Richard George Arthur Barclay, (1920 – 17 July 1942) was a

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) an ...

fighter pilot and

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

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 opposi ...

. He was killed in action during the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of the Second World War, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marsha ...

Early life

Barclay was born in South London in 1920; his father Gilbert was an Anglican

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, and his mother Dorothy the daughter of missionary CT Studd and his family home for most of his childhood was in the rectory at Great Holland, on the Essex coast. He attended Hawtreys preparatory school, Stowe School, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, and joined the

University Air Squadron University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering ba ...

in 1938.

Second World War

Called up on the outbreak of war, and posted to

No. 249 Squadron RAF No. 249 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron, active in the sea-patrol, fighter and bomber roles during its existence. It was one of the top scoring fighter squadrons of the RAF in World War II. History First formation No. ...

in July 1940, he flew through the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), 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 defende ...

, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in October. During the Battle of Britain, his diary records that he could see his house while flying from

RAF North Weald North Weald Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain, when it was known as the RAF Stat ...

. Barclay's DFC citation from November 1940 reads: As a flight commander with No. 611 Squadron RAF, Barclay was shot down over occupied

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in September 1941. He force landed and evaded capture, making his way to Spain with help from the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. In April 1942 he was posted to North Africa and returned to flying as CO of

No. 238 Squadron RAF No. 238 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed in 1918 by combining number 347, 348 and 349 Flights at RAF Cattewater by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed for the Second World War, the ...

, flying

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

s Mk II's. He was shot down and killed by Werner Schröer of III./

Jagdgeschwader 27 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the North African Campaign predominantly alone in the period from April 1941 to Septemb ...

on 17 July 1942. He is buried at the El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt. Barclay's older brother Charles, an army officer, was killed in 1944.a memorial to both brothers is in Cromer Parish Church, where their father was vicar at the time of their deaths: George Barclay, "Battle of Britain Pilot:the self-portrait of an RAF fighter pilot and escaper," Haynes Publishing, 2012 p18 His diaries, written during his wartime career up until his death, were published in 1974 and give a rare, descriptive and highly articulate first hand account of the life of a fighter pilot in 1940–41. An expanded edition was published in 2012.

Bibliography

* Barclay, George. (1977). ''Angels 22: A Self-Portrait of a Fighter Pilot''. aperback evised Edition Arrow Books. or

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, George 1920 births 1942 deaths People educated at Stowe School Royal Air Force squadron leaders Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Aviators killed by being shot down Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge The Few People educated at Hawtreys Military personnel from London