Sandy Johnstone Air Vice Marshal Alexander Vallance Riddell Johnstone CB , DFC , AE , DL , RAF , better known as Sandy Johnstone , ( 2 June 1916 – 13 December 2000 ) was a Scottish airman . He served as a Royal Air Force squadron , wing and station commander during World War II and the commander of Commonwealth forces operating in Borneo during the Indonesia - Malaysia confrontation . Early life . Alexander Vallance Riddell Johnstone was born in Glasgow on 2 June 1916 and was educated at Kelvinside Academy . He worked in an Edinburgh footwear company and in 1934 he joined No . 602 ( City of Glasgow ) Auxiliary Air Force Squadron as a weekend flier . Royal Air Force . Early in 1938 , Johnstone was a civilian navigation instructor at Scottish Aviation , moving later to the Civil Air Navigation School at Prestwick . In August 1939 he was called to full - time service with No . 602 Squadron . On 24 November 1939 George Pinkerton was promoted to Squadron Leader and given Command of No . 65 Squadron RAF , with Johnstone taking over command of ‘ B ’ Flight from Pinkerton . After participating in engagements with lone German raiders off the Scottish coast in late 1939 - early 1940 , he was given command of 602 Squadron in July 1940 at the age of 24 . By this time Johnstone had already claimed a Heinkel He 111 , a Junkers Ju 88 and a Dornier Do 17 damaged . The squadron was transferred south to RAF Westhampnett in West Sussex , where it was stationed throughout the Battle of Britain . His tally after the battle ( and his final wartime score ) was 7 ( and 2 shared ) aircraft destroyed , 1 probable , and 6 ( and 1 shared ) damaged . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions . After serving as operations controller at RAF Turnhouse in Scotland in 1941 , Johnstone was posted in April 1942 to RAF Haifa in Palestine as sector commander . He then went to Malta as station commander at RAF Luqa , before commanding a Spitfire wing . In the spring of 1943 he returned to Britain to attend the RAF Staff College . In September 1943 he moved on to RAF Fairwood Common , West Glamorgan , as sector commander . In May 1944 Johnstone was promoted to acting Group Captain on the Allied Expeditionary Air Force operations staff preparing for the D - Day invasion . After the landings he moved to Normandy with General Eisenhower ' s headquarters staff . Early in 1945 Johnstone joined the RAF delegation in Washington , D . C . . He returned in June to Fighter Command No . 12 Group RAF HQ staff , receiving a permanent commission . In 1946 Johnstone was appointed air attache in Dublin , and went on to serve as station commander , RAF Ballykelly . In 1953 he was made Commanding Officer of the Air Sea Warfare Development Unit at RAF St Mawgan . In 1954 he returned to No . 12 Group RAF as Senior Air Staff Officer ( SASO ) . In 1956 he was deputy air defence commander , Malaya and was then seconded to assist in the formation of the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force . After spells as station commander at RAF Middleton St . George , the Imperial Defence College , and director of personnel at the Air Ministry , in 1964 he was posted to Borneo as Air Commodore , Commonwealth Air Forces . In 1965 he returned to the UK to become an Air Vice - Marshal . He headed Coastal Command ' s No . 18 Group RAF , was Air Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland , and was NATO ' s North Atlantic maritime air commander . Johnstone was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1966 and , reflecting his years as an Auxiliary Air Force officer , also held the much - prized Air Efficiency Award . Johnstone retired from the Royal Air Force in 1968 . Later life . From 1969 to 1979 , Johnstone served as vice - chairman of the Territorial Auxiliary and Volunteer Reserve . He was also secretary of Glasgow Golf Club , and as head of the National Car Parks ( NCP ) and secretary of Denham Golf Club . From 1971 to 1994 he was Deputy Lieutenant for Glasgow . He became a successful author and resided near Ipswich in Suffolk . Johnstone was an accomplished author , writing six books : Johnstone married Margaret Croll in 1940 . They had a son , Ian Johnstone , an Army officer , and two daughters . Sandy Johnstone died on 13 December 2000 , aged 84 .