the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

and finished fifth in the 120 yards hurdles contest. He was the inter-services champion in the long jump and was RAF champion in the high jump.

Military career

Having received training as a pilot, in April 1935 Finlay was commissioned as a pilot officer. The following month, he was posted to No. 17 Squadron and, later in 1936, to No. 54 Squadron RAF before attending the RAF School of Aeronautical Engineering at

Henlow Henlow is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The name Henlow is believed to derive from the old Eng ...

. 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 ...

Finlay was posted to fly Spitfires as commanding officer of his old No. 54 Squadron, then based at

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...

, on 26 August 1940, during 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 ...

. He was shot down over

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

two days later and was wounded. After recovering he was posted to command No. 41 Squadron in September. He claimed his first victory, a Messerschmitt Bf 109, over the Channel on 23 September, and by the end of October 1940 he was credited with a 'share' in a second Bf 109 and a Dornier Do 17 bomber, and had also damaged a further three Bf 109s. His aircraft was damaged in combat with Oblt.

Hans-Ekkehard Bob Hans Ekkehard Bob (24 January 1917 – 12 August 2013) was a German fighter pilot, serving with the Luftwaffe. During World War II, Bob flew approximately 700 combat missions, and claimed 60 victories; 37 of which were on the Eastern Front. E ...

JG 54 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54) ''Grünherz'' was a Luftwaffe fighter wing that was founded in late 1936 and operated from 1939, the entire length of the Second World War. It later existed under the reformed Luftwaffe from 1947 to 1991 as BG54/B54 ...

on 9 October 1940. He added to his tally on 23 November, shooting down the Bf 109E-1 (Werk No.3868 "Black 3") of ''Obgfr.'' Günther Loppach of 11./

JG 51 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51) was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 51's pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, and operated in all major theatres of war. Its members included Anton Hafner, Heinz Bär, ...

, who was taken prisoner, and another Bf 109 on 27 November 1940. Finlay was promoted to the rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/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 countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

in August 1941, becoming the engineering officer for No. 11 Group. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross in June 1942. His victory tally flying fighters was 4 and 2 shared destroyed, 3 and 1 shared damaged. Finlay then commanded

No. 608 Squadron RAF No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron was an Auxiliary Air Force squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force during the World War II, Second World War. It flew during its existence as a bomber, fighter and reconnaissance unit and was the only ...

, flying

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...

s in the Middle East from December 1943 to July 1944. He became a group captain (colonel in the army) and was posted as SASO, 210 Group. In 1945 he then commanded No. 906 Wing in Burma, being awarded an Air Force Cross in September 1944. As a group captain Finlay was posted to

No. 1 School of Technical Training No. 1 School of Technical Training (No. 1 S of TT) is the Royal Air Force, Royal Air Force's aircraft engineering school. It was based at RAF Halton from 1919 to 1993, as the Home of the Aircraft Apprentice scheme. The Aircraft Apprentice s ...

RAF Halton Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World ...

, as senior technical training officer. He regularly took part in the station sports meeting and even at the age of 43 won every event he entered: 120-yard hurdles, 100 yard sprint, 220 yard sprint, high jump and the long jump. He entered the veterans' (over 40) handicap. He took the offered three yard start in full running kit, unlike all the other entrants who were in shirts and rolled-up trousers. From the start he raced to the tape, to show that he could have won if he wanted to. He then stopped, turned round and started to run back down the track. (An accusation of unsporting behaviour at this event seems to be very much out of character.) Finlay was stationed for much of his time at

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southwest of Amble, Northumberland and north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The a ...

, whose chapel contains a later-dedicated stained glass window to honour him. He retired from the RAF in February 1959. Finlay was severely injured and paralysed in a motor vehicle accident in 1966, which led to his death on 19 April 1970, aged sixty. In 2012 No. 41(R) Squadron based at

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and h ...

unveiled a Panavia Tornado GR4 ZA614 "EB-Z" with special tail markings celebrating Finlay's command of the squadron and his achievements in the 1932 and 1936 Games.41 Squadron celebrate athletic hero
Raf.mod.uk (3 August 2012). Retrieved on 2015-08-15.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Don 1909 births 1970 deaths Military personnel from Dorset English male hurdlers British male hurdlers Olympic athletes for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics People from Christchurch, Dorset Sportspeople from Dorset Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Royal Air Force group captains Royal Air Force pilots of World War II The Few Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Oath takers at the Olympic Games People with paraplegia English disabled sportspeople Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games 20th-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics