Archibald Campbell Holms MacLean, (23 October 1883 – 30 April 1970) was an officer in the
Royal Scots,
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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and
Royal Air Force. MacLean attended the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst, before he was commissioned into the Royal Scots. He transferred to the
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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in 1913 and during the
First World War 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
First World War began, MacLean was an instructor at the
Central Flying School, 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
Central Flying School. 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
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
. 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. MacLean relinquished his RAF commission three months later in November 1919.
Interwar
Second World War
Following the outbreak of the
Second World War, MacLean was recalled to service and granted a commission in the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the
Reserve of Air Force Officers
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
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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
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{{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