George Barclay

Richard George Arthur Barclay, (7 December 1919 – 17 July 1942) was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. He is credited with destroying at least eight aircraft.

From Upper Norwood, Barclay was a member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve when he was called up to serve in the RAF on the outbreak of the Second World War. He volunteered to be posted to Fighter Command and once his training was completed in July 1940 he was posted to No. 249 Squadron. He flew during the Battle of Britain, claiming a number of aerial victories before being wounded shortly after the end of the battle. He later served with No. 611 Squadron during the Circus offensive of 1941 and was shot down over France in September of that year. He was able to evade capture and eventually returned to the United Kingdom. He was posted to Egypt in early July 1942 as commander of No. 238 Squadron. He was killed in action later that month during the First Battle of El Alamein

Early life Richard George Arthur Barclay was born in Upper Norwood, in South London, England, on 7 December 1919; his father Gilbert was an Anglican rector, and his mother Dorothy was the daughter of missionary Charles Studd. His family home for most of his childhood was in the rectory at Great Holland, on the Essex coast. He attended Stowe School and then proceeded to Trinity College, Cambridge, to study economics and law. He joined the University Air Squadron in 1938 and enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve the following year.

Second World War Called up for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) on the outbreak of war, Barclay entered No. 3 Initial Training Wing at Hastings before commencing flight training at Cranwell in early January 1940. Once this phase of training was completed five months later he went to No. 1 School of Army Co-operation at Old Sarum. Shortly afterwards he volunteered for Fighter Command and, after completing a course on Hawker Hurricane fighters at No. 5 Operational Training Unit at Aston Down, he was posted to No. 249 Squadron in July.

Barclay was credited with the probable destruction of a Bf 109 near Folkestone on 14 October but by this time, the pace of operations was on the decline and the squadron was engaged in convoy patrols. On 14 November he engaged and probably destroyed a pair of Bf 109s near the mouth of the Thames Estuary. His final aerial victory of the year was a share in the destruction of a Bf 109 to the east of Manston on 14 November. In recognition of his successes, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The citation, published on 26 November, read:

On 29 November, Barclay was wounded during an engagement with a Bf 109. As a result, he received hospital treatment for several weeks and did not return to operations until March 1941.

Western Desert Rather than returning to operations, Barclay was assigned to staff duties. He served briefly at the headquarters of Fighter Command before being posted, in February 1942, to No. 9 Group headquarters as a tactics officer. In April he was promoted to squadron leader and given command of No. 601 Squadron.

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. Barclay's diaries, written during his wartime career up until his death, were published in the 1970s and gave a rare, descriptive and highly articulate first hand account of the life of a fighter pilot during 1940 to 1941. An expanded edition was published in 2012.