McGlinchy, Robert 'Bob'

Robert (Bob) Hunter McGlinchy- No. 15476

Flight Sergeant No. 2 Aircraft Depot Richmond NSW

Bob, sometimes known as 'Snowy' to his mates, was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 24 July, 1921. Records show that at the time he joined the RAAF he was residing at Leichhardt, Sydney and that he enlisted at No. 2 Recruiting Centre on 2 June, 1940 when he was aged nineteen. After his basic training, Bob was selected to complete a trade course in armament fitting. Around the time that he successfully qualified in this field, there was a strong move within the RAAF to seek volunteers to work as ground crew in the UK as part of the RAF Infiltration Scheme. Bob took up the challenge and joined the group that sailed aboard the "Awatea" departing Sydney on Friday 13 June, 1941.

After arriving in Canada, Bob travelled cross country on the Canadian Pacific Railway to Halifax, Nova Scotia and from there to Iceland. The trip from there to the UK was aboard the Belgian ship "Leopoldville" which made landfall at Greenock, Scotland not far from Bob's birth place. The group was sent to No. 3 Personnel Receiving Centre at Bournemouth for processing and disbursement to various postings with RAF units. Eventually, Bob joined 3050 Echelon made up of RAAF and RAF personnel tasked with the responsibility of servicing RAAF Spitfire squadrons. Initially the Echelon met up at Henley and then moved to Red Hill, Surrey. Through January and February, 1942 the unit provided ground support for No. 452 RAAF Squadron which was part of No.11 Group responsible for the defence of South East England. From March, 1942 No. 457 Squadron took over from 452 which had been relocated to the Isle of Man. At this stage, Australia was at war with Japan with Darwin having been attacked on 19 February, 1942 and the move was on to send a force of Spitfires back to Australia to aid in the defence of the North West Area. From the end of May, 1942 No. 457 Squadron ceased operations at Red Hill and preparations were made to transport Nos. 452 and 457 RAAF Squadrons as well as No. 54 RAF Squadron to Australia. By this time Bob had been permanently attached to 457 and he with the rest of the group left London in June, 1942 to sail for Australia. They were aboard the "Stirling Castle" and it was one of a number of ships in the convoy. A total of thirty-eight Spitfires were sent as well but en route thirty-two of these were diverted for much needed replacements in North Africa. And so the "Stirling Castle" with Bob aboard arrived in Melbourne on 13 August, 1942 but with only six Spitfires to share between three squadrons.

After a short period of leave Bob rejoined his squadron which was now located at Richmond, NSW. In October, after the arrival of more Spitfires, the squadrons were formed into No.1 Fighter Wing under the leadership of Wing Commander Clive Caldwell and throughout January and February planes and personnel were flown and shipped to the Darwin area. Initially, 457 Squadron moved to Batchelor airstrip to wait until it could take over Livingstone airstrip from the Kittyhawk squadron that had been using it as a base to defend the Darwin area. By March Bob and the squadron had established operations out of Livingstone but it was to prove to be a long and sometimes boring stay in a place about fifty kilometres south of Darwin beside the Stuart Highway but with few opportunities to get away or take part in activities that would help to break the monotony. Between March and November,1942 there were thirteen raids over the North West area and these provided an opportunity for some action but Bob had to endure the remote conditions until he was posted south to Richmond NSW in mid 1944. At about this time, he was promoted to Flight Sergeant. He remained at Richmond until the end of the war but, because he was single at the time, he was unable to receive his discharge until March, 1946.

It is not known whether Bob's interest in greyhound breeding and racing developed before the war or what caught his punters eye during his RAAF service. However, all became serious post war interests although his family always remained his top priority. Bob is remembered by his fellow Spitfire Association friends as a man of integrity. As Ron Lambert puts it:-

'Above all Bob was a happy model of the best of people, loving all and loved by