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Click here to subscribeA gold charm bracelet, mid 20th century, the gold curb link bracelet with heart padlock clasp suspending sixteen gold charms including a scallop shell, a mine bomb, a chequebook, a bull, a guitar, a tankard, a German shepherd dog, a key, an articulated fish, a greyhound, a bell, a Portuguese cockerel, a giraffe, and three boxes containing bank notes, length 22cm, padlock and seven charms with British hallmarks, combined gross weight 69 grams
CAPTAIN DONALD JOHN GREY, R.M. (1901/2-1944) - AN IMPORTANT MILITARY COLLECTION showcasing his military career with the Royal Marines, comprising 1914-18 medal and Great War medal awarded whilst a Private in the R.M.L.I, a George V silver waiter by Gladwin Ltd, Sheffield 1929, engraved ‘Presented to Lieut D.J. Grey by his Brother Officers, The Depot R.M. Deal’, dated 7th December 1929, a Chinese 90 standard silver tankard engraved ‘Presented to Capt. Grey by ‘M’ Section H.K.V.D.C.’ (Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps) dated 1937, his tunic, swagger stick, two portraits and dress swordProvenance: By direct family descent. Literature: There is a lack of documented information about Donald Grey, but by family repute, Donald, or Johnny as he was known, was walking down the street circa 1916/7 when a stranger gave him a white feather. Although he was only sixteen he looked older and this affront caused him to try to sign up, however the only service that would take on a sixteen year old was the Royal Marines.He joined up initially for hostilities only but fell in love with the Marines and received his commission and stayed on, with one of his postings being Hong Kong. At the outbreak of war, he was seconded to Vickers Armstrong and worked with R.J. Mitchell to conceive the Grey and Mitchell bombs, as well as working on desalination units for submarines.Sadly Johnny met with a premature end - whilst riding his motorbike to a demonstration of one of his new designs, he hit a rope across the road that was supposed to warn of an unexploded bomb up ahead, but the sign had fallen off. He was badly injured, sent to a plastic surgery hospital where he was given the wrong blood group and he died of pneumonia late in 1944.Johnny left behind his wife, two young children and an unborn baby.
Dinky boxed selection including 268 Ambulance 272 Police Accident Unit, Battle of Britain Junkers Stuka 721, Land Rover Bomb Disposal 604, Striker Anti-Tank Vehicle 691, plus others (1 box)The items in this auction are located offsite and as such, we have limited access to provide postage quotes. Therefore, we are only able to offer a discretionary post and packing service on small, singular items. Due to the fragility of lots in this auction, we would strongly advise using a professional packing service in most instances.
Napoleon Preserved from Assassination, AN 9 [1800], a copper medal by H. Auguste, uniformed bust left, rev. inscription, 50mm (Bramsen 76; Julius 857). About extremely fine, tan patina £90-£120 --- The assassination attempt took place in the rue Saint-Nicaise on Christmas Eve, 1800, when a bomb exploded near Napoleon’s carriage en route to the French première of Haydn’s oratorio The Creation
MANCHESTER WWII AIR RAIDS, a group of 4 albums containing around 900 8 x 10cm photographs of bomb damage to Manchester City Centre and suburbs, including the Cathedral, Royal Infirmary, Royal Exchange and Free Trade Hall, covering raids 13, 16-19, 21-23 and 29-32 over the period October 1940 - July 1942
Group of Lowestoft porcelain teawares, circa 1765-75, comprising a small sparrow beak milk-jug decorated with flowers in the famille rose palette, a coffee cup painted with scattered famille rose flowersprays within pink scale pattern borders, a coffee cup with Mandarin pattern and another with the Redgrave Blue Bomb pattern (4) Condition Report Mandarin cup - small nibble and rough patches to rimJug - small chip to base, imperfections in glazeGeneral wear and tear.
The Dam Busters Film signed 12 WW2 RAF Veterans who served with 617 Sqn . 19 Sep 2001 Scampton Guy Gibson and the Dambusters. The Dam Busters. Picture cachet of Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave in The Dam Busters Film Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney, Patrick Barr, Ernest Clark and Derek Farr. Personally Signed by F Howkins Wireless Op 617 Sqn He took part in the Tirpitz , Dortmund – Ems Canal and Kembs Canal Dam Raids. Arthur Frank Poore DFC Lancaster Pilot with 106 and 617 Squadrons flew on raids included the Saumar Tunnel, Albert, Lyons, Etaples,Brest,Creil and the D – Day Spoof. Flying Officer Raymond .E.Grayston . took part in Operation Chastise as a flight Engineer on Les Knights Crew on Lancaster AJ-N which attacked the Eder Dam 16 to 17 May 1943 Dambuster & later on the Dortmund Ems Canel forced to bail out and became a POW and was sent to Stalag Luft 111. Flt Lt Hubert 'Hughie' Evans RAF DFC. Joined the RAFVR in January 1940 as a Wireless Operator/ Air Gunner flew in Wellington's 1st Tour with 49 Sqn at Scampton in 1941 and then joined 617 Sqn with Quinton's crew until 1944 for his 2nd tour. He was posted to 15 Sqn at Mildenhall on Experimental Bombing of U - Boat Pens. Adjutant Harry Humphries Flt Lt Administrator 617 Squadron (Dambusters) Selected by Guy Gibson to be the founder adjutant and assisted leader of the Dam Busters Raid, put the crews together for this important mission. Flt.Lt. Percy (Bill) Buttle DFC with 51 (Halifax) Sqn. Later joined 617 Sqn., navigator. Theatres of Operation Europe, Aircraft flown Stearman Biplane, Catalina, Anson, Wellington, Halifax and Lancaster . He was Navigator With Sqn Ldr Benny Goodman’s )crew from the time of his first operation with 51 Sqn until termination with 617 sqn. Rowland Smith 617 Sqn Tail Gunner with 9, 619 and 617 Squadrons. His Pilots were Stout and Knilans. Took put in many raids including the U – Boat – Pens at Brest & Lorient, Flying Bomb Sites, Attack on the Factories of Albert – France, the attack on Toulouse. Sqn Ldr L W Curtis DFC, Signals Leader on the Tirpitz mission with 617 Sqn. Also with 149, 99 & 158 Sqns and the famous 617 Dam Buster Squadron. His operations were carried out in Europe, North Africa and Russia. Whilst serving with 617 Squadron he flew with Squadron Leader Micky Martin. He flew on many aircraft, the Wellington, Halifax, Fairey Battle, Whitley, Lancaster, Stirling and Mosquito. He was awarded the DFC and Bar. by Ronald P Castleman Warrant Officer Air Gunner (crew member of Sqn Ldr Poore) Squadrons: 106, 617,Prior 106, No 10 OUT Det.St. Eval May 1943 5 Auti Sub Sweeps Bay of Biscay Theatres of operation Europe Aircraft flown Whitley, Lancaster, Wellington. Sqn Ldr J.Castagnola DSO,DFC* & Bar pilot with 617,57 Squadrons. Was on the Tirpitz, Kembs Canal ( his bomb probably demolished the western most sluice gate ) Ijmuiden, St Cyr Clermont Ferrand, D Day Spoof and Saumar Tunnel raids. Theatres of Operations Western Europe Aircraft flown Dakota, Vampire, Venom, Lancaster, Hunter. Wg Cdr J B Tait 617 Sqn Pilot led attack on the battleship Tirpitz. Awarded 4 DS0's. A. (George) Chalmers DFC, DFM Wireless operator/Air gunner on the Dams Raid, 17 May 43. F/ Sgt W C Townsend Crew 3rd Dams raid Wave Attacked Ennepe dam unsuccessfully Returned safely. Full Details enclosed Certified No 8 of 10 Good Condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
"Escaping Society cover Signed 18 RAF WW2 Battle of Britain Dambusters VC winners. Escaping Society Caterpillar Club Signed 18 Members Battle of Britain, Dambuster 8 May 85 BFPS 1945 40th Anniv of VE Day. Caterpillar Club Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Formation of the RAF Escaping Society. Cover flown in Hercules. Personally Signed by 5 RAF Falcons Display Team & 18 Caterpillar Club Members a Cross section Range from one of the earliest member’s, a per – war jumper, through the Battle of Britain, Dam buster pilot, and Bomber Battle of Germany to a post – War member , the only one on this list who used an ejector seat first. Dambuster A F ( Tony ) Burcher DFM Rear Gunner M for Mother Mohne Dam 16th May 1943.( Dambuster Raid ) Hit by Falk while approaching the target before being crippled by the blast from its own weapon which overshoot and exploded beyond the parapet Crashed Hopgood, Brennan, Earnshaw Minchin Gregory all killed in the Crush only J W Fraser & A F Burcher Survived the crash. Whilst Bailing out Burcher was stuck across the back by the tail. His parachute carried him to earth but a broken back prevented him from moving. He lay there for 3 days until some Hitler Youth found him. They tied a rope around his feet and dragged him to the nearest Gestapo Station who believing he was going to die gave him over to the care of a man they believed was a local vet. This man was prior to the war a back surgeon who had lied to the authorities so as to not have to do War work. Prisoner of war sent to Stalag Luft III sagan where he found an old polish friend from the RAF. The two took part in three famous tunnel escapes Captured by the Germans them realizing who they were they were to be executed as per Hitler's orders the next day. That night the lines ahifted and in the morning the Russians were in charge of the Prison. For reasons unknown the Russians decided they should hang on to these two and so they were sent into internment in Russia. Burcher wasn't repatriated until 1947. WO John Bettany CGM Bales out Lancaster.AVM H A C Bird Wilson Pilot Battle of Britain, Air Marshal Sir Harry Burton, Pilots Wellington shot down over Germany bailed out and escaped back to Great Britain 1st airman to return. Gp Capt John Cunningham Most Successful night fighter Pilot, Air Commodore Alan C Deere, Battle of Britain Pilot bailed out many times and wrote a book called nine Lives. Sqn Ldr Robert F T Doe Battle of Britian Pilot Baled out aircraft on Fire, one of Mcindoe’s ‘’Guinea Pig’’. Gp Capt D E Gillam Battle of Britain Pilot Baled out. Gp Capt Tom P Gleave Battle of Britain Pilot Baled Out on fire became one of McIndoe’s chief ‘’Guinea Pigs. W/O Norman C Jackson VC ( Victoria Cross Holder ) climbed on the wing of his Lancaster to put out the fire in one of the engines, He did this, but the aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and he was blown off the wing. His parachute saved his life. Air Chief Marshal Sir Wallace ( Digger) Kyle, An Australian is the most senior member of those who have signed these covers. He had to bail out of a Bulldog in the mid – thirties. Sqn Ldr James H (Ginger) Lacey fought in the Battle of France and was top scoring British Pilot in the Battle of Britain. He used his parachute on at least 6 occasions. Gp Capt W S O Randle served with Bomber Command throughout the war. He was shot down over Belgium, made his way through France across the Pyrenees into Spain and reached Gibraltar. Served happily in the Royal Air Force until 1972. Flt Lt William Reid VC won his Victoria Cross with 61 Sqn later joined 617 Sqn. When on an operation over Germany his Lancaster was hit by a bomb from a fighter flying Aircraft in the Bomber Stream. He bailed out with some members of his crew and finished up as a POW in Stalag Luft 111. Air Chief Marshal Sir F Rosier Pilot fought in both the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. It was in this period that he had to use his parachute. Air Vice Marshal Sir Colin Scragg . Pre War airman served with Bomber Command until 1944 when with 166 Sqn he was on a mission over Germany and had to bail out. He finished in Stalag Luft 111. Wg Cdr Robert (Bob ) Stanford – Tuck. Battle of Britain Pilot and was one of the top scorers. Had to bail out of his Spitfire in a sweep over France much later on in the War. POW Stalag Luft 111. Marshal of the RAF Sir Keith Williamson. Only member to bail out Post- War . He bailed out having used his ejector seat first from a Hunter. Full Details enclosed. Certified Copy no 11 of 12 Covers Signed. " Good Condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Navy cover Signed by WW2 Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma. 24 Mar 75 BFPS 1466 Fleet Air Arm Development Project. Personally Signed by the Director of Fleet Air Arm Museum and Also signed by Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma who flew the same plane ( S 27 in 1911) that was used on this first Aircraft Carrier. World War 11 Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia the last Viceroy of India, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Defence Staff. Mountbatten was assassinated when a bomb was planted in his boat at Mullaghmore, County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. Official RN Air Station Yeovilton Cover. RN Yeovilton Ref No RNSC19c. Good Condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
‡ PAUL PETER PIECH (American-Welsh 1920-1996) limited edition (14/25) woodcut - quote from English poet John Donne, 'No Man is an Island..', signed and dated 1990, 64 x 52cms together with another woodcut print, 'Build a Bomb..' signed and dated 1988, 70 x 50cms (2)Provenance: private collection OxfordshireComments: unframed, some creasing
WW2 Pathfinder Henry Shackleton 405 sqn bomber command signed stunning 12 x 8 inch colour Lancaster in flight photo. In 1940 Henry left school and volunteered as a Pilot at the age of 18 and 9 months, receiving his Wings as a Pilot Officer at Cranwell College one week before he was 19. He was then sent to North Battlefield, Saskatchewan as a Flying Instructor. By coincidence his elder brother and sister were born in Saskatchewan, though he was born in the U.K. In 1943, with 1,500 flying hours, he was posted to Middleton St George, Darlington, U.K. to join the R.C.A.F 419 Moose Squadron where his R.A.F. crew did 18 bombing trips in their Halifax to Germany and Italy without mishap. Thet then volunteered to join Pathfinders and were posted to R.C.A.F 405 Squadron at Gransden Lodge. 4 Pathfinder trips on Lancasters, target Berlin, went without mishap, but on the 5th one on January 30/31st 1944 they were attacked by two nightfighters, resulting in the loss of use by their port wing forcing him to shout, "abandon aircraft". His Wireless Operator, Red Williams put on his navigator chest parachute, then decided to get a bar of chocolate from his desk, taking off his parachute to put it in his tunic, then replacing his chute at which he heard an explosion as Henry was blown out of the cockpit. ( He obviously was suffering from lack of oxygen as the Lancaster was in a spiralling dive ) He jumped out of the hole in the cockpit and landed in a Berlin street, immediately taken prisoner. After being blown out, Henry pulled on what he thought was my parachute release, but it was release of his seat harness! When it fell away he searched again and to his relief the parachute opened before he fell onto a bush in a Berlin Park. Henry hid by day and walked by night but on the third night, just after people had come out of their shelter during another bomb attack, some children surrounded him, and he was taken to the Burgermasters house, where kind ladies bathed his face and gave him food. (One could assume they were thinking of their own sons bombing the U.K. and he always feel this should be said.) However, a pompous and drunken Army Officer took Henry to a Berlin police cell (which was warm!) A few days later he met Red Williams at the Frankfurt Interrogation Centre, who told him he had been taken to a crashed Lancaster and understood their other five crew members had lost their lives. Thereafter Henry spent until March 1945, as a P.O.W. in Stalag Luft 3. They all took part in the long march to the Germans last stand in Berlin, from which 400 of them escaped from the Camp across the river to the Americans. Good condition Est. Good Condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Thirty Soul / Funk / Dance LPs including two Stevie Wonder, Thelma Houston, Michael Jackson, six Pointer Sisters / Bonnie Pointer, three Joan Armatrading, Bomb The Bass, Neneh Cherry, Lynda Lewis, Tyrone & Exotic Steel Orchestra, Diana Ross, Donna Summer etc. Vinyl appears VG+ to Ex in the main
An excessively rare Second War ‘Cockleshell’ operations D.S.M. group of seven awarded to Quarter-Master Sergeant J. M. King, Royal Marines, a member of the elite Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment (R.M.B.P.D.) Just two wartime raids were carried out by the hand-picked operatives of the R.M.B.P.D., most famously Operation ‘Frankton’, the ‘Cockleshell Heroes’ strike against enemy shipping at Bordeaux in December 1942, and Operation ‘Sunbeam’, a similar canoe launched attack against targets in Leros in June 1944 Sergeant King was well-known to the likes of ‘Blondie’ Hasler and Bill Sparks, having trained beside them in the lead-up to the ‘Cockleshell Heroes’ raid, but it was for his part in ‘Sunbeam’ - described as one of the most brilliant sabotage operations of the war - that he was awarded his immediate D.S.M., one of only three such awards to the R.M.B.P.D. On that memorable occasion, in a damaged canoe ‘with water up to their knees’, and in the face of several challenges from enemy sentries, he and his comrade nonetheless placed six limpet mines on an Italian destroyer: they duly detonated with the desired result Distinguished Service Medal, G.VI.R. (Sergt. J. M. King, PLY/X. 1457); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C., G.VI.R., 2nd issue (PL.X 1457 J. M. King, D.S.M. Sgt. R.M.) minor edge bruise to DSM, light contact marks, good very fine (7) £30,000-£36,000 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- D.S.M. London Gazette 28 November 1944: ‘For gallantry in a hazardous operation in the Aegean.’ The recommendation for his immediate award states: ‘Sgt. King was in charge of one of the canoes during operation SUNBEAM. This operation was undertaken to damage shipping in the defended port of LEROS. Sgt. King’s canoe was holed before entering the harbour, he however showing great determination continued with his task using a sponge to plug the hole, and entered the harbour. Here, although challenged he avoided detection and managed to place six limpets on the hull of an enemy destroyer. On the deck of the destroyer were several armed men and there was a sentry on the jetty. By this time the water in the canoe was around his knees. He however with the help of his crew, Marine RUFF, successfully left the harbour undetected and made the R.V. on the Island of CALINO some 8 miles distant. Sgt. King showed great skill and resolution in continuing with this already hazardous task in a badly damaged canoe. The destroyer was badly damaged and had to be sent to PIRAEUS for repairs.’ James Malcolm King was born in Glasgow on 9 June 1918 and joined the Royal Marines in November 1935. His pre-war appointments having included tours of duty in H.M.S. Rodney and H.M.S. Gloucester, he volunteered for ‘special service’ in the newly established Royal Marine Boom Patrol Detachment in July 1942. Under the watchful eye of his new C.O., Major H. ‘Blondie’ Hasler, King was quickly promoted to Acting Temporary Sergeant and took up appointment as the unit’s Physical Training Instructor, a fact referred to by Bill Sparks in The Last of The Cockleshell Heroes, who credits King with establishing the unit’s haphazard assault course. Sparks adds: ‘To build our assault course we used old tyres, ropes and anything else we could think of, but often with disastrous results. Our improvised equipment sometimes collapsed just as a man leapt on to it, or through it or under it, and the injuries were sometimes severe enough to have the victim rushed to hospital. Eventually the hospital complained that they were getting to many casualties from the R.M.B.P.D. To Blondie this was all water off a duck’s back. He didn’t take any notice and nobody was going to make him deviate from that …’ For the duration of their arduous and intensive training, which of course involved many hours at sea in their Cockle canoes, the 34-strong rank and file of the R.M.B.P.D. were divided into two sections. When, at length, it was time for Hasler to select the Operation ‘Frankton’ team for the raid on Bordeaux harbour in December 1942, King was not in the chosen section, a decision that likely saved his life. The story of his comrades – who became known as the ‘Cockleshell Heroes’ - needs no elaboration here, although it is not without interest that Bill Sparks, one of the two survivors, was a member of King’s section in the Aegean at the time of Operation ‘Sunbeam’. Operation Sunbeam Overall command of the R.M.B.P.D.’s ‘Earthworm’ detachment, as the Operation ‘Sunbeam’ men were known, fell to Captain W. Pritchard-Gordon, R.M., whilst Lieutenant J. F. ‘Jasper’ Richards, R.M. led the operation on the night. As had been the case in Operation ‘Frankton’ the participating cockle canoes were all given names. Thus, Richards and Marine Stevens manned Shark; King and Marine Richard Ruff Salmon and Corporal Horner and Marine Fisher Shrimp. The marines and their canoes were embarked in M.L. 360, in readiness for the planned raid on enemy shipping in Portolaga harbour, Leros, the motor launch hugging anchorages on the Turkish coastline as it awaited the signal to launch the raid. That signal arrived in the afternoon of 16 June 1944, when confirmation was received that potential targets had arrived in convoy at Portolaga. Cecil A. Hampshire’s The Secret Navies takes up the story: ‘Soon afterwards the motor launch left the anchorage on silent engines and headed seawards, increasing speed to 16 knots as soon as she was clear of the land. The marines blackened their faces and hands and made a final check of their stores and weapons. In addition to eight limpet mines, each cockle was to carry a walkie-talkie radio, silent Sten gun, grenades, fighting knives, camouflage nets for canoe and crew, spare paddles, a baling sponge and canoe repair outfit, first aid box, 24-hour food pack, cigarettes and matches in watertight compartments, chart, compass and compensator and, not least, a bird call. All limpets were armed with four-and-a-half-hour delay fuses. The weather was ideal, dark and moonless but with plenty of starlight, a gentle swell and a slight mist over the land. After rounding the southern tip of Kalymnos and turning northwards, the motor launch reduced speed to 12 knots fore the final run-up to the dropping zone. During this last leg of the voyage the marines, clad in their cockle suits, squatted silently around their gear on the upper deck, each man engrossed in his own thought.’ And of subsequent events in respect of Sergeant King and Marine Ruff in Salmon, Cecil A. Hampshire continues: ‘A few minutes later the semi-waterlogged Salmon appeared out of the darkness, with King paddling and the weary Ruff stoically bailing out. That they had managed to complete the operation at all was nothing less than remarkable, for they had been bedevilled by a leaking canoe throughout. On entering the harbour they were almost immediately challenged by the bomb patrol vessel. But as she made no move to follow this up, the hails were ignored and Salmon pressed on towards her first objective. Half an hour later they were again challenged, this time from the shore, the shout being heard also by Richards and Stevens in Shark ahead of them. For a few moments the raiders remained perfectly still, then moved off again le...
The poignant Second War Lancaster pilot’s ‘immediate’ D.F.M. group of five awarded to Flight Sergeant T. W. J. Hall, 106 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who flew in 4 operational sorties, during which he was awarded the D.F.M. for his 2nd - Berlin, 24 March 1944 - and was killed in action whilst trying to save his crew during the disastrous Nuremberg Raid, 30/31 March 1944. The ‘body of the pilot [Hall] was found near the wreckage. This brave young man’s operational career had lasted less than a week. He never knew that he had been awarded the D.F.M. for his good work on the Berlin raid.’ Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1333525 F/Sgt. T. W. J. Hall. R.A.F.) on investiture pin; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, generally good very fine (lot) £2,000-£2,400 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- D.F.M. London Gazette 18 April 1944. The original recommendation states: ‘Flight Sergeant Hall was Captain of an aircraft detailed to attack Berlin on the night of 24th/25th March, 1944. On arrival in the target area, he found that he had over-shot and that the Pathfinder Force marking was in progress behind him. He was also in contact with the "Master of Ceremonies" who was heard giving instructions to bomb the markers. Flight Sergeant Hall then did a left-hand circuit and came in again from the North. By this time, he was 12 minutes late and the target was not well marked. Despite this, he made a straight run in and bombed his target successfully. On the return journey, he found himself over the Ruhr area. Here, his aircraft was suddenly coned by numerous searchlights and subjected to intense predicted heavy flak which caused severe damage to the port mainplane, the rear turret, the Bomb Aimer's compartment, the underside of the fuselage and the port inner and outer engines, the latter of which caught fire. Flight Sergeant Hall here displayed exceptional skill and coolness in extricating his aircraft from this most perilous position. By excellent crew co-operation, the fire was extinguished, the engine feathered and the badly damaged aircraft and crew landed safely back at Base. It was this N.C.O.'s first operational sortie as Captain of aircraft and throughout he showed exceptional courage and skill. He displayed outstanding determination in returning to press home his attack and his skilful pilotage and cool determination under extremely difficult conditions are deserving of the highest praise. I consider Flight Sergeant Hall's courage, skill and devotion to duty fully deserve the immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Medal. 27th March, 1944. Remarks by Base Commander: Flight Sergeant Hall's action in pressing home his attack in the prevailing circumstances showed great determination and courage and was only surpassed by his coolness and skill in extricating his aircraft from the unenviable position in which he found himself on the way home. I strongly support the recommendation for the immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.’ Thomas William John Hall was the son of William Thomas Hall and Emily Hall, of Wraysbury, Buckinghamshire. Hall joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1942. He carried out his initial training as a pilot at No. 15 E.F.T.S., Carlisle and 31 E.F.T.S., De Winton, Calgary, Canada. Hall carried out further training at No. 38 S.F.T.S., Estevan and No. 6 P.A.F.U., Windrush. After gaining his ‘Wings’ at No. 17 O.T.U., Silverstone in November 1943, Hall was posted to No. 1661 Conversion Unit, Winthorpe (Sterlings) and then on to No. 5 L.F.S., Syerston (Lancasters) in February 1944. Hall was posted as a pilot for operational flying to 106 Squadron (Lancasters) at Metheringham in March 1944. He flew four operational sorties with the Squadron, including: Frankfurt, 22 March 1944; Berlin, 24 March 1944, Essen, 26 March 1944 and Nuremberg, 30/31 March 1944 (on which night Bomber Command had 95 aircraft shot down - it’s heaviest losses of the entire war on a single raid). Hall was awarded the ‘immediate’ D.F.M. for his gallantry during only his second operational sortie - to Berlin. Martin Middlebrook gives the following in The Nuremberg Raid, 30-31 March 1944: ‘Six nights earlier, Flight Sergeant Tom Hall of 106 Squadron and his crew had flown to Berlin on the first [sic] operation of their tour. This was the night when unexpectedly violent winds had caused Bomber Command much trouble and seventy-three bombers had been lost. Hall, like many others, had arrived at Berlin too early, but, while others bombed and made for home, Hall did a complete orbit over the heavily defended city before bombing. On the return flight the winds took them, again like many others, over the Ruhr where his Lancaster was hit by Flak and two engines took fire. Hall brought his crew home after a desperate flight, although the Lancaster was written off. Now Hall was on his second [sic] operation [the Nuremberg Raid, 30/31 March 1944]. On the Long Leg his aircraft was hit in the bomb bay and petrol tanks. Sergeant Dack, the wireless operator, describes what happened: “The Skipper [Hall] said, ‘It’s time to get out. Get out everyone.’ I was a careful sort of bloke and I always kept my parachute underneath my seat. I put it on but then she went down with all four engines flat out. It went through my mind that it was just like a scene from one of those American films with the aircraft going screaming down out of control. Once that started, I knew we couldn’t get out. I was thrown on top of the navigator and we were rolling about together. I remember my face being pressed against two dials which I remembered were in the roof so I knew we were upside down. I tried to prod the navigator up towards the front to get out of the front hatch. There was all the time the awful thought that we had a Blockbuster on board which went off on impact. I forgot that we wouldn’t have survived the impact ourselves. Then there was an almighty explosion and I was sent spinning. I thought we had hit the ground but it eventually dawned on me that I was in the air. Then, something whooshed past my face and I was sitting nice and peacefully up in the sky under my parachute. I remember shouting for my wife - I was apologising because I had promised to be home on Saturday” Only Dack and the flight engineer survived this explosion. The body of the pilot [Hall] was found near the wreckage. This brave young man’s operational career had lasted less than a week. He never knew that he had been awarded the D.F.M. for his good work on the Berlin raid.’ The crew’s belief in their pilot’s ability after the Berlin raid is illustrated in a letter to Hall’s mother from the mother of his mid-upper gunner (Tony Poole), dated 6 May 1944: ‘What you may not know is the great confidence Tony and all the rest of the crew had in your son. Tony told me that night [whilst on leave after the Berlin sortie] when he came, he said “Don’t worry mother if ever I’m reported missing, I shall come back. If Tommy can get us through that he can get us through anything.” Sadly Flight Sergeant Hall’s luck ran out, and he was killed in action during the Nuremberg Raid, 30/31 March 1944. He is buried in the Hanover War Cemetery, Germany. Sold with the following related items and documents: R.A.F. cloth pilot’s wings and cap badge; Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book (covering the period May 1942 - 30 March 1944) stamped ‘Death Presumed. Ce...
Eight: Chief Engineer John F. Gilbert, Merchant Navy, decorated by the Belgian Government for services as Chief Engineer of the S.S. Sampep, a Liberty Ship under the Ministry of War Transport which supported the D-Day landings on ‘Juno’ Beach on 6 June 1944 British War and Mercantile Marine War Medals (John F. Gilbert); 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Africa Star; War Medal 1939-45, these last four privately impressed (Chief Engineer J. F. Gilbert Merchant Navy); Belgium, Kingdom, Order of Leopold II, Chevalier’s breast badge, silver and enamel, French motto, with silver palm on riband; Croix de Guerre, L.III.R. bronze, with bronze palm on riband, good very fine (8) £300-£400 --- Order of Leopold and Croix de Guerre London Gazette 6 January 1948: ‘In recognition of Services during the War. - Chief Engineer, S.S. Sampep.’ John Frederick Gilbert was born in Liverpool on 18 February 1883 and gained his Board of Trade Certificate of Competency (No. 47919) in 1918. Serving as Seaman and Third Assistant Engineer during the latter stages of the Great War, Gilbert later took employment aboard a variety of merchant navy vessels including Runic, Canada, Persic, Shamrock and the Clan Line passenger and cargo vessel Clan Farquhar. Transferring to Baron Fairlie in August 1938 and Baron Belhaven on 28 May 1940, he was present aboard the latter when she was attacked by enemy aircraft whilst sailing in convoy out of Liverpool on 13 April 1941; struck by a bomb which passed down her funnel, the ship was forced to divert to Barry Docks for extensive repairs. Posted to the S.S. Sampep as Chief Engineer, Gilbert witnessed the D-Day landings as part of the support convoy ‘England Thames Mechanised Transport Ships 1’. This is confirmed in the book D-Day Ships by John de S. Winser who lists the movements of the Sampep that day: ‘Loaded at London, left Thames 0630 6th June, arrived Juno 0700 7th. Convoy ETM 1, returned to Thames 9/10th.’ Gilbert survived the war and continued to serve as Chief Engineer for the White Star Line until his death in a Liverpool hospital in consequence of heart failure on 23 February 1951. He was buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard. Sold with copied research.
Three: Flying Officer (Wireless Operator / Air Gunner) W. C. Grimes, D.F.M., 617 (Dambusters) Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who was killed in action when his Lancaster was lost without trace whilst in transit over the Iberian Peninsula and the Bay of Biscay, on 17-18 October 1943, having previously raided the Antheor Viaduct- Grimes was himself a veteran of 56 operational sorties, having previously flown with 103 Squadron in 1941 on his first tour, and 218 Squadron in 1942 on his second tour 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45, with named Air Council enclosure, in card box of issue, addressed to ‘W. C. Grimes Esq., 3 Saville Street, South Shields, Co. Durham’, extremely fine (3) £500-£700 --- D.F.M. London Gazette 12 January 1943. The original Recommendation states: ‘Flight Sergeant Grimes, W. C., is a Wireless Operator / Air Gunner of 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron. Between June 1941 and November 1942 he carried out as many as 53 operational sorties embracing 299 hours of operational flying. During his two tours he has always displayed courage and technical skill of a very high order. On 24 July 1941, his aircraft was flying in formation with two other Wellingtons during a daylight raid on the German Battleships in Brest Harbour. The formation was attacked by two Me.109s. Although one of the Wellingtons was lost in the first attack, the combined fire of the remaining aircraft was sufficient to drive off one of the German machines and to shoot the other down in flames. In September 1942, on the return from Munich, Flight Sergeant Grimes’ aircraft was subjected to very accurate and very intense flak. The aircraft was hit, the 2nd Pilot and Engineer slightly wounded, while the Navigator, mistaking an order to “Stand By”, actually baled out. Flight Sergeant Grimes dressed the 2nd Pilot’s wounds and acted with him as deputy Navigator. On reaching the French coast, wireless navigation became possible and Flight Sergeant Grimes was able to direct his Captain who landed safely at Manston. Flight Sergeant Grimes’ keenness, resolution, and technical adroitness are held in very high regard by the other Wireless Operators, to whom he never fails to give the benefit of his knowledge and experience. He is very strongly recommended for the award of the D.F.M.’ Walter Crawford Grimes served during the Second World War as a Wireless Operator / Air Gunner initially with 103 Squadron, flying Wellingtons. He commenced operational duties with the Squadron on 12 June 1941, with an attack on Osnabruck. Between June and the end of September 1941, when he finished his tour, he flew in 28 operational sorties- targets included Brest Harbour (three times), Duisburg (twice), Cologne (five times), Bremen, Frankfurt (four times), Hamburg (five times), Mannheim (twice), and Berlin. Transferring to 218 Squadron, flying Stirlings, he commenced his second tour of operational sorties on 29 May 1942, with an attack on Borkum, and the following night took part in the 1,000 Bomber Raid on Cologne. Between June and the beginning of November 1942, when he finished his tour, he flew in 25 operational sorties- targets included Essen (three times), Bremen (five times), St. Nazaire, Lubeck, Duisburg, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Lubeck, Keil, Cologne, and Munich on 19 September 1942. It was on this sortie to Munich on 19 September that his aircraft was hit by intense flak, the 2nd pilot and engineer were wounded and the navigator bailed out. Grimes dressed the wounds of the injured crew and took over as deputy navigator. It was for this action, as well as previous good work over his two tours, that he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. Grimes was then rested to training and returned for his third tour with 617 ‘Dambusters’ Squadron. On 11 November 1943, Grimes’ Lancaster was one of eleven aircraft detailed to attack the Antheor Viaduct again using 12,000lb High Capacity thin walled ‘Tall Boy’ bombs and new gyro bomb sights. Flying on to Blida Airfield in North Africa, Grimes and his crew were scheduled to return on 17-18 November, routed out over the Bay of Biscay. Grimes was killed in action on this flight when Lancaster ED735, piloted by Flight Lieutenant E. E. G. Youseman, D.F.C., and crewed by a very experienced crew that contained no fewer than four D.F.M. recipients, was lost without trace, having probably falling victim to enemy fighters over the Bay. All the crew were killed. Grimes is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. His medals were sent to his father, also called Walter Crawford Grimes, who served during the Great War in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Sold with various portrait photographs of the recipient; and copied research.
Military Sporting Medallions. Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force Sports Medallions & Fobs, including a silver hallmarked Birmingham 1917, ‘RNAS,TRESCO’, ‘1918’ Football League runners up medal in a watch fob design, unnamed in box of issue, a very attractive silver RAF Sports Medallion, hallmarked ‘1925’, with maker’s details ‘W J D’,with original blue ribbon & spinning gold coloured propellor mounted on a bar, to front, with an RAF badge within a wreath above a blank shield, reverse oak leaf wreath with plain centre, unnamed, a silver North Western Area RAF Athletic Association Medal, unmarked in a period box with makers details of ‘David MacGregor 40 George St, Perth’, with a plain wreath to reverse with a Crowned eagle & wreath badge to the front, further, varying sporting medallions including Shooting, Athletics, Football, Badminton etc. a good silver Great War medallion for the Association Cup marked ‘1917-1918’, 1st Brigade, Royal Flying Corps, BEF, France, won by 1st A.A.P, with makers marks for Fattorini & Son Bradford, with original blue silk ribbon. Bronze shield medallion of a bomb dropping through a half moon within a wreath, marked to reverse Knockout Cup Winners 205 Group ‘FOGGIA’ 1944-45, 248 Squadron Cup Winners Dyce ‘1942’ Cpl P Perry bronze football medal, etc. generally very fine and better (lot) £70-£90
An extremely well-documented Second War campaign group of four awarded to Liberator Bomb Aimer, Sergeant D. Earl, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who flew in at least 40 operational sorties whilst attached to 31 (S.A.A.F.) Squadron in Italy - including a variety of Partisan related operations over Hungary, Greece, Northern Italy, Yugoslavia and in support of the Polish Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising, August - September 1944 1939-45 Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, nearly extremely fine (lot) £260-£300 --- Importation Duty This lot is subject to importation duty of 5% on the hammer price unless exported outside the UK --- --- Dennis Earl was born in January 1923, and enlisted as an L.A.C. in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in March 1943. He carried out initial training as an Air Gunner at No. 1 B.G.S., Jarvis, Ontario, Canada and No. 4 A.O.S., London, Ontario. Earl was posted for operational service as an Air Bomber with 31 (S.A.A.F.) Squadron in August 1944. Flying Liberators, and operating from Italy, Earl took part in at least 40 operational sorties to targets including: Northern Italy, Hungary, Greece, and Yugoslavia. He also flew supply drops to partisans in Yugoslavia, Northern Italy, and two missions to drop supplies to Warsaw during the Warsaw Uprising. The latter, when combined with 178 (R.A.F.) Squadron, was the long-range airlift of supplies to the Polish Home Army in Warsaw. Between 12 and 17 August these squadrons lost 17 of the ninety-three aircraft sent to Warsaw with eight of these losses being from 31 Squadron. On Sunday 13 August 1944, 10 crews of 31 Squadron were ordered to Brindisi and briefed for a 3,200 km flight plan from Foggia to Warsaw to drop supplies for the encircled Polish resistance. The supplies were packed in 12 canisters per aircraft, each weighing 150 kg containing light machine guns, ammunition, hand grenades, radio equipment, food and medical supplies. There were 196 11-hour night flights from Brindisi and Foggia in Italy (total between 31 and 34 Squadrons) to and from Warsaw from 4 August to early September 1944. Of the 80 aircraft involved, 31 were shot down, 17 during the weekend of 13–16 August. Sixty-nine South Africans were killed and twenty-five SAAF Liberators were shot down. Fifty percent of the aircraft were from the RAF, and 36% of the total force was South African. Air Marshal Sir John Slessors, the Allied air commander in the Mediterranean, later put the losses at one bomber lost for every ton of supplies dropped. Earl’s Log Book entry for 14 August 1944 gives: ‘Warsaw. Supply Dropping to Partisans fighting in the burning city. Height 300 ft. Concentrated flak and searchlights two bullets in tail.’ Earl carried out a similar sortie to Warsaw, 10 September 1944, before suffering more damage to his aircraft seven days later ‘Brescia. N. Italy. Marshalling Yards. On way to target caught in barrage of H.A.A. and hit by shrapnel.’ (Ibid) Earl’s ops were proving perilous, and his aircraft suffered damage in between supply dropping for Marshal Tito’s partisans in Jugoslavia, and Italian Partisans in Northern Italy. His Log Book recording for 3 January 1945 ‘Salcano. N. Italy. Railway Bridge. Holed by H.A.A. at Pola.’ Earl completed his tour of operations in February 1945, and returned for service with the Royal Air Force. He was released from service as a Sergeant in March 1947. Sold with the following extensive amount of related contemporary documents: Royal Canadian Air Force Flying Log Book for Aircrew other than Pilot (23 December 1943 - 25 February 1954); R.A.F. Service and Release Book; 15 wartime personal photos and 11 bombing target photos; more than 50 personal letters written during his service; a short diary written during training in Canada; telegrams, newspaper clippings about operations, and two RAF targets charts.
Six: Captain A. H. Waddy, Bedfordshire Regiment, later Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, who first enlisted under the Tricolour in August 1914 as a Private in the French Army 1914-15 Star (2.Lieut. A. H. Waddy. Bedf. R.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. A. H. Waddy. R.A.F.); France, Third Republic, War Commemorative Medal 1914-18, bronze; Inter-Allied Victory Medal 1914-19, bronze; Croix du Combatant Voluntaire 1914-18, bronze, good very fine and better (6) £400-£500 --- Alexander Harry Waddy was born at Regent's Park, London, on 25 April 1896, the son of Harry Waddy, a member of the London Stock Exchange. Educated at Cheltenham College from 1910-13, he crossed the Channel to France a short while later in order to improve his language skills. His life at this time was carefully detailed by The Evening Sentinel on 30 August 1934: 'At the outbreak of the war, he was in France, studying French, and, with a patriotism that was typical of his character, he at once joined the French Army as a private.' With the declaration of war on 29 July 1914, a call was made for foreigners residing in France to support their adopted country. While many would have preferred direct enlistment in the regular French Army, the only option immediately available was that of the Foreign Legion. On 3 August 1914 a reported 8,000 volunteers applied to enlist in the Paris recruiting office of the Legion. The speed of the German Advance in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan caught the French Army heavily by surprise, not least the enemy proximity to Paris in early September 1914. Detailing every available man to the defence of the city and famously utilising over 600 taxicabs to carry soldiers from Les Invalides to Nanteuil-le-Haudouin, some fifty kilometres away, the German sweep was halted - something which the French later termed 'The Miracle on the Marne'. With the front temporarily stabilised, Waddy returned to England and was appointed to a commission in the Bedfordshire Regiment on 11 May 1915. Posted to France from 7 July 1915 with the 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment, Waddy arrived in the aftermath of the defence of Hill 60 - likely as a replacement - and was later moved south in defence of the Somme. In 1916, the 1st Battalion witnessed heavy action at High Wood and Guillemont and took part in the Battles of Morval and Le Transloy. Transferred to the 7th Battalion, Waddy was mentioned in the Battalion war diary of 5 October 1917 during practise exercises near Irish Farm and Canal Bank, in preparation for his unit going into the line during the Battle of Passchendaele. The war diary later adds: 'The mud was very bad and duck-boards few. The men suffered considerably from cold and wet. The line consisted of shell holes filled with water.' Keen to leave the life of an infantryman, Waddy transferred to the Royal Flying Corps on 5 February 1918 and was posted to 21 Squadron. Qualifying Temporary 2nd Lieutenant (Observer) 5 April 1918, he was sent to Armaments School at R.A.F. Uxbridge for Pilot training; the war subsequently ended before Waddy had the opportunity to take on the Luftwaffe and he relinquished his commission on 9 February 1919 after taking employment as managing director of T. R. Boote Ltd, Waterloo Potteries (Tile Manufacturers), Burslem. Married to a local girl in 1918, Waddy soon became a popular and successful industrialist. Appointed Lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment (Territorial Army) on 28 December 1928, he was placed in the command of "C" (Burslem) Company and set up home at Standon House, Standon. Beset by a sudden illness, Waddy died a few years later at the North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary on 29 August 1934, his loss much lamented by his family and workforce of over 250 people: 'He was a soldier of ability and a man of understanding, and he has helped, by his knowledge, fairness and grit, to keep the flag flying' (The recipient's obituary, refers). Waddy's premature death at the age of 38 years proved the first of many tragedies for his family; both of his sons died during the Second World War, the first, Midshipman Roger Latham Waddy, R.N.V.R., being killed whilst piloting a swordfish aircraft on a depth-charge practice sortie on 16 July 1941, the second, Major Alexander Peter Harry Waddy, being killed in action at Arnhem on 18 September 1944 whilst leading "B" Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, in an attempt to destroy a panzer using a 'Gammon' bomb. Sold with copied R.A.F. Service Record, newspaper entries, and a photographic image of the recipient in officer’s uniform.
The Rhodesia General Service Medal, with Silver Pick Commendation, awarded to Captain J. A. Q. Vos, 2nd Battalion, Rhodesian African Rifles - who initially commanded 1 Platoon, ‘A’ Company, under Major André Dennison, and whom after countless successful contacts with enemy ‘terrorists’ went on to be Dennison’s Second-in-Command - under the call-sign ‘Sunray Minor’ Rhodesia, General Service Medal, with Silver Pick Commendation on riband (Lt. J. A. Q. Vos) mounted as worn, edge nicks, nearly very fine £300-£400 --- Jean Vos joined the newly-raised 2nd Battalion, Rhodesian African Rifles, 1 October 1975, and was appointed Officer Commanding of 1 Platoon, ‘A’ Company. Major André Dennison (ex S.A.S.) commanded ‘A’ Company, which comprised of three platoons or ‘call-signs’ formed at Methuen Barracks, Bulawayo. The war against guerilla incursions by the communist-backed Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), operating from bases in Mozambique, Zambia, and Botswana, was three years’ old, and was far from being a conflict between blacks and whites. Black volunteers accounted for about 80% of the Rhodesian Government Security Forces, and 2 RAR was a black battalion officered by whites. Generally the night belonged to the guerillas. During the day the Rhodesian forces usually had the upper hand, especially after the organisation of Fire Force units, air-mobile troops, which could be alerted by ground patrols and swiftly deployed to cut off and wipe out specific terrorist gangs. It was as a Fire Force commander between September 1976 and June 1979 that Dennison was to excel. The potency of Dennison’s Fire Force, which initially consisted of a command helicopter, the ‘K-Car’, and three others, ‘G-Cars’, carrying sticks of four men each, supported by a fixed wing ground attack aircraft carrying napalm or the dreaded ‘Golf bomb’, was increased after March 1977 with the addition of a Dakota, or ‘Paradak’, carrying, in ‘A’ Company’s case, sixteen African paratroopers who specialised in jumping into the battle zone from dangerously low altitudes. Many of the Dakotas dated from the Second World War, and when Dennison parachuted, which seemingly he did at every opportunity, he liked to be the first man into action. Vos, who was later to become Dennison’s Second in Command, is mentioned throughout The War Diaries of André Dennison by J. R. T. Wood, and as taking part in numerous contacts in the book Masoda, by A. Binda. On 18 March, during ‘A’ Company’s second deployment (17 March - 20 April 1976), Vos’s men accounted for ‘A’ Company’s ‘1st Kills’ during the deployment. Dennison describes the contact which took place in the south east operational area, ‘Thrasher’, thus: ‘The Company deployed to Chikwedzira Dip, a District Commissioner’s rest camp in eastern Matibi 2, and before we had even taken over from ‘B’ Company, 1 Platoon had to take over a follow-up from elements of our old friends 5 Indep Company. Within ten minutes of arriving by helicopter in the Naivaswa Camp area, Gona-re-Zhou [game reserve], Lt. Vos had a contact with seven CTs. No blood was shed on either side and a day long follow up ensued. In the late afternoon (18 March) 1 Platoon contacted four terrorists, killing two. Major Dennison was in the K-Car (pilot Baldy Baldwin) and the [helicopter] gunner failed to score on the two CTs who broke and ran. They had better luck and managed [when firing back] to sever the fuel line of one of the G-Cars with a lucky shot. The helicopter crash-landed and was a total write-off but the pilot and tech escaped with comparatively minor injuries.’ Vos was posted to the 81mm Mortar Platoon in May 1976, despite this he was still on hand if required by Dennison. This was very much the case during ‘A’ Company’s sixth deployment (23 September - 4 November 1976), as Dennison relates: ‘On 13 October we were recalled to Buffalo Range [the airfield at Chiredzi] to take over Fire Force. 3 Platoon were deployed into the Humani Ranch area and the other two platoons provided three first wave sticks [i.e. the first troops to be transported into each action by the helicopters] and six follow-up sticks [or second wave]. On 14 October a member of the Selous Scouts on leave reported to Zaka police station that fourteen CTs were feeding at his kraal on the Chiredzi River, eight kilometres south of Zaka. The first wave flew into Zaka by helicopter and the other sticks were lifted in by Dakota. With the African Selous Scout as guide the choppers flew in but unfortunately over-shot the target, giving the CTs a few minutes warning. A tracker stick led by Lt. Jean Vos, on loan for the occasion, was put down and almost immediately came under heavy close range fire from a group of CTs in the river bed. Sgt. Muardi shot and killed one and the stick went to ground as the others were deployed. For the next four hours the contact ground on. Two CTs broke across the river and were engaged and missed by the K-Car, and others had obviously broken east away from the river before contact began. The early sticks were mortared in the initial stages, and the angle of entry of an unexploded bomb indicated quite clearly that it was fired from way outside the contact area.’ At the end of October, Vos commanded four 81 mm mortar crews during Operation Mardon - a concerted attack on ZANLA camps in Mozambique. Vos returned to the command of 1 Platoon and was rewarded for his services in this position with a Commendation during ‘A’ Company’s twelfth deployment in September 1977. He advanced to Second-in-Command of ‘A’ Company in March 1978, and was promoted Captain in August the same year. During ‘A’ Company’s nineteenth deployment (5 September - 17 October 1978), ‘Captain Vos took the K-Car and Major Dennison went with Vulture One. The K-Car gunner did some good work, immobilising, but not killing three CTs, and the sweep killed them and a further three.’ (bid) Sold with a copy of The War Diaries of André Dennison, by J. R. T. Wood, in which Vos is pictured.
The mounted group of seven miniature dress medals worn by Wing Commander S. A. R. Taylor, Royal Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., with Second Award Bar; Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R.; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Radfan, mounted as originally worn, very fine (7) £160-£200 --- Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, March 2022 (when sold alongside the recipient’s full sized awards). 1 of only approximately 20 D.F.C. and Second Award Bar, D.F.M. combinations awarded for the Second World War. D.F.C. London Gazette 23 March 1945. The original Recommendation states: ‘This officer is on his third operational tour, having completed 60 sorties - 49 of which have been in a Marker Crew, being safely concluded in the Path Finder Force. Flight Lieutenant Taylor’s keenness and coolness in facing the enemy has set a high standard of morale in the crew with which he operates, and has helped to a considerable extent in making the crew such a successful one. Never at a loss to overcome difficulties, his steadfastness; determination to give of his best at all times is highly commendable. He possesses courage of a high degree, cheerfulness under all circumstances, and these exceptional qualities have set a high example to the Squadron.’ D.F.C. Second Award Bar London Gazette 16 November 1945. The original Recommendation states: ‘This Officer has now completed 79 operational sorties, of which 68 have been with the Path Finder Force, all as Visual Bomb Aimer of a Marker Crew. Of a very cheerful disposition, Flight Lieutenant Taylor has always displayed courage, skill and efficiency and great determination in action, often under the most trying and hazardous conditions. His strong devotion to duty and untiring efforts to give of his best have inspired the utmost confidence amongst the rest of his crew.’ D.F.M. London Gazette 10 December 1943. The official Press Release states: ‘Flight Sergeant Taylor is a Bomb Aimer of a crew which has acquired a fine reputation on many operational missions. He has completed sorties over many heavily defended targets, always displaying outstanding determination and coolness. During a recent attack on Hanover, five runs were made over the target area before Flight Sergeant Taylor was satisfied that he had identified the target. Recently while engaged in operations against Mannheim and Kassel, he again made several runs in the face of heavy opposition to ensure accuracy of aim. His behaviour has been exemplary at all times.’ For a full write-up of the recipient, please see Lot 115 in the Dix Noonan Webb auction of 23 March 2022. Sold with two photographs of recipient in uniform from later life.
A scarce Sir Galahad Casualty South Atlantic Medal awarded to Lance Corporal D. A. Padgett, Royal Army Medical Corps South Atlantic 1982, with rosette (24417860 LCpl D A Padgett RAMC) extremely fine £1,200-£1,600 --- Doug A. Padgett served with the 16th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps during the Falklands War, and was waiting to be disembarked from Sir Galahad when it was bombed and set on fire by enemy aircraft on 8 June 1982. The Attack on Sir Galahad ‘I served as a Combat Medical Technician with 55 Field Surgical Team attached to 2 Field Hospital serving in the Falklands. I was at Port Stanley and moved to Fitzroy on Sir Galahad where we were bombed. I was on the tank deck awaiting disembarkation when the air strike happened and the bomb went off behind me and to my left. I was sitting on the front bumper of a Landover which shielded me from most of the blast. I just received flash burns on my left hand. At first I was confused and disoriented and angry that the ship had turned off its lights (as I thought at the time). Actually the bomb had exploded and filled the tank deck with smoke. As reality crept in I understood that we had been hit. It was then I realised that I had to act and do my job as a medic. As the smoke started to clear I could see people running round, confused, hurt, screaming and shouting. I gathered to me what medics were available and proceeded to work on the wounded. It was obvious that the fire was spreading and in the centre of the tank deck was a pile of munitions waiting to be disembarked. Basically a giant bomb waiting to explode! The exits to the rear were out of action so we had to move forward with our casualties. Whilst finding access to the boat deck along the bulkhead there was a guy very badly injured. He was disembowelled; one leg was off above the knee, the other missing below the knee. He was waving his arms and asking for help. I knew there was nothing I could do for him so I had to make a decision and I left him. I just walked past him with my casualty. I’ve felt guilt and regret for ever since that I didn’t even say anything to him. I came to the bottom of a stairwell and I saw two young Welsh Guardsmen. They obviously didn’t think they were going to make it out. They shook each others hands, pointed their rifles to each others head and pulled their triggers. There was nothing I could have done to stop them. It was their decision. When I thought back about this incident I just felt so disgusted with myself that I’d felt no sympathy, remorse or other emotion and they killed each other in front of my eyes. Eventually we gained access to the boat decks and continued performing our job. I was casevaced ashore and re-kitted. I was treated, then sent back to Fitzroy to work with the surgical team where I performed triage duties. I spent the rest of the Falklands war working with that unit.’ (the recipient’s own account, published in After the Falklands refers). Padgett retired from the Army in 1989. Sergeant Naya, Royal Army Medical Corps, serving alongside Padgett on the Sir Galahad, was awarded the Military Medal for this action.
A very fine Second War Boston and Mosquito navigator’s ‘1943’ D.F.C., ‘1942’ immediate D.F.M. group of six awarded to Flight Lieutenant A. Liddle, 107 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, a low-level specialist, who flew in at least 60 operational sorties, often carried out at ‘rooftop’ height or lower, and often as lead navigator. Liddle distinguished himself with his pilot George Turner on the ‘at all costs’ raid on the Gosnay Power Station, 27 August 1943, and during the raid on the Ijmuiden Steel Works, 27 November 1942, when “we all shot out of our cockpits and raced round to the front of the aircraft in order to get Arthur out. Both he and the nose of the aircraft were a mess. There was blood everywhere and great chunks of the perspex were missing. Arthur was covered in blood unconscious and very cold..... All the shells that had hit her [the Boston] had come from dead ahead or the right. One had burst on the actual bombsight, flinging fragments of steel (and perspex) into Arthur’s leg, arm and face.” Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated ‘1943’; Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1132613 Sgt. A. Liddle. R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, mounted for wear, generally good very fine (6) £3,800-£4,600 --- D.F.C. London Gazette 24 December 1943. The original recommendation states: ‘Since being awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal, Pilot Officer Liddle has completed twenty-one operations against the enemy, some from high level, others from low level. He has often been the leading Navigator of formations of squadron aircraft. Pilot Officer Liddle has shown the utmost skill and coolness and has been at all times exceptionally eager to engage the enemy. On the 27th August, 1943, he was leading navigator of a formation of six aircraft detailed to attack a Power Station near Gosnay, from a low level. Soon after crossing the enemy coast the formation was attacked by fighters and these attacks continued all the way to and most of the way back from the target. Undeterred and unflurried by the evasive action which it was necessary to take against these fighters, Pilot Officer Liddle guided his formation to the target and bombed it accurately in the face of fierce opposition from the ground. He then accurately navigated his pilot back across enemy territory to base in spite of the course lying directly into a bright setting sun. I consider that the high courage, determination, coolness and exceptional skill which this officer has always shown justifies the non-immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Cross. Remarks by Station Commander: Pilot Officer Liddle displayed exceptional gallantry and efficiency on all his operational sorties. Recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross.’ D.F.M. London Gazette 15 December 1942. The original recommendation states: ‘Sergeant Liddle was the Navigator in the leading aircraft of two Boston IIIs detailed to carry out a cloud-cover and low-level raid on the steel works at Ijmuiden on 27 November, 1942. The formation made an excellent landfall as the target was sighted on the horizon before the coastline itself became visible. During the bombing run the aircraft in which Sergeant Liddle was flying came under very heavy accurate fire from the mole at Ijmuiden. The Observer's cockpit received a direct hit which shattered most of the perspex and wounded Sergeant Liddle in the face and in the chest, arms and legs but, disregarding his injuries and unperturbed by the intense barrage of light flak which had to be negotiated, Sergeant Liddle dropped his bombs on the target. Even after setting course for home, it was some time before Sergeant Liddle had to tell his pilot, Pilot Officer Turner, that there was a lot of blood about which prevented him from seeing his maps and navigation log and, in addition, he was feeling the effects of the icy blasts blowing through the holes in the perspex. Nevertheless, Sergeant Liddle, by a supreme effort, managed to pull himself together and guide the pilot to Horsham St. Faith where a safe landing was made and Sergeant Liddle removed to hospital. Sergeant Liddle has now complete 8½ sorties of which 4 have been low-level attacks, all carried out successfully. I consider that Sergeant Liddle’s fine conception of his duty justifies the immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Medal. 29th November, 1942. Remarks by Station Commander: Sergeant Liddle’s action in continuing and completing his mission when badly wounded is a magnificent example of gallantry and determination. Strongly recommended for the immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.’ Arthur Liddle was born in Blaydon, County Durham in December 1914. The son of a coal miner, he volunteered for service with the Royal Air Force in December 1940. Having passed the initial exams, and the additional one for aircrew, he applied for training as either a pilot or navigator, and was sent to an Initial Training Wing, before being posted overseas to Canada, under the Empire Air Training Scheme, and then passed out as an Observer/Bomb Aimer. Having advanced to Sergeant and returned to the UK by April 1942, Liddle was posted for further training as a navigator to No. 17 O.T.U., Upwood. After three months, and having crewed up, he was posted for operational flying to 107 Squadron (Bostons), Great Massingham, near Norwich, Norfolk. The squadron then operating in the Boston Mk III aircraft, were to be tasked with both high-level pinpoint bombing as well as low level strikes. These low level strikes would be made on the industrial plants in the Low Countries and German held airfields in France in order to entice enemy fighters up to engage in combat with the Boston’s and escorting Spitfires, the ops being known as ‘Circus Operations’. Whist under training at 17 O.T.U., Liddle had met Sergeant Ron Chatfield, a qualified wireless operator. In 1992 Chatfield would make a recording at The Imperial War Museum in London, detailing his RAF career, with both 107 and 88 Squadrons. Chatfield remembered that he had approached Pilot Officer George Turner, a pilot, who was also looking for a crew at the O.T.U., and suggested himself and Arthur Liddle should team up. All three agreed and a crew was formed that would turn out to be a very efficient and most importantly ‘a lucky crew’ on all their ops together. After the first few missions a Canadian gunner, Pilot Officer George Murray, was incorporated into the crew as an under gunner, as the Boston was found to be very vulnerable to attack by enemy fighters coming up from below. Turner, Little and Chatfield were initially sent along with five other new crews to 107 Squadron in July 1942, and were then immediately sent to Scotland to commence army co-operation training to become proficient in smoke laying from a low level. This training was undertaken for their forthcoming part in Operation Jubilee (19 August 1942, the Dieppe Raid), when both Canadian and British troops made a landing on the beaches of Dieppe. The Boston squadrons, 88, 107 and 226 would lay down smoke, to help the troops attempting landings on the beaches. The sixteen crews of 107 and 88 Squadrons assigned to the operation were sent to R.A.F. Ford in Sussex on 17 August, in order to be properly briefed, whilst 226 were sent to Thruxton. Some 32 sorties were carried out by the Boston’s over Dieppe during the landings, with no losses, but several aircraft were hit by flak. Twelve aircraft from 107 were detailed to attack the Hitler Battery by the River D’Arques that was still in operation after the initial attack, but...
INDIE, ALT, PROG, ELECTRONIC AND RELATED LP COLLECTION - a collection of 17 Indie, Alt, Prog, Electronic and related LPs. Collection to include: 2 Many DJ's - As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 - Play It Again Sam (945.b565.012), I.E.M. - An Escalator To Christmas - blue vinyl limited edition numbered vinyl (#053) - Tunefloat (12 TF 10), Vintage Trouble - The Bomb Shelter Sessions - Vintage Trouble Publishing (VTLP001), Ride - Going Blank Again - Creation Records (crelp 124), Spock's Beard - The Light - Brief Nocturnes And Dreamless Sleep - X, I.E.M. - I.E.M. - Arcadia Son - limited edition (500 copies), Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream, Thom Yorke - The Eraser RMXS, R.E.M. - Automatic For The People, Mustn't Grumble: The Steve Marriott Memorial Concert 2001, Ash - Meltdown, The Libertines - Up The Bracket, Nine Black Alps - Candy For The Clowns, Astralasia - Whatever Happened To Utopia? The collection is generally in Ex+ condition.
Six Triang 'OO' Gauge/4mm "Battle Space" Items, comprising a 0-6-0 "Jinty" BR green, with Battle Space insignia (unboxd); a radar tracking car, missing antenna and radar "Rotating Belt" (unboxed); a R239K bomb transporter (boxed); a R568 assault tank transporter (unboxed); R630 P.O.W car (boxed); and a R562T catapult plane launching car (boxed), all fair to good condition mechanisms unchecked - box's fair to good.
⊕ Hugh Cronyn (lots 186-193)IntroductionYoung, impressionable and fresh from Toronto where he had studied with the Group of Seven painter Frank Johnston, Cronyn departed Canada with an irrepressible can-do New World outlook. His unpublished memoirs recount his pre-war years: his time at the Arts Students League in New York in 1929; the early 1930s in Paris tutored by Jean Despujols and André Lhote; bicycling across the Alps; and on his arrival in England his immersion into bohemian life in West London. From the mid-thirties he rented various studios by the Thames in Hammersmith and met many of the leading artists and writers of the day. One such was Ivon Hitchens, whose second solo exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery he helped hang. But most influential in his circle of friends was the critic, humourist and politician A P Herbert ('APH') and his wife Gwen, herself a painter and stage-designer of note. At their home at 12 Hammersmith Terrace, Cronyn met the likes of Edward Wadsworth, Mark Gertler, Leon Underwood and John Piper. Ceri Richards lived nearby, as did poets Robert Graves and Laura Riding in St Peter’s Square. He went on painting trips to Dorset with Julian Trevelyan, his neighbour at Durham Wharf, and to the French-Spanish border with Ray Coxon and Edna Ginese at the time of the Spanish Civil War. After the outbreak of the Second World War, Cronyn was commissioned into the Royal Navy. Put in charge of the Naval bomb disposal squad in Bristol dockyards, he was the first Canadian to be awarded the George Medal (GM). In 1942 he married Jean Harris and settled in Suffolk where from 1949-69 he was tutor of painting at Colchester School of Art teaching alongside John Nash, Edward Bawden, Carel Weight and Peter Coker. From 1963 the Cronyns began to spend their summers in Quercy in the Lot, first renting a 15th century gatehouse and studio, then a small house, Les Vergers, before buying a dilapidated farmhouse in 1970 in Caufour which they renovated. From 1974 the Cronyns spent the winter months in 3 St Peter’s Wharf, next door to Hammersmith Terrace, in one of the artists’ studios overlooking the Thames constructed by Julian Trevelyan. Cronyn's late paintings of the river, which capture the spectrum of colours as the seasons changed, document the river’s moods from winter mists to intense summer sun, and hang in many private collections.HUGH CRONYN (BRITISH 1905-1996)ROAD OVER THE CAUSSE, QUERCYsigned HUGH CRONYN lower right; dated 1978 on a Highgate Fine Art label on the reverseoil on canvas51 x 76cm; 20 1/4 x 30in63 x 89cm; 24 3/4 x 35in (framed)Quercy - a former province in south west France - lies between lush valleys in the Lot. Causses are flat limestone plateaus that are a feature of the area. The present view follows the track to the towers of the Chateau de Charry, Montcuq which can be seen in the distance (see also lot 193).
⊕ GEORGE MAYER-MARTON (lots 1-11) His appearance, accent and manner spoke of a lost and to us largely unknown Mitteleuropa. Always meticulously dressed in a suit and wearing a hat and polished shoes, he would arrive in the college with his leather briefcase and don his professional white coat. Introduction In Their Safe Haven', Hungarian artists in Britain from the 1930s, compiled and edited by Robert Waterhouse, the story of George Mayer-Marton's bleak story of dispossession is graphically pieced together from the artist's diaries and via first hand accounts. Born in Gyor, North Hungary, the artist's formative years had largely been spent in Austria or Germany. During the First World War he had served on the front line in the Austrian army, and - leading up to the Anschluss - he lived in Vienna, happily married and, as vice-president of the Hagenbund, he was a leading voice among contemporary artists. But with Hitler's annexation of the country at the end of September 1938 together with Grete his wife he fled Vienna for London. Mayer-Marton's diaries evoke with withering honesty the reception he received and his despairing sense of dislocation: 'For the moment, London spells turmoil, noise, rows of double decker buses and a language one doesn't understand... We observe the English art of 'splendid isolation', their culture of bureaucratic niceties, good manners and cold souls; their complete consideration for others out of consideration for their own piece and quiet.' (Waterhouse, p. 74). Eventually the couple set up home and a studio in St John's Wood, only for the premises to be hit by an incendiary bomb in 1940 during the Blitz. In the ensuing fire Mayer-Marton lost the vast majority of the work he had brought with him. At the end of the War he learnt of the murder of his and Grete's parents together with his brother in the Holocaust. Grete's death in a psychiatric hospital in Epsom in 1952 followed, a consequnce of her inability to recover either from her forced exile or the subsequent destruction of their London home. Yet, despite such a succession of tragedies, Mayer-Marton was resolutely determined. He strove to replace the works lost in the London bombing, not simply with copies but because he felt challenged by the very different light and landscape of the British countryside, his lightness of touch and deftness of colour abundantly apparent in the present selection of works. He was also appointed a senior lecturer at Liverpool College of Art, a post in which he flourished. His Liverpool students recalled Mayer-Marton's innovative approach to teaching. He introduced weekly 'Socratic method' seminars, challenging students with rhetorical questions ranging from 'Kant's moral imperative to Schopenhauer's aesthetic theory, the scientific ideas of Einstein, concepts of the primitive in art, abstraction, expressionism, the medieval guilds and so on... these seminars were a decade before the history and theory of art were incorporated into art school curricula in the 1960s' (Waterhouse, pp. 212-213). In Liverpool he also introduced new technical know-how, in particular fresco painting and the re-introduction of Byzantine-style mosaic practices. These he deployed in a series of large scale ecclesiastical commissions in the north-west, including the large Crucifixion mural at the former church of the Holy Rosary, Oldham (1955), Pentecost now in Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Crowning of St Clare at St Clare's Church, Blackley. GEORGE MAYER-MARTON (HUNGARIAN 1897-1960) VIEW OF CONCARNEAU signed Gmayermarton lower right watercolour and wash on paper 52.5 x 36.5cm; 20 3/4 x 14 1/2in 79.5 x 67cm; 31 1/4 x 26 1/2 (framed) Mayer-Marton visited Concarneau, Brittany in 1950 and 1951. Held behind glass, not examined out of frame. This work appears in very good original condition, colours fresh and vibrant.
⊕ BOMB DAMAGE, LONDON FROM ST MARY SOMERSET CHURCH LOOKING TOWARDS THE TOWER OF ST NICHOLAS COLE ABBEY inscribed St Nic. Col Abbey / Mary Somerset upper leftpencil on paper22 x 35cm; 8 1/2 x 13 3/4in (image)41.5 x 53cm; 16 x 20 3/4in (framed)ExhibitedHans Feibusch, The Heat of Vision, no. 79, illustrated in the catalogueHeld behind glass, not examined out of frame. Apart from a 2cm horizontal tear, in the upper left edge (below the inscription), and some time staining to the paper, the work is in good fresh condition.
Corgi and Matchbox Dinky Postwar Delivery and Other Vans and Emergency Vehicles (28), all boxed, some models loose in boxes, Corgi, D54/1 four National Resource van set, 97749 BR two van set, 97740 Sunday Times two van set, D46/1 BR Transport of the 50s & 60s two van set, Ford Popular, grey box Classics Collectors Club 89, green box Classics Eastbourne Motors, Morris J green box, Walls, Police, Bedford CA, green box RAC, Police, 05604 AFS Personnel van, 96904 RAC, grey box Pickfords, Morris 1000, grey box GAS, green box Water Supply, Mini Vans, Police (2) in differing liveries, AA, RAC, 07414 RAC Landrover, 97343 Morris Traveller Bomb Disposal, 98165 LT Ford Cortina, Matchbox Dinky, Commer 8, Sharps, Austin A40 Dinky Toys, Brooke Bond, Ford 10 CWT Heinz, Radio Times, Vitesse Morris LD 150 police van, G-E, boxes P-E, (28)
Unique Rare WW2 Air War Book signed by 67 WW2 RAF USAAF Luftwaffe Veterans. The Air War 1939-1945" by R J Overy, hard back book with dust cover, published 1980, both book & cover in good condition. This copy has been signed across three pages by the following 67 WW2 RAF, USAAF & Luftwaffe Veterans. Includes Dambusters, Battle of Britain fighter aces, Tirpitz raiders and more. First page - W/O Steve Badcock - 166 Sqd, W/O Phil Bates - 149 Sqd, W/O W G "Billy" Bell - 103/166 Sqd, Flt Lt Jack Collins DFC - 57 Sqd, W/O Frank Etherington - 166/153 Sqd, Corporal Alex Gray BEM - 19 Sqd, Battle of Britain Ground Crew, ATC Hazel Gregory - RAF Uxbridge 1940, W/O George Hart - 358 Sqd, Flt Lt Matt Holliday DFC - 10/77 Sqd, Sqd, Ldr Tony Iveson DFC - 616/617 Sqd, W/O Fred Maltas - 35 Sqd, W/O Alan Morgan - 49 Sqd, Flt Lt Bluey Mottershead DFC - 158 Sqd, Wg Cmdr Tom Neil DFC* AFC - 249 Sqd, F/O Tom Sayer DFM - 102 Sqd, Flt Lt W Kenneth Thomas DFC - 622 Sqd, Flt Lt Dennis Thorpe - 626 Sqd, W/O Frank Tolley - 625 Sqd, Sqd, Ldr Frank Williamson AFC - 10/102 Sqd. Second page - F/O Mike Bayon DFC - 128/139 Sqd, Sqd, Ldr Tom Bennett DFM - 49/617 Sqd, Flt Lt Eric Clarke MiD - 49 Sqd, W/O Colin Cole - 617 Sqd, Air Cmdr John Ellacombe CB DFC* - 151/487/253 Sqd, Sqd, F/O John Evans - 158 Sqd, Flt Sgt Peter Freeman-Pannett - 605 Sqd, Ground Crew Aero Engine Fitter, W/O Bob Hollinrake - 10 Sqd, W/O Stan "Paddy" Hope 540 PRU, W/O Ron Houghton - 49 Sqd, LAC Reg Howard - 74 Sqd, Ground Crew Merlin Engine Specialist, Flt Lt Freddie Johnson DFC - 36/78/314 Sqd, W/O Ron Lamb - 32 Sqd, W/O Dick Maywood - 608/692 Sqd, W/O Joe Musgrove - 214 Sqd, Flt Lt Dick Starkey - 106 Sqd, Flt Lt Wilfred Tunstall DFC - 158 Sqd, Sqd, Ldr Michael Wainwright - 64 Sqd, F/O Ken Wilkinson - 616 Sqd, W/O Emrys Williams - 65 Sqd, Flt Lt Tom Wingham - 76/102 Sqd, W/O Bert Winwood - 235 Sqd. Third page - Flt Lt Ron "Bram" Bramley AE - 22/144 Sqd, Flt Lt Roger Calvert - 141 Sqd, Lt Colonel Clyde B East - RAF 414 Sqd, Photo Recon Unit/USAAF Tactical Recon Sqd, Wg Cmdr Tim Elkington - 1 Sqd, Sqd, Ldr Harry Glendinning - 115 Sqd, Flt Lt John Hall DFC - 106/44 Sqd, Sqd, Ldr George "Johnny" Johnson DFM - 617 Sqd Dambuster, W/O Ken Johnson - 61/9 Sqd, Wg Cmdr E Gwyn Jones DFC AFC - 115/38/139/162 Sqd, (matted signature), Flt Lt Bert Kirtland DFC - 76 Sqd, Captain John Lee - USAAF 79th FS, 20th FG. Fahnrich Manfred Leisebien - Luftwaffe JG52, Flt Sgt Rudolf Leksinsky - 300 Sqd, W/O Jack Linaker - 9 Sqd, Sgt Ken Lucas - 49/617 Sqd, Ground Crew - Involved in all the major servicing of the aircraft before the Dambusters raid including fitting the motors that drove the belt that spun the bomb, and attaching the critical lamps to the underside of the aircraft, Flt Sgt Grant McDonald Dambuster. Colonel Charles McGee - USAAF 302nd FS, 332nd FG Tuskegee Airman, W/O John Morrison - 78/51/35 Sqd, P/O Bill North - 61 Sqd, W/O Ernie Patterson DFM - 635 Sqd, Flt Lt Harold Riding - 617 Sqd, W/O Les Sargent - 619 Sqd, W/O Ron Smith DFC - 617 Sqd, W/O Sam Thompson - 103/9 Sqd, W/O Frank Tilley - 617 Sqd, Flt Lt Bert Whittaker DFC - 76 Sqd. The best one-volume aerial history of World War II, Richard Overy's classic work remains profound and highly original. Far from just an account of the various air battles, Professor Overy treats the air war as a complex and fascinating historical web, woven out of grand strategy, economic mobilization, the recruitment of science, and the nature of leadership and training. Analysing the achievements and failures of the aerial component of the war, he places it in perspective by explaining the role aviation played in the overall conflict. He points out that while the Axis powers tended to limit their use of air power to one major role, such as support of ground forces, the Allies exploited all aspects of aerial doctrine: air defence, strategic bombardment, air-naval cooperation, and ground support. He also demonstrates how aircraft ensured that the Second World War became a people's war and how success in the air war was, in a very real sense, a test of a nation's modernity. The air war was won and lost not only in the skies but also in the factories and the research institutes. Finally, the author dispels many popular myths and in particular reveals that although air power in the form of strategic bombing by itself did not deter-mine the war's final outcome, its use dramatically illustrated the complexities of managing modern war. Richard Overy's The Air War thus deepens our under-standing not only of World War II but of military history in general. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
WW2 Tirpitz Lt Keith Quilter signed Supermarine Seafire 1832 sqn Biography Card. 7 x 5 inch limited edition Printed card with border, perfect for matting or use as bookplate. Helping form 1842 Sqn in 1944 he served on board HMS Formidable equipped with Corsairs and attacked the Tirpitz three times, twice on strafing missions and a third dive-bomb attack. Sailing to the Far East with the British Pacific Fleet to support US Navy operations, he flew at Okinawa and was involved in sweeps and ground attacks on Japanese airfields on neighbouring islands. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Wing Comm Roland Prosper Beaumont CBE DSO DFC DL signed V1 Flying Bomb Attacks (js501/44/5) FDC PM The Germany Offensive Against England 13 Jun 94 British Forces 2401 Postal Services. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
WW2 Atim Bomb Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets signed card with b/w 7 x 5 inch unsigned photo. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Introduction of Boeing B.29 Signed Brigadier General Paul W Tibbets. B39c 22 Mar 82 Jersey. Introduction of Boeing B.29 renamed The Washington 1 to the Royal Rew Flown cachet. Flown in B29 Super fortress. Personally Signed Brigadier General Paul W Tibbets. ( has a mark under the Signature Paul W )B29 Washington Cover introduction of Boeing B.29 renamed The Washington 1 to the Royal Air Force 22 March 1950.Blue Flown cachet. Flown in B29 Super fortress 44 62070 N 529B,'Fifi' of the Confederate Air Force from Charlotte North Carolina to Greensborough North Carolina flight time 45 mins. Personally Signed by Brigadier General Paul W Tibbets. He left medical school in 1937 and joined the Army Air Corp. at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. Here he could fly at government expense. While stationed at Ft. Benning, GA., and being a shotgun enthusiast, he was assigned to the base Skeet Shooting range. This is where he met George Patton. They became good friends and spent many hours on the shooting range. He also served as Patton's pilot during tank range manoeuvres. He has some great stories to tell about him. Paul flew B10 and B12 aircraft in low flying exercises. Returning from one of these missions in December 1941, he heard on his aircraft radio that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbour. America was at war. He was then transferred to the 29th Bomb Group to fly the new B17. He temporarily flew the B18 on antisub duty off the U.S. east coast. He was made Commander of the 40th Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy) at MacDill Air Base, Tampa, FL. He trained his crew in the B17 and flew many hours, day and night. Most of this time, he slept in his clothes. From Bangor, Maine, he flew across the North Atlantic to England. This was the first group of American-manned, tactical aircraft to reach the United Kingdom in WWII. Paul was made the Executive Officer of the 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy). On August 17, 1942, he flew the first American plane on a daylight bombing raid over German occupied Europe. The mission was to bomb a rail yard in France. This mission was flown in the aircraft named, "Butcher Shop", not his regular plane. His future missions were flown in the "Red Gremlin". Paul had a great attachment to this aircraft and called it, "the Good Gremlin". He flew many missions over German occupied territory. On one of these missions he was wounded but was able to return to his base. Before the invasion of North Africa he flew General Mark Clark on a secret mission to Gibraltar. It was from Gibraltar that General Mark Clark directed the invasion of North Africa, "Operation Torch". He later flew General Eisenhower (sitting on a 2 x 4) to North Africa on an inspection tour. Paul flew many missions in North Africa during 1942-43. He was then moved to Algiers and continued to fly missions. General Doolittle sent Paul back to the states to help develop a new bomber, the B29. After extensive training with the B29, he was sent to Colorado Springs where he was selected to lead a top secret mission. He was 29 years old at the time. He would command the 509th Composite Group. From the Island of Tinian, Paul Tibbets would go down in history as the first pilot to drop the Atomic Bomb - the target, Hiroshima. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Letter Signed by Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma. typed Letter dated 1st April 1974 on Headed Paper Broadlands, Romey, Hampshire SO5 9ZD. Personally Signed by Admiral of the Fleet The Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Mountbatten attended the Royal Navy College, Osborne, before entering the Royal Navy in 1916. At the age of 16, Mountbatten was posted as Midshipman to the Battlecruiser HMS Lion in July 1916 and, after seeing action in August 1916, transferred to the battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth during the closing phases of the First World War. World War 11 Supreme Allied Commander of Southeast Asia the last Viceroy of India, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Defence Staff. Mountbatten was assassinated when a bomb was planted in his boat at Mullaghmore, County Sligo in the Republic of Ireland. Good condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
A collection of WWI and WWII medals including OBE, with certificate and letter "Sir, I am commanded by the air council to inform you that their attention has been drawn to your brave conduct when fire broke out at a bomb store at R.A.F station, Wickenby Lincolnshire, on 26th March, 1945, the council are pleased to learn that your services have been recognised by your appointment as an officer of the order of the British empire", Fire Service Medal, War Medal, Victory Medal, Defence Medal, and two Coronation medals awarded to 230606 AM1 W. H. Baker RAF, Officer, Devon Fire Brigade, with corresponding miniatures, further medals including Association of Professional Fire Brigade Officers for Long Service, Elizabeth II Exemplary Fire Service and Long Service Fire medals, RAF cap badge, a collection of medals and ephemera relating to Howard William Barker, including 1939-45 Medal, 1939-45 Star, and Exemplary Fire Service, also with a set of five miniature medals, National Fire Service bracelet, a large collection of Fire Brigade related badges, medallions, and cloth clothing badges, letter from air ministry stating, photographs, engine log book containing photogrpahs of officers, newspaper cuttings, Bournemouth fire brigade certificate awarded to William Howard Barker esq, (qty)Condition Report: Long service medal with 5 & 20 year bar station officer W Barker January 1896.professional fire brigade officers long service with 10 & 15 year bar Stn officer W H Barker 1915.George VI medal William H Barker Ch officer Devon Fire Brigade.George V 1914-1918 medal 230606 A M W H Baker R.A.F.victory medal 230606 1. A.M W.H Barker R.A.F
PALITOY STAR WARS Y-WING FIGHTER DIECAST AND PLASTIC SPACESHIP, CIRCA 1977 catalogue number 31347, in original box17.5cm wideThis lot is in good condtion, with box included. Laser 'bomb' included is still present. Overall exterior is in good condtion. Box shows some minor tears, but is otherwise in good condtion. Box is not factory sealed.
The Royal Flying Corps Log Book belonging to 2nd Lieutenant, later Temporary Major, Sydney Anselem Sharpe, 40 Squadron Royal Flying Corps who saw the Red Baron in combat drove down 4 Hostile Aircraft and was finally shot down on the 3rd of April 1917 and was made a Prisoner of War . In World War Two now Temporary Major Sharpe of the Pioneer Corps would be awarded an MBE for Bridge Building in North West Europe. Comprising, Great War pair Lost. MBE Lost, 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, 1939-45 Defence Medal, 1939-45 War Medal with Mention in Dispatches emblem, toned fine (4)MBE The London Gazette April 194616th October 1916 Arras – 1 H.A. (Hostile Aircraft) no firing20th October 1916 Lille 1 ½ drums at Roland Scout20th October 1916 2nd flight that day Patrol 1 Drum at an Albatross21st October 1916 Bomb Raid Lille Archie Holes22nd Offensive Patrol No HA AA Holes 22nd October 1916 Offensive patrol Drove Hun Down (3,000 ft)15 November 1916 Testing New Aircraft Nose Heavy Broke tail skid and rudder4th December 1916 Gun Jammed driven off by 3 HA19th December 1916 HA at 16,000 feet could not reach20th December followed HA from Arras to Loos22nd January 1917 6 HA met who would not Scrap. Red Leader. (Baron Manfred Von Richtofen – The Red Baron)25th January 1917Drove Hun Down27th January 1917 OP With A Flight With Pell Drove Down a Hun (See Combat Report)2nd February 1917 Scrap with HA over Souchy, Hen and Self 1 large Drum ( See Combat Report)7th February 1917 3 HA over Douai Drove HA Down9th February 1917 Patrol Saw 2 HA over Belhome(?) being Archied could not reach19th March 1917 Line Patrol 4 HA one shot at me in cloud3rd April 1917 MissingCombats in The Air 27th January 19172 Seater - Albatross2nd Lt Sharpe 40 Squadron Offensive Patrol about 12 Noon..FE8 (1) when at a height of 11,000 ft saw H.A. N.E. Of Arras flying south at about 4,000 ft.F.E.8 (1) dived with another F.E.8 (2) whereupon the H.A. immediately dived at the same time opening fire, but without effect.F.E.8 (1) then fired about 20 rounds at a range of 200 yards when the gun jammed. F.E.8 (1) turned to clear the jamb and saw F.E.8 (2) still diving on H.A. – both firing. After clearing jam F.E.8 (1) turned East and saw F.E.8 (2) flying west, but saw no sign of H.A. F.E.8 (10n feels confident that he hit H.A.Signe S.A SharpeF.E.8 (2) is 2/Lt Pells MachineCombat In The Air 2nd February 19172/Lt S.A. Sharpe2 Seater – Type UnrecognisedF.E.8 saw H.A. 3 miles W of Souchez about 10,000 ft, under A.A. fire. F.E.8 approached but H.A. got above and then flew nose down East.F.E.8 got within about 200 yards, turned and followed and whilst diving fired one large drum, without apparent effect – Though F.E.8 believes he hit H.A. H.A very quickly got out of range and F.E.8 then resumed PatrolSigned S.A. Sharpe.Sold with many original photographs, Binoculars, Bugle, Copy Combat Reports, copy MBE Citation
The Incredible and rare, Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Flying) awarded to Sergeant Derrick John Allen, Air Gunner of 467 Squadron, who, on the 2nd of November 1944 returning from an Operation to Dusseldorf as the Mid-Upper Gunner of Lancaster DV396 was attacked several times by a night fighter which left the Lancaster almost uncontrollable and with an engine on fire. As the Crew Prepared to leave the aircraft it was discovered that the rear gunner was trapped in his turret. Sgt Allen immediately went to his aid, knowing that the bomber could break up at any moment. He used an axe to chop open the doors of the turret, having done this he succeeded in freeing the rear gunner and they made their way forward to bale out but before being able to do so the Lancaster broke up. Sgt Allen found himself in mid air and pulled the parachute ripcord, landing in a tree after a very low descent, comprising, Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Flying) (1880966 Sgt. D.J. Allen. R.A.F.), 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, 1939-45 War Medal, all unnamed ad issued, mounted for war, very fine (4)Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Flying) the London Gazette 6th of March 1945Sergeant Derick John Allen (1880966) RAF(VR) No. 467 Squadron (Australian)This airman was the mid-upper gunner in an aircraft detailed to attack Dusseldorf one night in November 1944. During the operation the aircraft was attacked by a fighter. Sergeant Allen opened fire but the enemy aircraft closed in and the bomber was struck by a burst of machine gun fire which caused much damage. A second attack followed and the aircraft was hit. The outer port engine was hit and caught fire. All efforts to extinguish the fire were unavailing. Later the aircraft lost hight and later dived out of control. The position became hopeless and the Captain ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft. The rear gunner was unable to open the turret doors and was trapped. With complete disregard for his own safety Sergeant Allen promptly went to the assistance of his comrade. The aircraft was now on fire and falling rapidly. Nevertheless, this gallant airman hacked away at the turret doors with an axe and finally succeeded in freeing his comrade. Just as Sgt Allen was ready to jump the aircraft broke in two. He fell clear, however, pulled the ripcord of his parachute and descended safely. In the face of extreme danger this airman displayed conduct in keeping with the best traditions of the Royal Air Force.The Rear Gunner Flight Sergeant William John Lemin was killed when he hit the ground.A fuller account is includedOn the night of Thursday the 2.3rd November 1944 a force of 992 aircraft, 561 Lancaster, 400 Halifax’s and 31 Mosquito aircraft were briefed to attack Dusseldorf. Resulting from the nights operations 27 aircraft failed to return, 93 airman were killed, 5 injured and 29 became Prisoners of War.Lancaster DV396 took off at 16.31Hrs from RAF Station Waddington in Lincolnshire. The crew were F/O L.K. Landridge RAAF Pilot, Sgt J Halstead RAF(VR) Flight Engineer, Flight Sergeant D.G Beverley RAAF, Navigator, Flight Sergeant K.C. Woollam, Bomb Aimer, Flight Sergeant W.C. Denny, RAAF Wireless Operator, Sergeant D.J. Allen Mid Upper Gunner, Flight Sergeant W.J. Lemin Rear Gunner.After successfully bombing Dusseldorf Lancaster DV396 was attacked by an enemy fighter, despite evasive action and continuous defensive fire from its gunners. The fighter made two sweeping attacks; both times the bomber was raked with machine gun fire causing much damage to the aircraft. The second attack setting=g fire to the port outer engine. The crew desperately tried to save the crippled bomber and the attempts to extinguish the flaming engine failed. Loosing height rapidly the crippled bomber spiralling out of control the Captain ordered to abandon. The rear gunner F/S Lemin could not open his turret doors to make his escape. Screaming for help, Sgt. Allen went to his assistance informing the Captain of the rear gunners predicament. The Captain, F/O Landridge , who was about to abandon the aircraft , promptly climbed back into his seat and took control to try to stay the aircrafts descent. By this time the aircraft was completely ablaze and falling rapidly, never the less The Captain remined at the controls and Sgt Allen hacked away with the fire axe until his comrade was free/ With only seconds to spare all three airman made their exit as the aircraft broke up. With little altitude left all three parachutes only partially deployed with catastrophic effect. The Captain and rear gunner being killed instantly . The Lancaster crashing into the ground in allied held territory. Luckily Sgt Allen’s partially deployed parachute caught on the last reaming tree in a clearing in a forest. The Captain F/Off Landridge for staying at his post was recommended for the Victoria Cross, but this was not granted.Sgt Allen was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal Flying and this was presented by His Majesty the King, King George Vi at Buckingham Palace on the 12th of March 1946.From Sgt Allen Flying Log Book467 Squadron27th September 1944 Ops Kaiserslautern5th October 1944 Ops Wilhelmshacen6th October 1944 Ops Bremen9th October 1944 Ops Walcheren11th October 1944 Ops Walcheren20th October 1944 Ops Walcheren1st November 1944 Ops Homberg No Bombs Dropped2nd November 1944 Ops Dusseldorf Bombed successfully. Attacked by FW190 Abandoned aircraft landed safely 7 mls S/W of Spa. Belgium, Pilot and Rear Gunner Killed.7th February 1945 Ops Ladbergen – Dortmund Ems Canal8th February 1945 Ops Politz, Accurate FLAK Fighters present13th February 1945 Ops Dresden, Corkscrew Left to avoid fighters14th February 1945 Ops Chemnitz3rd March 1945 Ops Dortmund Ems Canal accurate FLAK6th March 1945 Ops Sassnitz7th March 1945 Ops Hamburg11th March 1945 Ops Essen18th of April 1945 Ops Komotau19th and final operational flight 25th April 1945 Ops Tonsberg, Norway, caught in search light took evasive action.8th May 1945 NO MORE WAR!Sold with Flying Log Book for Navigators, Air Bombers Air Gunners and Flight Engineers, MK4 Flying Goggles, Impellor of DV396 engine. Perspex from mid upper turret, Ball race from mid-upper turret, Perspex inspection hatch and landing light all recovered from the crash site of Lancaster DV396. Over 140 original photographs, Photographs of the crash site, crash reports, details of his visits to the crash site and to see the graves of Landridge and Lemin in Hotton War Cemetery, 467 Squadron reunion material, original photograph outside Buckingham Palace. Letters, cards, post cards. 4 Printed Books in which Sgt Allen appears467-463 Squadrons RAAF by H.M. (Nobby) BlundellLooking into Hell by Mel RolfeHell on Earth by Mel RolfeFlying for Freedom by Tony ReddingAll signed by the authors to Sgt Allen.A most comprehensive, poignant and incredible group that contains parts of the aircraft the rare Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (Flying) was awarded.
The World War Two Campaign Medals awarded to Captain George Bernard Taylor Royal Army Ordnance Corps who was evacuated from the Beaches at Dunkirk and who spent the rest of the War serving in a Bomb Disposal Unti being wounded in the back in Burma, comprising 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Burma Star, 1939-45 Defence Medal, 1939-45 War Medal unnamed as issued. Very fine (5)George Bernard Taylor, was born on the 3rd of March 1913, he grew up in Worthing and before World War Two worked for the Ford Motor Company. He dated the actress Googie Withers!!. He had joined the Territorial Army before the War and volunteered before it started for the Royal Navy and also the Royal Air Force, but eventually joined the Army - soon promoted to Corporal. He was given a Commission on the 22nd of August 1942. Taylor was a member of the B.E.F. in 1940 and had advanced as far as the Belgian Border but had “Met everyone coming back” so had to retreat. He was evacuated from Dunkirk . His Wife and unborn child were Killed in a Bombing Raid during The Blitz. He was posted after Commissioning to Africa then to Burma where he was wounded in the back during the Campaign, which rendered him bed-ridden in later life. He finished the war holding the rank of Captain. Known as “Gee” to his family and friends he Died aged 99 years on the 20th of March 2012. Sold with original Box of Issue (flattened) and (tatty) Bestowal Slip, typed Obituary and two copy photographs.
The Incredible DFC, DFM group of 5 awarded to Flight Lieutenant Wiiliam James Simpson, who as a Rear Gunner in Whitley’s, Halifax’s and Lancaster’s as a Pathfinder flew 102 Operational Sorties for Bomber Command between the 25th of June 1942 and the 24th of April 1945 Damaging at least one German Night fighter in Combat over Berlin. Comprising Distinguished Flying Cross (1944), Distinguished Flying Medal, (999298 F/Sgt. W.J. Simpson. R.A.F.)1939-45 Star, Air Crew Europe Star with France and Germany Clasp, 1939-45 War Medal, all unnamed as issued, extremely fine (5)DFM London Gazette 15th October 1943999298 Flight Sergeant Willaim James Simpson Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve No 35 SquadronDFC London Gazette 13 October 1944William James Simpson D.F.M. (155187) R.A.F.V.R. 35 Sqn.Extract From Air Gunner Flying Log BookNo 10 OUT Whitley25 June 1942 No 1 Bremen“B” Flight 78 Squadron Halifax 20 September 1942 No 3 Saarbrucken Heavy FLAK French Coast1 October 1942 No 4 Flensburg 1 Search Light Put Out16 November 1942 No 6 Slight FLAK Damage to aircraft14 January 1943 No 13 Lorient Landed at Ford 1-1,000 Bomb Hung Up27 January 1943 No 14 Dusseldorf Coned in Searchlights 1-1,000 bomb hung up3 February 1943 No 17 Hamburg Temperature 40degrees below Zero28 February 1943 No 24 St Nazaire Target left burning fiercely 35 Pathfinder Squadron Lancaster13 May 1943 No 29 Pilsen Aircraft Damaged by FLAK16 June 1943 No 33 Cologne Aircraft Shot up by FLAK22 June 1946 No 35 Le Creusot – Lost an Engine24 July 1943 No 36 Hamburg Aircraft Damaged by FLAK27 July 1943 No 37 Hamburg Target Well Alight29 July 1943 No 38 Hamburg Its Still Burning2 August 1943 No 39 Hamburg Aircraft Damaged By FLAK Severe Thunderstorm17 August 1943 No 43 Peenemunde (See Print by Frank Wooton)14 September 1943 No 44 Montlucon Bombed at 5,000 feet Aircraft blown upwards by heat from fires22 September 1943 No 45 Hanover – Good Show18 March 1944 No 47 Frankfurt Bombs Jettisoned Port Outer on Fire24 March 1943 No 49 Berlin Attacked by FW90 Claimed as Probable (See Combat Report)30 March 1944 No 50 Nuremburg Damaged by Fighter landed at Ford (See Combat Report)27 April 1944 No 54 Friedrichshafen Numerous attacks by Fighters30 April 1944 No 55 Achers Marshalling Yards – Master Bomber12 August 1944 No 70 Falaise Troop Concentrations14 March 1945 No 96 Essen14 April 1945 No 100 Berlin Master Bomber24 April 1945 No 102 Neubrandenburg Dropping Medical Supplies.10 May 1945 Lubeck – Ferrying POWs.Flying Hours 306.59 Day 457.18 Night Combat Report24/25 March 1943 Target BerlinLancaster III “B” Serial ND.648 35 PFF SquadronCaptain S/l CreswellA/Bomber S/L AllportNavigator F/O Miller H.W/Operator F/O MillerM/Gunner Sgt RhodesR/Gunner F/O SimpsonF/ Engineer Sgt WhiteAt 2332 hours on the night of the 24/25 March 1944 Lancaster III (ND.648) “B” of 35 Squadron was just about to turn off its bombing run of 222 degs M at 18,000 feet with an I.A of 190 knots when the M/U Gunner saw a F.W. 90 at 300 yards dead astern closing in rapidly in a steep dive. The M/U Gunner gave “Corkscrew Go” and as the Lancaster commenced to corkscrew to port the E/A opened fire at 100 yards with cannon and M.G using red and green trace and hitting the starboard tail plane of the bomber before breaking away port quarter up.As the fighter broke away both gunners opened fire and claim hits on the underside of the E.A..The Lancaster was now loosing height rapidly and the F.W. 90 appeared to the gunners to climb before rolling over and diving away on the port beam.At the time of the combat there was 9/10th cloud below, illuminated by Search Lights and target fire glow.The Rear Gunner fired 300 rounds and had one No1 stoppage in the L.H. outer gun and the L.H. inner ran away. The Mid Upper fired 150 rounds.Mid Upper Sgt RhodesRear Gunner F/O Simpson Combat ReportNight 30/31st March 1944 Target NuremburgLancaster III “B” ND.648 35 SquadronCaptain S/l CreswellA/Bomber S/L AllportNavigator F/O Miller H.W/Operator F/O MillerM/Gunner Sgt RhodesR/Gunner F/O SimpsonF/ Engineer Sgt WhiteOn the night of the 30.31st March 1944 Lancaster III “B” ND.648 of 35 Squadron was returning from attacking Nuremberg. At 03.20hrs height 17,000 feet I.A.S. 169 knots 279 degs True 4908N 0316E Weather cloudy with dark patches, no moon.The R/Gunner saw a single engine fighter, later identified as 109F approximately 700 yards on the fine port quarter up. He ordered Pilot to corkscrew port and immediately lost the fighter. Pilot resumed course.At 03.28hrs height 15,000ft I.A.S. 175knots 302 degs true W/Op reported A/C on fishpond closing in astern about ½ mile distant. He then said he had lost him and almost immediately R. Gunner observed a burst of cannon fire from about 500 yards range dead astern. He immediately told pilot to corkscrew starboard and returned enemy fire with a short bursts of 50 rounds.Owing to a faulty inter-com tumbler switch mounted in turret Pilot did not receive directions immediately and explosive shells struck the Lancaster Port and Starboard rudder tail plane, also ports and starboard wing. Enemy aircraft broke off starboard down and R/Gunner fired a burst of about 100 rounds. Enemy aircraft was last seen diving down into cloud.Mid Upper Gunner Sgt RhodesRear Gunner F/O Simpson.Sold with Observers and Air Gunners Flying Log Book, Airman’s Pay Book, Flying Clothing Card No 35 Squadron Pathfinder Reunion Association Membership Card, Original photograph of the crew of “B” for Beer in front of aircraft, original photographs of Simpson in and around Lancaster and a photograph of his turret damaged by FLAK. 1943 Dated Battle Dress Blouse with ribbons for DFC, DFM and Air Gunners Brevet as worn on Operations. Flying Officer’s Uniform with Trousers and Side Hat with Air Gunners Brevet, Medal Ribbons and his Pathfinder Badge. One large Painting of a Lancaster by Coulson, Oil on Board unglazed 83cm x 64cm, One Print of a Lancaster – “Peenemunde” by Frank Wootton August 17-18 1943 German Fighters and English Bombers Battel above the research station at Peenemunde to decide the fate of the Nazi “V” Weapons, signed by 8 airman who took part in the battle. (NB This was Simpson’s 43 Operational Sortie) Limited Edition No. 81/100 framed and glazed 96cm x 84cm.Medals framed and glazed for display.
WALLIS BARNES: (1887-1979) English scientist & inventor of the bouncing bomb used in Operation Chastise (The Dambusters Raid) on 16th May 1943. T.L.S., Barnes Wallis, with holograph salutation, one page, 4to, Effingham, Surrey, 16th May 1973, to W. Thomas. Wallis thanks his correspondent for the photographs, slides and journal (no longer present) and continues, in part, ´I find all this information absolutely quite fascinating, particularly the article on St. Ouen at Rouen....I must confess that I am not acquainted with the term "Petrie polygons", and should be grateful if you could tell me what is the meaning of this expression?´, further adding ´I am particularly grateful for your permission to keep all the slides, as I do occasionally lecture on architecture in which I refer to the static determination of the Gothic Arch. It is evident that our remote ancestors had a very considerable knowledge of mathematics´. Some very light, extremely minor age wear, VG
TELLER EDWARD: (1908-2003) Hungarian-American theoretical Physicist, known as 'the father of the hydrogen bomb'. Teller was an early member of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb. He made a serious push to develop the first fusion-based weaponsA good signed 5 x 7 photograph, `Edward Teller´, the image depicting the well-known Physicist in a head and shoulders pose. Signed in bold black ink to the lower white border. VG
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