James Lloyd Findlay
New Zealand soldier (1895-1983)
Air Commodore James Lloyd Findlay (6 October 1895 – 17 March 1983) was a New Zealand soldier and air force officer who served in both World Wars.
Early life and family
Findlay was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1895, the second son of Sir John Findlay, and was educated at Wellington College.
First World War
Findlay had been studying in England at the outbreak of the First World War and was commissioned as an officer in the East Surrey Regiment. He distinguished himself during the Battle of Loos in September 1915 and the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, and was decorated with the Military Cross and mentioned in despatches. Findlay was also awarded the Croix de Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur by France in recognition of his gallantry. Findlay was wounded during the opening stages of the Battle of the Somme, but after recuperating joined the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot in March 1917.
His brother, Second Lieutenant Ian Calcutt Findlay, 2nd Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment had died of wounds at the 16th Field Ambulance Advanced dressing Station, Belgium on 10 August 1915, aged 18.
Findlay served with the Royal Flying Corps throughout the war, but after transferring to the Royal Air Force on inception in 1918 he was demobilised in August 1921.
Inter-war period
Findlay was married on 17 August 1921 in London to Ruby Violet Finch, youngest daughter of Thomas Alexander Finch of Trinity College, Dublin, after which they both returned to New Zealand.
In June 1923 Findlay was one of the first officers to enlist in the New Zealand Permanent Air Force and commanded Base Wigram from 1926 to 1938.
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This entry incorporates text from “James Lloyd Findlay” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.