Robin John McNair

Robin McNair was born in May 1918 and attended Gaveney House and Douai schools. At Douai he was captain of cricket and vice-captain of rugby. He played rugby for Brighton and Sussex, cricket for Hove and, subsequently, squash for RAF Fighter Command.

In February 1939 he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and joined the Royal Air Force in September of that year. The Battle of Britain in 1940 saw him first in No. 3 Squadron (fighter) and then No. 249 Squadron (also fighter), where he served under Squadron Leader John Grandy, subsequently Marshal of the RAF.

In 1941 he flew with No. 96 Squadron (fighter) against night bombing raids on the midlands, north-west England and western England.

In 1942 he flew with No. 87 Squadron (Hurricanes) in the Dieppe raid under Squadron Leader Denis Smallwood (later Air Chief Marshal). For this action, and for his night-fighting, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew 110 operational sorties.

The following year, as a Flight Lieutenant, he was flight commander of No. 245 Squadron as part of the Second Tactical Air Force (Typhoons). He helped destroy flying-bomb targets in France, Belgium and Holland, as well as German airfields and other installations.

In 1944 Robin McNair was appointed Squadron Leader and commanding officer of No. 247 Squadron (Typhoons), which was a key part of the Normandy invasion and was based at B6 airfield, near Caen. He was awarded a bar to his DFC and flew a further 170 sorties.

By August he was an Acting Wing Commander with 124 wing, Normandy, and took part in tactical operations during the Falaise Gap battle. The following month, and after a double tour of 2½ years, he took senior responsibility for training Typhoon pilots at 12 Group headquarters.

He began 1945 as chief flying instructor (Typhoons) at 55 Operational Training Unit, Aston Down, Gloucestershire. Later in the year he commanded No. 74 Squadron (Meteors), among the first RAF squadrons to be equipped with jet fighters.

After the Second World War, he worked for the Ministry of Civil Aviation, British European Airways and British Airways.

Robin McNair was secretary to the Society of Parents and Friends of St Benedict's School, Ealing, London, and president of the Douai Society. At Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Wilfrid parish, Selsey, West Sussex, he was chairman of the parish committee and treasurer of the Society of St Vincent de Paul. He was chairman of the Ealing branch of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children and a member of the Chichester and District Life group.

He died in 1996, leaving his wife, Estelle Ruth McNair (née Townsend), and seven children.