MacRobert baronets

The MacRobert Baronetcy, of Douneside in the County of Aberdeen, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 5 April 1922 for Alexander MacRobert, a self-made millionaire. He was succeeded by his eldest son Alasdair in June of that year. Tragedy struck the family again when Alasdair was killed in a flying accident in 1938, and the title passed to his younger brother Roderic. In May 1941 Roderic was killed in action whilst flying a Hawker Hurricane fighter in the Middle East,[1] and just over a month later on 30 June 1941, the title became extinct when the youngest brother Iain, was also killed in action whilst serving with the Royal Air Force.[2] Their mother, Rachel, Lady MacRobert (1884–1954), gave £25,000 to purchase a Short Stirling bomber, the aircraft was named "MacRobert's Reply" in memory of her three sons. Lady MacRobert believed that her sons had lived up to the family motto Virtutis Gloria Merces – translated as Honour is the Reward of Bravery.[3] The MacRobert Award, which has been presented every year since 1969 by the Royal Academy of Engineering, is named in honour of Lady MacRobert.[4]

The Flight Of The Eaglets

Pipe Major W. Ross composed the slow march (or lament) in memory of Lady MacRobert's three sons in 1944. It is in the Scots Guards Standard Settings Of Pipe Music 1954, page 70. Also played by Angus Grant, the Lochaber Fiddler.

MacRobert's Reply

This name was given to a famous World War II, Royal Air Force aircraft, a Short Stirling bomber, serial N6086 operated by No. 15 Squadron RAF. The aircraft was paid for by a generous £25,000 donation from Lady Rachel Workman MacRobert, and was named 'MacRobert's Reply' in commemoration of her three sons, all of whom were killed whilst serving with the RAF. The eldest son Alasdair died in a flying accident in 1938, whilst Roderic and Iain were both killed in action during 1941. A second Short Stirling, serial W7531, was also named 'MacRobert's Reply' after the first aircraft N6086 was written off in an accident

Short Stirling N6086 was the first aircraft to bear the name 'MacRobert's Reply' and was handed over to her crew at RAF Wyton on October 10, 1941, with Lady MacRobert attending the naming ceremony. The aircraft had the MacRobert coat of arms painted on to its nose, and was given the code LS-F, LS being the squadron code and the last letter identifying the aircraft as "F for Freddie", a designation all subsequent aircraft given the name 'MacRobert's Reply' have used. The aircraft flew twelve missions between October 1941 and January 1942, before swinging on take off and colliding with a damaged Spitfire at RAF Peterhead, on 7 February 1942.

W7531 was the second Short Stirling to carry the name 'MacRobert's Reply'. It was not officially named 'MacRobert's Reply', until after entering service in March 1942. The aircraft was lost during a minelaying raid against the Danish Sound in May 1942, after it was brought down by anti-aircraft fire and crashed into Gals Klint Forest, near the town of Middelfart. Only one member of the crew, Donald Jeffs, survived the crash.

Since the Second World War, three other aircraft serving with No. 15 Squadron have carried the name 'MacRobert's Reply', and borne the MacRobert family crest; a Blackburn Buccaneer and two Panavia Tornados.

The MacRobert Fighters

HL735 "The MacRobert Fighter – Sir Roderic" being handed over to No. 94 Squadron RAF at El Gamil, Egypt
Sir Iain, Sir Roderic and Sir Alasdair third fourth and fifth from camera respectively

Lady MacRobert also sponsored four Hawker Hurricanes, three named after her sons and the fourth honouring the fighting spirit of the Russian allies.[5] They were handed over to No. 94 Squadron RAF, in which Sir Roderic had served, in Egypt on 19 September 1942.

In the 1960s three Slingsby Swallow gliders for the Air Training Corps were named after the MacRobert brothers: Sir Alasdair, Sir Iain and Sir Roderic.

Aircraft named by Lady Rachel Workman MacRobert

MacRobert's Reply
Short Stirling N6086, LS-F operated by No. 15 Squadron RAF.
Short Stirling W7531, LS-F operated by No. 15 Squadron RAF.
Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer, XT287, given the code F in memoriam, operated by No. 15 Squadron RAF.
Panavia Tornado GR.1, ZA446 given the code F in memoriam, operated by No. 15 Squadron RAF.
Panavia Tornado GR.4, ZA602 operated by No. 15 Squadron RAF.
Sir Iain
Hawker Hurricane operated by No. 94 Squadron RAF.
Slingsby Swallow glider for the Air Training Corps.
Sir Roderic
Hawker Hurricane HL735 operated by No. 94 Squadron RAF.
Slingsby Swallow glider for the Air Training Corps.
Sir Alasdair
Hawker Hurricane operated by No. 94 Squadron RAF.
Slingsby Swallow glider for the Air Training Corps.
One Hurricane commemorating Russian allies operated by No. 94 Squadron RAF.

MacRobert baronets, of Douneside (1922)

References

  1. ↑ http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=2170242
  2. ↑ http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=1079764
  3. ↑ http://www.aoth17.dsl.pipex.com/mrr/history1.htm
  4. ↑ The MacRobert Trust
  5. ↑ "MacRobert Aircraft – A Woman's Courage And Sacrifice" in The Argus, Melbourne, 16 January 1943
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