Flight Lieutenant
JAMES FRASER CRAIK, D.F.C

From 1918 to 1930 James Fraser Craik was a pupil at Hillhead. In 1930 he was awarded his cricket cap. His school days over, he qualified as a Pharmacist and later as an Optician, and he was practicing these professions at the outbreak of war. He at once volunteered, and became a gunner in a light anti-aircraft unit in 1940.

In 1941 he transferred to the RAF and rose to the rank of Flight-Lieutenant. As a pilot he was one of the first to fly in action wearing contact lenses.

Flight-Lieutenant Craik completed two tours in Lancaster bombers of the Pathfinder Force. In 1944 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and later the Badge of the Pathfinder Force.

On 14th February 1945, after a raid on Chemnitz – his 77th operational flight over Europe – he was shot down over the town of Gefell in Saxony.

In his memory, in 1946, the Craik family presented Hillhead Cricket Club with the Craik Cups. These Cups are awarded in his honour and memory to the Player and Young Player of the Year at the Hillhead Cricket Club Annual Dinner. The event has been an ever present fixture in the Hillhead Cricket Club calendar since 1946.