Old Photographs Black Watch Memorial Home Broughty Ferry Scotland

Old photograph of the Black Watch Memorial Home in Broughty Ferry by Dundee, Scotland. Broughty Ferry, Scottish Gaelic: Bruach Tatha; Scots: Brochtie, a suburb of Dundee it is situated four miles east of the city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. Broughty Castle sits imposingly at the mouth of the River Tay. Built in 1496 on a rocky promontory, it has faced many sieges and battles. Formerly a prosperous fishing and whaling village, in the 19th century Broughty Ferry became a haven for wealthy jute barons, who built their luxury villas in the suburb. As a result, Broughty Ferry was referred to at the time as the " richest square mile in Europe. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until 1913, when it was incorporated into Dundee. Hugh Malcolm was born in Broughty Ferry on 2 May 1917, and educated at Craigflower Preparatory School near Dunfermline and Glenalmond College in Perthshire. He entered the Royal Air Force College Cranwell on 9 January 1936. In January 1938, Malcolm joined 26, Army Co-operation, squadron at Catterick. In May 1939, he suffered a serious head injury in a Westland Lysander crash. By the end of 1941 he had risen to the rank of squadron leader and joined No 18 Squadron as a flight commander, flying the Bristol Blenheim and based in Suffolk, England. Malcolm was a 25 year old Wing Commander commanding 18 Squadron, Royal Air Force when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 4 December, he led a thirteen strong attack on an enemy fighter airfield near Chougui, Tunisia. On reaching the target, however, and starting the attack, the squadron was intercepted by an overwhelming force of enemy fighters from I and II. Gruppen JG 53, and 11 Staffel, JG 2. One by one, all his bombers were shot down, until he himself was shot down in flames. Malcolm's aircraft crashed in flames some 15 miles west of the target. An infantry officer and two other men who arrived at the scene of the crash minutes later retrieved the body of navigator Pilot Officer James Robb. Malcolm, with Robb and gunner Pilot Officer James Grant DFC, were buried in the Beja War Cemetery in a collective grave. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross on 27 April 1943. His was the first Royal Air Force Victoria Cross to be won in North Africa. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.

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