William Neil McKechnie
Group Captain William Neil McKechnie, GC (27 August 1907 – 30 August 1944) was a pilot and senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal in 1929, which was exchanged for the George Cross in 1940. He was killed in action over Germany in 1944. Early life William Neil McKechnie was born on 27 August 1907 in Kasauli, India, the son of Lieutenant Colonel William Ernest McKechnie, Indian Medical Service, and Marion A. McKechnie. He attended The Perse School in Cambridge. McKechnie later married Mary Roma Doig of Musselburgh, Midlothian. Empire Gallantry Medal McKechnie earned the Empire Gallantry Medal for an act of bravery in saving Flight Cadet C. J. Giles after an aeroplane crash on 20 June 1929 while still a flight cadet aged 22. The London Gazette of 18 October 1929, gives the following details in announcing the award to Group Captain McKechnie of the Empire Gallantry Medal: McKechnie's Empire Gallantry Medal was exchanged for the George Cross in 1940. RAF career McKechnie attended RAF College Cranwell. In January 1939, he was commanding No. 27 Squadron RAF at Kohat, India. During the Second World War, McKechnie was a group captain based at