Wing Commander John Scatliff Dewar, DSO, DFC (1907 – 1940) was a World War II Royal Air Force fighter pilot, who was killed in action during the Battle of Britain.

Dewar was a member of the school Officer Training Corps, attaining the rank of Sergeant.

Dewar attended the Royal Air Force College Cranwell from 1926 and 1927 and on graduation was commissioned as a Pilot Officer.

He was promoted to Squadron Leader on 1 February 1938 and posted to Thorney Island as Senior Operations Officer.

On 7 May 1940, returning from a sortie in bad weather and low on fuel, Dewar had to force land his Hurricane at an unserviceable airfield at Villefranche.

On 20 May 1940, in the face of the advancing German Army, Dewar ordered his squadron to return to England .

Before intensive operations started this officer injured his right shoulder in a severe flying accident.

Despite this, he flew regularly and led his squadron with skill and dash, more than 60 enemy aircraft being destroyed by them.

[8] 87 Squadron ORB stated on 12 September: "Wing Commander Dewar set out from Exeter for a visit to Tangmere and was not heard of again.

W/C Dewar's flight plan was direct to Winchester, avoiding Southampton's balloon barrage, and thence to Tangmere.

That is the precise time that a raid on Southampton's Cunliffe-Owen Works by Me109s of Erprobungsgruppe 210 was intercepted near Selsey Bill by Hurricanes of 213 Squadron scrambled from Tangmere.

From S/Ldr Randolph Stuart Mills letter we know: "a body clothed in a shirt was washed up on the beach at Kingston Gorse, Sussex, and subsequently identified as Wing Commander J. S. Dewar by means of laundry marks... a tunic was also found nearby the body, market ʽJSDʼ and had the ribbons of DSO and DFC.

It was established that this officer was killed by machine-gun fire, there being bullet wounds in the back of the head, and the left leg was practically shot off.

"[11] It looks like he was surprised and killed from behind at very close range both by machine-gun bullets in the head and cannon shell in leg.