Roderick Aeneas Chisholm

Roderick Aeneas Chisholm was born on 23 November 1911 at Bridge of Allan in Scotland. He went to school at Ampleforth College and commenced tertiary studies at the Imperial College of Science and Technology. In 1930 he joined the Auxiliary Air Force and served with No. 604 Squadron. He was commissioned as a pilot officer in March 1931. Four months later he was the pilot of a Westland Wapiti trainer aircraft that crashed at Tangmere while carrying his commanding officer, Air Commodore McNeece Foster, as a passenger. He was promoted to flying officer the following year. ==Second World War==

Chisholm had been a night fighter pilot with No. 604 Squadron RAF, flying the Bristol Beaufighter. During the war, he had been credited with seven night aerial victories, one probable and one damaged in 1941. Following a rest period, he returned to operations briefly in 1943 ending his combat career with nine victories. Chisholm championed radar-equipped night fighter intruder operations over Europe to apply pressure to the German air defence system and reduce losses to Bomber Command. He was appointed to the staff of a new organisation, named No. 100 Group RAF, created in 1943 for this purpose. As second in command of 100 Group from November 1943, his mission in Germany at the end of the war was to gather any useful information on enemy tactics and technology. In early 1944, Chisholm was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The citation for the DSO was published in The London Gazette and read: ==Later life==

On ending his military service in 1946, Chisholm returned to the oil industry. He subsequently wrote a book about his wartime experiences entitled Cover of Darkness, published in 1953. He retired in 1970 and died on 7 December 1994. ==Notes==