Arthur Rullion Rattray

Arthur Rullion Rattray
Rear Admiral Rattray, c.1945
Born	1891 Gatehouse of Fleet, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
Died	10 August 1966 (aged 74–75) Camberley, Surrey, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Indian Navy British Army Royal Air Force
Years of service	1912–1946
Rank	Rear Admiral
Unit	No. 104 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars	World War I  • Mesopotamian Campaign  • Western Front World War II
Awards	Order of the British Empire Order of the Bath Order of the Indian Empire

Rear Admiral Sir Arthur Rullion Rattray KBE, CB, CIE (1891 – 10 August 1966) was a British naval officer who served in the Royal Indian Marine, and also on attachment to the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during World War I, where he was credited with five aerial victories, to become an ace. He later rose to senior rank in the Royal Indian Navy during World War II.

Rattray was born in Gatehouse of Fleet, Scotland, the fourth of five children born to Arthur Rattray, a retired Indian Civil Servant and judge, and his wife Mary Louise Wakely (née Sutherland). His parents had returned from Bengal, where their first three children were born, in around 1889.

Rattray was sent to HMS Conway, a training ship based at Liverpool, in January 1906, remaining there until December 1907. He then trained at HMS Ganges, near Ipswich, before serving in the Merchant Service, working for the Aberdeen-based shipping company of George Milne & Co., until joining the Royal Indian Marine in 1912.

Rattray continued to serve in the RIM after the outbreak of World War I, but on 15 February 1917 he was appointed a temporary lieutenant on the General List to serve in the Army's Royal Flying Corps as a flying officer (observer), with seniority from 7 November 1916, but without prior pay or allowances. He served in the Mesopotamian Campaign, gaining a mention in despatches from the Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant-General Sir Stanley Maude, on 15 August 1917.