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 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 was 7 aircraft destroyed, 1 probable, and 6 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. 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.
