Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Sir Archibald Philip Hope, 17th Baronet, (27 March 1912 – 12 July 1987) was a Scottish

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

who flew with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

Early life and education

Archibald Philip Hope, known familiarly as Archie, was the son of Sir John Augustus Hope, 16th Baronet Hope of Craighall and his wife, Hon. Mary Bruce, eldest daughter of Alexander Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh. The Hope Baronetcy of Craighall in the County of

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia on 19 February 1628 for Thomas Hope, a Scottish lawyer and advisor to Charles I. Archibald succeeded to the baronetcy at the age of 12 upon the death of his father in 1924. Hope attended Eton College, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

in Eton,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, and Balliol College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. He graduated from Balliol in 1934 with a Bachelor of Arts, where he read Modern History. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant. While at Balliol, Hope appeared annually in dramatic productions with the ''Balliol Players''. Hope learned to fly at Balliol College with the Oxford University Air Squadron.

RAF career

Hope served with 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 ...

until moving to the No. 601 Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force at

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

in 1934. He was called to full-time service in the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 24 August 1939, From 19 August 1940 to 10 October 1940, he led the No. 601 Squadron. He left No. 601 Squadron in December 1940, moving on to command RAF Drem during 1943 and RAF Peterhead in 1945. Hope is credited with five aerial victories during his military tenure. In recognition of his war service, he was decorated with the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1940, invested as an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in 1945, and admitted to the Royal Company of Archers.

Later life

After the war Hope had business ties to English Electric Company Ltd., Napier Aero Engines Ltd., and Airwork Ltd.

Family

In 1938, Hope married Ruth Chamberlain Davis, the daughter of Carl R. Davis of Fryern,

Storrington Storrington is a small town in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. it has a population of around 4,60 ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. The couple had two sons: Sir John Carl Alexander Hope, 18th Baronet (1939–2007) and Charles Archibald Hope (born 1945). Hope's mother, Lady Hope, was appointed an OBE in 1920, and served as a

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 ...

for

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

. Lady Hope made her home at Pinkie House. Hope's sister, Katharine Anne Hope (1916–1987) was married to Hope's No. 601 Squadron mate,

Carl Raymond Davis Carl Raymond Davis, (30 July 1911 – 6 September 1940) was a South African-born American-British pilot and flying ace of the Battle of Britain. He claimed nine enemy aircraft (and one shared) destroyed, four (and one shared) probably destroyed, ...

. A brother, Lieutenant Colonel John Cecil Hope (1913–1945), served with the 1st Battalion,

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Military Cross, before he died on 24 April 1945 on active duty in Italy. A second brother, Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Alexander Hope (1914–1982), also fought in the Second World War with the King's Royal Rifle Corps, being appointed an OBE and awarded the Military Cross, but survived the war. Hope died on 27 July 1987 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire. He and his wife are buried in the Hope Baronets' plot at

St. Michael's Parish Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, Inveresk, Scotland.

References

External links

Cuthbert Orde Portrait of Sir Archibald Philip Hope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Archibald Philip 1912 births 1987 deaths Archibald Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force group captains British World War II flying aces Scottish flying aces Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Members of the Royal Company of Archers Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II