James Michael Blair

This story is shared by the Trust with kind permission from John Hamblin, Researcher

James Michael Blair, Lieutenant 240066, No. 2 Troop, A Squadron, 15 th (Scottish) Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps, Royal Armoured Corps, died of wounds on the 16th of July 1944 aged 21.

James Michael Blair was the born at Darjeeling, Bengal on the 2nd of August 1922, the only son of James Richard Blair CIE, LCS and Alice Jane Hood (née Carrie) Blair of 12, St Ninian’s Terrace, Edinburgh.

He was educated at Edinburgh Academy from 1928 to 1940 where he won the Clyde and Millar Greek Prizes, the Balfour French Prize and Medals for Mathematics. He was Dux of School in 1939 and was Head Ephor. He was a member of the Shooting VIII and of the Rugby XV, becoming their Captain. He was a member of the Fencing Team, winning the Jameson Fencing Medal, and was winner of the Squash Rackets Championship. He served as a Company Quartermaster Sergeant in the Officer Training Corps.

He went on to Corpus Christi College, Oxford on a Classical Scholarship from 1940 to 1941 where he achieved a First Class in the Classics Moderations short course in 1940 and 1941. He was Captain of the College Rugby XV, was President of Owlets in 1941 and served as Editor of The Pelican (the Corpus Christie magazine). He won a “Blue” with the Oxford University Rugby Club in 1940 and served as their Secretary and Captain in 1941. He played in the Varsity Match against Cambridge in 1940 and 1941 and represented Scotland in Service Internationals against England in 1943 and 1944.

He enlisted in the army in 1941 and attended an Officer Cadet Training Unit before being commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Reconnaissance Corps on the 25th of July 1942. He was then posted to the 15th (Scottish) Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps and was appointed to the command of No. 2 Troop in A Squadron.

The 15th Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps sailed from Gosport on the 27th of June 1944 and landed at Arromanches later the same day from where they moved inland to St Gabriel. They saw action during Operation Epsom from the 30th of June and on the 9th of July A Squadron was tasked with assisting the 46th Infantry Brigade in clearing remaining enemy troops from the area to the west of Caen and Carpiquet. On the morning of the 10th of July they encountered enemy troops dug in on the reverse slope of a ridge at Éterville. A battalion from the 43rd (Wessex) Division was tasked with attacking Éterville with the 9th Battalion, Cameronians, led by A Squadron, 15th Regiment, then passing through them to take the high ground overlooking the River Orne.

In the event, the first attack failed and the task of capturing the town fell to the Cameronians. With No. 2 Troop of A Squadron leading the way the attack resumed but the church had collapsed into the streets and the roads through the town were blocked by burning vehicles. Seeing this, James Blair and his Troop made their way through a field and a farmyard where they engaged enemy infantry in the area of Louvigny. The situation in the town deteriorated when a smoke screen cleared to reveal five enemy tanks which quickly knocked out two of No. 3 Troop’s armoured cars. When the fighting died down, James Blair managed to link up with some Canadian troops near Caen but, with their return route to Éterville blocked, he carried out a reconnaissance to find a another route, managing to amass additional intelligence for the Brigade in the process.

The Troop spent the night to the south of Verson, where they came under enemy mortar fire for most of the night. The day’s fighting had cost the Regiment casualties of four dead and sixteen wounded.

On the evening of the 15th of July 1944, A Troop was detailed to control traffic on the routes toward the crossings over the River Odon for Operation Greenline, an attack to deepen the bridgehead across the river and to relieve pressure on the US First Army on their right. While at a traffic point James Blair was seriously injured by a mortar bomb and died of his wounds the following day.

The Corpus Christi College magazine, The Pelican wrote: -
“Michael Blair was at the College for only four terms, but in his unostentatious, likeable way he made a considerable mark. He came up from Edinburgh Academy in 1940 with a good reputation as a Classical Scholar and a scrum half. On his first day in Oxford the captain of the College XV watched him run across the quad and remarked “That’s a scrum half”. He collected a sound First in Mods., and played three times for the University against Cambridge, being Secretary the third time; later he played twice for Scotland in Services Internationals. He also served as an editor of the Pelican Record. His quiet, dogged methods served him well in everything he took up, and he made a good officer. With all these merits he combined a real modesty which made him fit excellently into the ordinary run of College life; we have lost a good friend, and one of our best men.”

He is buried at Ryes War Cemetery, Bazenville Plot VI, Row C, Grave 7 and he is commemorated on the war memorial at Edinburgh Academy and on the memorial at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.

British Normandy Memorial - Additional Information

Unfortunately, we do not have a photo of James Blair. If you are aware of one or you are related to James we would love to hear from you so we can add to his story.