After attending Eton and Oxford University, Clyde lived in Switzerland, becoming an outstanding skier. He worked for a firm of stockbrokers in London and was an aide to the Governor of The Bahamas. He served with No 601 Squadron in the Auxiliary Air Force.
Clyde went to France on 17 May 1940, with ‘A’ Flight of 601. On 19 May he destroyed a He 111. The flight returned to Tangmere on the 22nd. On the 27th Clyde claimed two Bf 110s destroyed in the Gravelines/Dunkirk area. He was awarded the DFC on 31 May.
On 6 June Clyde claimed a Do 17, on the 7th he destroyed a Bf 110, on 7 July he shared in the destruction of a Do 17, on 13 August he claimed three Bf 110s destroyed, a Ju 88 probably destroyed and a Bf 110 damaged, on the 15th a probable Ju 88 was added to his score with another shared, on the 16th, a Ju 87 destroyed and another damaged and on the 31st a Do 17 destroyed.
Clyde was appointed ‘B’ Flight Commander on 7 September. He shot down a Bf 110 on 7 October. He was posted to HQ No 10 Group on 13 December.
Billy Clyde left the RAF as a Group Captain in 1945 and later lived in Mexico. He died in the USA on 26 March 1985 and his ashes were scattered over the Bay of Acapulco.
