Archibald Campbell Holms MacLean, (23 October 1883 – 30 April 1970) was an officer in the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. MacLean attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, before he was commissioned into the Royal Scots. He transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in 1913 and during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

served as a squadron leader and wing commander before taking up senior training and staff appointments. In April 1918 he transferred to the newly formed Royal Air Force and was subsequently promoted to brigadier general just after the end of the First World War.

First World War

When the

began, MacLean was an instructor at the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...

, holding the rank of captain. However, just a few months later, in November 1914, he was promoted to major and appointed Officer Commanding No. 5 Squadron. Under a year later in August 1915, MacLean took up command of No. 8 Squadron and in 1916 he became the Commandant of the

. In November 1917, MacLean departed the Central Flying School for another training role, this time as Commandant of the Armament School. At the same time MacLean was promoted to colonel. With the establishment of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918, MacLean became one of the new Service's senior officers. Just after the close of the Great War, MacLean was appointed brigadier general responsible for administration at the headquarters of the RAF's South-Eastern Area. MacLean only held the rank of brigadier general in an acting capacity, and in August 1919, when the Royal Air Force introduced its own rank titles, he was re-graded to the lower rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

. MacLean relinquished his RAF commission three months later in November 1919.

Interwar

Second World War

Following the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, MacLean was recalled to service and granted a commission in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the Reserve of Air Force Officers as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. In the latter part of 1942, MacLean served on the air staff at the Air Headquarters Bengal before finally retiring for the last time on 14 December 1942.

References

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Brigadier-General A C H MacLean
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Archibald 1883 births 1970 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Royal Scots officers