James Archibald Findlay

Squadron Leader James Archibald Findlay MacLachlan

DFC & Bar, one-armed Commanding Officer of a night fighter squadron, playing cards with other pilots of 1 Squadron at RAF Tangmere, November 1941.

RAF Tangmere is famous for its role in the Battle of Britain. Its airfield had been enlarged in 1939 to defend the south coast against attack by the Luftwaffe, with the RAF commandeering the majority of the houses in the village.
On 16 August 1940 Tangmere saw its first and worst raid when hundreds of Stuka dive-bombers and fighters attacked, causing extensive damage to aircraft and buildings and killing 14 ground staff. Tangmere did not resume its status as a civilian community until 1966.