Corgi AA38106 Sopwith Camel F1, 8239D, RAF 28 Sqn, Capt C.M. McEwen, Italy January 1919

No. 28 Squadron was formed at Gosport on the 7th November 1915. For eighteen months it was a training unit before moving to Yatesbury in July 1917 where it was re-equipped with Sopwith Camels before moving to France in October. The Squadron had barely settled when it was moved to Italy, along with the British Expeditionary Force. 28 Squadron remained in Italy until February 1919 before returning home to be disbanded on 20th January 1920. Clifford MacKay McEwen joined the Canadian Army in 1916. By April 1917 he was seconded to the RFC, becoming a member of 28 Squadron. He served in Italy as a Sopwith Camel pilot, scoring twenty-seven victories, four of which are believed to have been whilst flying 8239D. In 1919 McEwen otherwise known as 'Black Mike' returned to Canada where he served as an instructor with the RCAF. During World War Two, he commanded two bomber group bases, assuming command of 6 Bomber Group in England in 1944. He attained the rank of Air Vice-Marshal and later retired in 1946.