Harbourne Mackay Stephen (18 April 1916 – 20 August 2001) was a British flying ace of the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

(RAFVR) during the Second World War. He was credited with the sole destruction of at least nine aircraft of the Axis powers. Born in Elgin, Scotland, Stephen joined the RAFVR in 1937. Called up for service in the Royal Air Force (RAF) on the outbreak of the Second World War, he was posted first to No. 605 Squadron and then, following being commissioned 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 ...

No. 74 Squadron Number 74 Squadron, also known as "Tiger Squadron" from its tiger-head motif, was a squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s, and then trainers until its disbandment in 2000. It w ...

. He flew extensively during the evacuation from Dunkirk and then the Battle of Britain, during which he destroyed at least four German aircraft. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross during the Battle of Britain and at the end of 1940 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. From early- to mid-1941 he performed instructing duties and was then posted to No. 234 Squadron and participated in several offensive operations, attacking radar sites in France. He achieved his last aerial victory in October. Following the entry of the Empire of Japan into the war, he was sent to the Far East where he commanded No. 166 Wing and later served in a series of staff postings. After the war he chose to not pursue a career in the RAF and instead returned to his pre-war occupation as a newspaperman. Managing a number of newspaper titles for the next several years, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1985 for his services to the profession.

Early life

Born in

Elgin, Scotland Elgin (; sco, Ailgin; gd, Eilginn, ) is a town (former cathedral city) and formerly a Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher gr ...

on 18 April 1916, Harbourne Mackay Stephen was the son of Thomas Stephen, who was a bank manager and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He was initially educated privately, by a

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

, but then went to schools in Edinburgh and later at Shrewsbury School in Shropshire. He finished his schooling when he was 15-years-old and soon afterwards went to London to work in the newspaper industry. Stephen initially worked as a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

for

Allied Newspapers An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alli ...

but in 1936 began working in advertising for the '' Evening Standard''. In April the following year he joined the

(RAFVR). His initial flight training was completed at No. 13 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School and once he had gained the requisite flight hours, he took a six-month sabbatical from his job for training with the Royal Air Force (RAF). His course finished just on the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.

Second World War

Called up for service in the RAF, Stephen was sent for further training at No. 11 Group Fighter Pool, at St Athan in Wales, gaining experience on the Hawker Hurricane

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

. He was then posted to No. 605 Squadron, at the time based at

Tangmere Tangmere is a village, civil parish, and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Located three miles (5 km) north east of Chichester, it is twinned with Hermanville-sur-Mer in Lower Normandy, France. The parish h ...

, as a

sergeant pilot A sergeant pilot was a non-commissioned officer who had undergone flight training and was a qualified pilot in the air forces of several Commonwealth countries before, during and after World War II. It was also a term used in the United States Arm ...

. The squadron saw no action until 28 March 1940, when it intercepted a

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

medium bomber; Stephen's section leader engaged it but without success. The bomber was subsequently located and destroyed by pilots of No. 43 Squadron.

Evacuation from Dunkirk

On 1 April Stephen was commissioned as a

, although on probation, and transferred to

, which operated

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

fighters. His new posting was based at

Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London, England, and part of 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 ...

and he flew extensively during the evacuation from Dunkirk. On 24 May he helped shoot down a Henschel Hs 126

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

near

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Dornier Do 17 bomber near

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

. Two days later, he shared in the destruction of another Hs 126, although this was not confirmed. On 27 May, about from Dunkirk, he shot down a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

fighter, and then, near

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

, helped destroy a Do 17.

Battle of Britain

As part of No. 11 Group, No. 74 Squadron was heavily engaged once the Battle of Britain commenced in July. Stephen's first claim in the battle was on 28 July, for a damaged Bf 109. On 11 August, while flying over

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, he destroyed one Bf 109, damaged another, and also damaged a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter, all of which were confirmed. He also claimed two Bf 109s and two Bf 110s but these were unable to be verified. He engaged a Do 17 over the Thames Estuary on 13 August, claiming it as probably destroyed. The squadron was moved to No. 12 Group for a rest period in mid-August and two weeks later Stephen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). The published citation for his DFC read: No. 74 Squadron returned to duty with No. 11 Group in September, based at Coltishall. Stephen continued his run of success against the '' Luftwaffe'', destroying a Junkers Ju 88 bomber and damaging a Bf 109 over London on 11 September. At the start of the following month, he damaged a He 111 near Cromer, in Norfolk, and then on 5 October shared in the destruction of a Do 17 from

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

. By this time the squadron was equipped with the updated Spitfire Mark II and was operating from

Biggin Hill Biggin Hill is a settlement on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Kent, prior to 1965 it was also in the administrative county of Kent. I ...

and Stephen destroyed a Bf 109 on 20 October, which was confirmed, and also probably destroyed another. A week later he destroyed another Bf 109. On 14 November, flying over Dover, he engaged and shot down three

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Con ...

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

s. The next day, he damaged a Bf 109. It was also announced in '' The London Gazette'' that he had been awarded a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his DFC; the published citation read: On 17 November Stephen shared in the destruction of a Bf 109 near

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

and at the end of the month again shared in the shooting down of a Bf 109, this time near the Thames Estuary. This was the 600th aerial victory for squadrons flying from Biggin Hill, which he shared with fellow flying ace John Mungo-Park. At the start of the following month, he claimed a Bf 109 as probably destroyed and this was followed on 5 December with a confirmed Bf 109 destroyed plus a share in another Bf 109 shot down. On 24 December, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO), the first immediate award of this decoration of the war. It was the third gallantry award made to Stephen in just six months. The citation for the DSO, as published in ''The London Gazette'', read:

Later war service

Taken off operational flying on 11 January 1941, Stephen was posted to No. 59 Operational Training Unit at Edinburgh as its chief flying instructor. However this was short-lived for he was

seconded In deliberative bodies a second to a proposed motion is an indication that there is at least one person besides the mover that is interested in seeing the motion come before the meeting. It does not necessarily indicate that the seconder favors th ...

to the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

on 17 March and then, on 1 April, his probationary status as a pilot officer confirmed, he was promoted to flying officer. In June Stephen returned to operations at

Portreath Portreath ( kw, Porthtreth or ) is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) northwest of Redruth. The village extends along both sides of a str ...

, posted to the newly formed No. 130 Squadron but late the following month was sent to No. 234 Squadron as its commander. At the time, the squadron was based at Warmwell in Dorset and was regularly flying to France to attack radar sites and carrying out protective convoy patrols. Flying a Spitfire Mark Vb, he damaged a Ju 88 on 12 August near

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. On 15 October, he, along with another pilot, shared in the destruction of a Bf 109 near Le Havre. He was promoted to

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

in November. In early 1942, following the entry of the Empire of Japan into the war, Stephen was posted to the Far East. He served as a wing leader at Dum Dum, in Calcutta, and later at Jessore. On 14 July, he was promoted to squadron leader. He was then given command of No. 166 Wing, operating from

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

in the Burma campaign. A recipient of the Air Efficiency Award in 1943, he subsequently held staff postings at the headquarters of No. 224 Group and Air Command South East Asia. By the end of the war, Stephen held the rank of wing commander. He had been credited with nine aerial victories plus eight more shared with other pilots. He also claimed four more aerial victories as destroyed, but these were unconfirmed. He was also credited with three German aircraft probably destroyed, and seven more damaged.

Later life

Offered a permanent commission in the RAF after the war Stephen declined, preferring to return to the newspaper industry. He took up a managerial role at the '' Scottish Daily Express'', the ''Scottish Sunday Express'' and the '' Evening Citizen'', based in Glasgow. He resumed a part-time career with the RAFVR when in September 1950, he received an emergency commission as wing commander for appointment to the

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

to command No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron. He remained its commander until 1952. In 1956, Stephen became the general manager of the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' and the ''

Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was an English tabloid newspaper published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. In 1927 it changed its name to the ''Sunday ...

'', both part of

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

's newspaper publishing empire. Three years later he began working for the Kemsley Newspapers Group when he became manager of '' The Sunday Times'' and under his stewardship, the newspaper introduced a colour supplement. In 1963 he became managing director at '' The Daily Telegraph''. In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours, Stephen was appointed a Commander in the Civil division of the Order of the British Empire for "services to the newspaper industry". Interested in charitable work, Stephen helped to found the Raleigh International charity, which provided young people with the opportunity to become involved in environmental and community works. He was also on the Council of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Scientific Exploration Society. He died in London on 20 August 2001, survived by his wife Erica and two children.

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

British Pathe news reel "Fighter Station's 600th Victim 1940" featuring Harbourne Stephen and John Mungo-Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen, Harbourne 1916 births 2001 deaths People from Elgin, Moray People educated at Shrewsbury School Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Scottish flying aces British World War II flying aces The Few Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Air Force wing commanders 20th-century British newspaper publishers (people)