Archie Mc Kellar - Early Life

Early Life

Archibald Ashmore ("Archie") McKellar was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland on the 10 April 1912, the son of John and Margaret McKellar, of Bearsden, Dunbartonshire and was then educated at Shawlands Academy in the Southside of Glasgow. Upon leaving school he joined a local stockbroker's firm. This did not suit McKellar, who preferred an open–air life style. Keen to leave, but unsure of what direction to take in life, he joined his father's General contractor and construction business as a plasterer. He spent five years as an apprentice plasterer. During this time he was given no special privileges despite being the boss' son.

McKellar was also a keen fitness enthusiast and, regardless of his short stature, built up a great physical strength. Though he enjoyed wine and smoked the occasional pipe or cigar he kept in peak physical shape until his death. Even at the height of the Battle of Britain he was always clean shaven and immaculately dressed. Mckellar's spare time was used reading about sport and First World War fighter pilots. His interest in the flying personalities of the past spurred him to take up flying. He joined at his own expense the Scottish Flying Club, which had been founded in 1927 and from 1933 until the airfield's requisition in the Second World War leased and managed Renfrew Airport; and he quickly acquired a pilot's licence. By the time he began his military career began, McKellar was a very experienced pilot which earned him relatively quick promotions.