Amyas Borton

Air Vice Marshal Amyas Eden Borton, (20 September 1886 – 15 August 1969) was a pilot and commander in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the 1920s. He saw active service on the Western Front, in Palestine and in Iraq. In the latter part of his career, Borton was the second Commandant of the RAF College at Cranwell before becoming the Air Officer Commanding RAF Inland Area.

Early life and infantry service Amyas Borton was born on 20 September 1886 in Tanfield, Durham, the younger son of Irish-born Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Borton, a soldier and barrister. His elder brother, named Arthur Borton like their father, was known as "Bosky" whereas Amyas was known as "Biffy".

He was commissioned into the Black Watch Militia in January 1904. In 1906, while remaining in the Black Watch, Borton transferred to the Regular Army.

In November Borton was promoted to captain and made a flight commander and posted to a different squadron which resulted in his return to England to take up duties at Brooklands. Amyas was joined at Brooklands by his brother, who was an RFC observer at that time. In April 1915 Borton returned to France as a flight commander on No. 8 Squadron. On 7 June, while engaged in aerial combat, Borton received a bullet wound to the head and neck. Although the injury was severe, he and his observer Captain Anthony Marshall managed to bandage the wound. Despite severe loss of blood, Borton kept control of his aircraft, completing the reconnaissance sortie and landing safely. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions.

Borton's recovery was prolonged. In early July, he was still judged to be "not yet out of danger" and it was not until late October 1915 that he returned to duty, being promoted to major and made the officer commanding of No. 10 (Training) Squadron which was in England at that time. He took up his new post as officer commanding the Fifth Wing RFC on 5 February 1917, The aircraft later played a key role in the Battle of Megiddo when it was used to bomb the Turkish Headquarters and telephone exchange in Al-Fuleh. Later in the Battle, the aircraft of Borton's Palestine Brigade destroyed the Turkish Seventh Army which marked the end of any Turkish power west of the Jordan.

Inter-war years After the war, Borton remained in the newly established RAF and was granted a permanent commission as a lieutenant-colonel. After the Kingdom of Iraq was established under British oversight, Borton's command was renamed the Iraq Group in October 1921. Prior to his marriage, Borton had met and dated Agatha Miller (later the famous author, Agatha Christie), who rejected him.

On 1 November 1926, Borton was appointed director of personnel services at the Air Ministry in succession to Air Vice-Marshal Longcroft. Borton remained Director until 1 July 1929 when he was succeeded by Air Commodore Peregrine Fellowes. Borton took up his final appointment as Air Officer Commanding Inland Area on 1 November 1929, continuing in post until he retired from the RAF on 23 August 1933 in the rank of air vice-marshal.

In 1935, he persuaded Sir Harold Snagge, chairman of the Napier engineering company, to make special arrangements to enable Dorothy Spicer to be the first woman to study and qualify for a 'D' licence, enabling her to inspect, pass out, and repair both engines and airframes, being qualified to build all aspects of an aircraft, airframe, and engine from scratch, and to approve the materials required for the work.