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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Aircraft  Halifax |
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| Text for the above items : |
The Hard Way Home by Robert Taylor. The Battle of Britain had been won by the young fighter pilots of Fighter Command, but now it fell to another band of young men to wage total warfare against the Nazi war machine - the aircrew of RAF Bomber Command. And like the fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain, the young men who flew with Bomber Command came not just from Britain, but from all over the Commonwealth, and from the countries of occupied mainland Europe. Every man was a volunteer, prepared to endure the deadly flak and prowling night fighters, to say nothing of the savage and bitter cold, in order to wage their relentless attack on the military and industrial targets of the Third Reich. The aircraft that carried these young men to war were numerous, but bearing the brunt of the RAFs incessant campaign were two heavy bombers, the stalwarts of Bomber Command - the Lancaster and the Halifax. Between them they accounted for over three quarters of all the bombs dropped by the RAF, and Halifaxes alone accounted for a total of 73,312 operations, nearly a fifth of all missions carried out by Bomber Command. |
SOE Drop by Ivan Berryman. Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special) JP254 of 148 Special Duties Squadron, RAF is depicted over the drop zone near to the Alt Aussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps as two of the four SOE agents exit the bomber via the crew access door. Their mission was to secure and protect 6,755 items of the world's greatest works of art that had been looted and stored by the Germans as they swept across Europe. With the allied forces closing in, the Germans had planned to blow up the entire store to prevent the artworks from falling into the hands of the liberators. Once on the ground, the four agents linked up with local resistance fighters and the mine and its valuable contents were eventually secured, the explosives made safe and the entire cache taken into the safe keeping of the 80th US Infantry Division as the German occupation of Europe crumbled. |
Dawn Breakers by Anthony Saunders. As the first rays of dawn broke over Gold Beach on the morning of 6th June 1944, twenty-three Halifax bombers from No.76 Sqn headed inland over the breaking surf below. Their task was to annihilate the large German coastal gun battery of Mount Fleury that overlooked the beach where elements of the British 50th Division would shortly be landing. As ships of the Royal Navy joined the barrage and with the battery all but silenced, the bombers headed north, back towards England. The painting catches the moment as the Halifaxes, now escorted by American P-51s of the 359th Fighter Group, survey the extraordinary sight unfolding below them. Carried by a vast flotilla of landing craft, the first assault brigades of the 50th Division stream towards the Normandy shore where, despite heavy initial opposition, the British forces soon broke through. The German defenders who had survived the assault on the Mount Fleury battery had been cowed into submission, the survivors quickly over-run and taken prisoner. Their 12mm guns had offered no resistance and remained silent throughout. By midnight the 50th Division had landed over 25,000 men, and linking up with the Canadians on Juno Beach, had secured a deep bridgehead along a six mile front. The Battle for Caen and their long, slow march to Berlin had begun. |
Handley Page Halifax LK797 LK-E. by M A Kinnear. Pilot Officer Cyril Joe Barton, VC: Born 5th June 1921 in Suffolk, Cyril Barton volunteered for aircrew duties and joined the RAFVR on 16th April 1941, qualifying as a Sergeant Pilot 10th November 1942. He and his crew went to No.1663 Heavy Conversion Unit (HCU) at Rufforth in Yorkshire. On 5th September 1943, they joined No.78 Squadron. Barton was commissioned as a pilot officer three weeks later. Undertaking their first operational sortie (a raid against Montlucon) they served with No.78 squadron until 15th January 1944. Having completed nine sorties, they were posted to No.578 Squadron. Their second sortie with the squadron, was against Stuttgart in Halifax LK797 which was a brand new aircraft. On 30th March 1944, having now completed six sorties in LK797 - which the crew had named Excalibur, they took off on a raid against Nuremburg. Whilst still 70 miles from the target, they were attacked head on by two enemy fighters. Excalibur had two fuel tanks punctured, both the radio and rear turret disabled, the starboard inner engine was on fire and the intercom lines were cut. Despite several determined attacks by a Ju88 nightfighter, and with the aid of his crew, Barton managed to avoid the attacks. Unfortunately following the first attack, the navigator, bomb aimer and wireless operator had misinterpreted signals given to them and bailed out. Despite these difficulties, Barton decided to press on to the target and drop his bombs. Guided only by the Pole Star and his pilots flight map, Barton started for home, crossing the English coast ninety miles north of Burn. Low on fuel he ordered the three remaining crew to crash positions behind the main spar. Soon after three engines cut out and Barton attempted the forced landing. He made a gallant attempt to put down clear of the houses over which he was flying and the aircraft ploughed through several gardens and greenhouses. The rear fuselage broke off and landed in a deep railway cutting with the three crewmen inside. Excalibur had crashed near Ryhope village colliery, Co. Durham. Pilot Officer Cyril Barton died of his injuries but as a result of his selfless actions, the three crewmen survived. On 27th June 1944, Cyril Barton was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. |
Out of the Night - The First To Go In by Robert Taylor. Silently out of the night they came. With flaps deployed, three timber and plywood Horsa gliders swept swiftly down through the night skies, rapidly closing with their objective - Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal. On board, with tension etched deep into their blackened faces, men from the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, part of the British 6th Airborne Division, braced themselves for landing. They, and sappers from the Royal Engineers, were about to become the first fighting force to land in France on D-Day. They were about to make history. |
Pathfinder Halifax by Nicolas Trudgian. Remembered fondly by many RAF, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand bomber crews, the Halifax served many diverse roles in WWII, including service with Special Duties, dropping agents and supplies behind enemy lines. Halifax MkIIs of 35 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, head out over the Lincolnshire coastline at dusk bound for Germany, August 1942. No.35 Squadron was one of the five squadrons selected to form the original Pathfinder Force. |
White-out at Breighton - Tribute to No.78 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. With the departure of No 1 Group in May 1943, No 4 Group's 78 Sqn Halifaxes arrived at Breighton in Yorkshire from where they would continue to operate until the end of the war. Halifax III LW291 (EY-M) is depicted snowbound in the Winter of 1944, not long before it was lost over Grossmutz whilst taking part on a raid on Berlin on 20th January 1944. Crew of EY-M : Pilot : Flight Sergeant F Moffat RCAF (killed), Navigator : Flying Officer W McGreggor RCAF (killed), Bomb Aimer : Flying Officer R Selman RCAF (killed), Wireless Operator : Flight Sergeant H H Bennett (taken prisoner), Flight Engineer : Sergeant N Legg (killed), Rear Gunner : Sergeant W Ruelhoff (killed, Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant J Stewart (killed). |
Handley Page Halifax by Stanley Gleed. 138 Special Duties Squadron. Missions included dropping SOE and other Resistance Operatives into enemy held territory. |
Unseen and Deadly by Ivan Berryman. Having survived the bombing raid on Karlsruhe, it was the cruelest of ironies that Halifax III LK789 (MP-L) of 76 Sqn should fall victim to a lone German fighter that was lurking in the night skies above Norfolk. Witnessed by another Halifax, LK785 (MP-T), the upward firing waist guns of Lt Wolfgang Wenning's Messerschmitt Me410 of II/KG51 found their mark, expertly exploiting the blind spot of the Halifax, sending LK789 down in flames near Welney, killing all but one of her crew. Wenning's victory was to be short lived, however, the German being killed in a mid air collision with an RAF Airspeed Oxford just three days later during another intruder operation over the midlands. |
Tragedy by Moonlight by Ivan Berryman. On the night of Friday 26th November 1943, 97 Squadron Bombers on there way to bomb targets in Stuttgart, Germany were intercepted by Night Fighters. The painting shows Halifax Mk V LK946 MP-F being attacked by the night fighter pilots Major Wilhelm Herget of the Stab I./NJG 4 (flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Florennes airfield, Belgium) and Hauptmann Eckart-Wilhelm von Bonin of the Stab II./NJG 1 (flying a Bf 110 G-4 from St Trond (Sint-Truiden) airfield, Belgium). 6 of the crew managed to parachute from the stricken aircraft but the mid upper gunner Sgt. Berndt was killed while returning fire. |
D-Day Invasion : Tribute to the Glider Troops by Ivan Berryman. A tribute to the glider crews and airborne troops who participated in the glider operations during D-Day. The British Horsa glider (known as the flying coffin) was used by British, Canadian and American airborne forces during the invasion. Approximately 100 glider pilots were killed or wounded during the D-Day operations. |
Halifax Legend by Robert Taylor RAF Pathfinder founder and Commander signs print featuring the four engined Halifax bomber. |
A Friday in Winter by Keith Woodcock. Sadly, but two examples of the Handly page Halifax exist today - the unrestored W1048 at the RAF Museum at Hendon, and the Yorkshire Air Museums pristine LV907 Friday the 13th, a rebuild from the remains of HR792. |
Halifax Mk.III NA337 by Ivan Berryman. One of 6,176 Halifaxes built during World War II, NA337(2P-X) was shot down over Norway on 23rd April 1945. In 1995 it was recovered from the lake that had been its watery home for fifty years and has now been restored by the Halifax Aircraft Association in Ontario, Canada. |
Halifax - The Heavy Brigade by Keith Woodcock. Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax bomber of RAF bomber command. |
No.76 Squadron Halifax by Ivan Berryman. Halifaxes of No.76 Squadron RAF en route to another night bombing raid over Germany. The lead aircraft here has code MP-L. Serial numbers for aircraft were unique, but codes like MP-L were transferred after an aircraft was lost. A total of 10 aircraft carrying the codes MP-L were lost from No.76 Squadron. These aircraft were : L9530 : Shot down 12th-13th August 1941. R9452 : Crashed 12th-13th April 1942. W7660 : Shot down 19th-20th August 1942. W7678 : Lost 3rd-4th March 1943. DK172 : Shot down 23rd-24th May 1943. DK200 : Crashed 11th-12th June 1943. LK922 : Shot down 21st-22nd January 1944. LK789 : Shot down 24th-25th April 1944. MZ622 : Crashed 24th-25th May 1944. LL579 : Crashed 27th February 1945. |
Handley Page Halifax Mk.III LV907 of No.158 Sqn - 'Friday the 13th' by G Henderson. The legendary Friday the 13th completed 128 missions, making it one of RAF Bomber Command's most successful aircraft, and marks the most operations by a Halifax aircraft. |
Friday the 13th by Ivan Berryman. Sadly, but two examples of the Handly Page Halifax exist today - the unrestored W1048 at the RAF Museum at Hendon, and the Yorkshire Air Museums pristine LV907 Friday the 13th, a rebuild from the remains of HR792. In this portrait of one of Bomber Command's oft-forgotten workhorses, the original Friday the 13th is set against a stunning evening cloudscape. |
Halifax Bombers by Barry Price. Halifax bombers of 102 squadron on the way across to occupied Europe on another bombing misison, June/ July 1944. At the controls of DY - E is Flt Sgt Arthur Albert Edwards DFC, the Halifax DY - H would a few weeks later be shot down on the 12th August 1944. |
Halifaxes by Keith Woodcock. A Halifax bomber of Bomber Command is being refueled and checked by ground crew on a snow covered RAF airfield. The Halifax was one of the three major bombers of the RAF. The Royal Air Force Halifax had a crew of six to eight, a maximum speed of 280mph (with MK.VI top speed of 312mph) service ceiling of 22,800 feet maximum range of 3,000 miles. The Halifax carried four .303 browning machine guns in the tail turret, two .303 browning machines in the nose turret, and in the MkIII there were four .303 brownings in the dorsal turret. The Handley Page Halifax first joined the Royal Air Force in March 1941 with 35 squadron. The Halifax saw service in Europe and the Middle East with a variety of variants for use with Coastal Command, in anti submarine warfare, special duties, glider-tugs, and troop transportation roles. A total of 6177 Halifaxes were built and the aircraft stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1952. |
Operation Ebensburg by Ivan Berryman. Sunday 8th April 1945. Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special) JP254 of 148 Special Duties Squadron, RAF piloted by Pilot officer Bill Leckie is depicted approaching the drop zone near to the Alt Aussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps to drop four SOE agents and their equipment whose mission it was to secure and protect 6,755 items of the world's greatest works of art that had been looted and stored by the Germans as they swept across Europe. With the allied forces closing in, the Germans had planned to blow up the entire store to prevent the artworks from falling into the hands of the liberators. Once on the ground, the four agents linked up with local resistance fighters and the mine and its valuable contents were eventually secured, the explosives made safe and the entire cache taken into the safe keeping of the 80th US Infantry Division as the German occupation of Europe crumbled. |
| Halifax Pilot and aircrew signature details |
  Flight Lieutenant Tom Austin DFC AE Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Flight Lieutenant Tom Austin DFC AE After joining the RAF in 1941 Tom Austin qualified as a pilot on Harvards, then converted into Halifaxes. During the war years other aircraft he flew included Wellingtons, Stirlings and Lancasters. While flying Wellingtons as part of 199 Squadron during a raid over Dortmund, his aircraft was badly damaged but Tom managed to limp home, crash landing at Mildenhall. |
Flight Lieutenant Eric Barnard Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flight Lieutenant Eric Barnard Having trained as a Rear Gunner on Halifaxes he joined 10 Sqn with whom he completed 32 Operations including raids over France and Germany. |
Warrant Officer William Bell Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Warrant Officer William Bell Bill joined the RAF in 1941 and was posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds as a Navigator on Halifaxes. He was later transferred to 166 Squadron, and was on his 20th operation, flying to Berlin in November 1943 when he was shot down and ended up as a PoW in Stalag Luft IVb. He escaped on three separate occasions but was recaptured every time - the war finished just before his fourth attempt! |
  Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett Our estimated value of this signature : £70 Died : 1986 | Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett Born in Australia, Bennet had joined the RAF before the war. He became widely experienced in flying all types of aircraft including fighters, flying boats and heavy bombers commanding 77 squadron, flying Halifaxes. In 1942, whilst commanding 10 Squadron, he was shot down on one of the attacks on the Tirpitz, but evaded capture and returned to England. Widley regarded as a navigation expert beyond comparison, he was personally selected by Arthur Harris to form the Pathfinder Force and his uncompromising attitude and ceaseless devotion to his men made him a legendary figure in WWII history. He died 15th September 1986. A Clipped Signature is Available |
Flying Officer Edward Bowles Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flying Officer Edward Bowles Joining 429 Squadron RCAF based at East Moor in Yorkshire in late 1942, Edward Bowles was a Bombardier on Halifaxes. He flew 33 combat missions, his aircraft shooting down two Me109s on one mission. |
 Flight Lieutenant Bernard W Brown Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2017 | Flight Lieutenant Bernard W Brown Flight Lieutenant Bernard Walter Brown was accepted for a short service commission in 1938, and after being accepted arrived in England in September, training at 5 E&RFTS, Hanworth and in late January 1939 he was posted to 5FTS, Sealand. He then went to No 1 School of Army Co-Operation at Old Sarum for a course on Lysanders in August 1939, and soon after joined 613 Squadron. Bernard Walker Brown was flying one of six Hectors detailed to dive-bomb gun emplacements near Calais. On the way to the target, he test-fired his forward gun but a fault caused the muzzle attachment to fly off, penetrate the fuselage and hole the main fuel tank. He jettisoned his bombs and turned back and make a forced-landing. In August 1940 he volunteered for Fighter Command, converting to Spitfires. He joined 610 Squadron at Biggin Hill. In late September he went to 72 Squadron, but on the 23rd was shot down by a Bf 109. He bailed out of the aircraft, badly wounded. Returning to active duty in November 1940, he was posted to 8FTS, Montrose for an instructor's course, after which he went to Rhodesia, subsequently instructing at Cumalo. In 1943, he trained with Transport Command, becoming a ferry pilot. He flew between the United Kingdom and the Middle East. He transferred to the RNZAF in January 1944 and by the end of the year was flying Halifaxes. He was released in 1945 to fly Dakotas with BOAC and later joined BEA, flying with the airline until his retirement in 1972. He died on 23rd January 2017. |
Air Commodore Wilf Burnett DSO OBE DFC AFC Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2006 | Air Commodore Wilf Burnett DSO OBE DFC AFC Canadian Wilf Burnett joined the RAF before the war and at the outbreak of hostilities was flying Hampdens. He completed his first tour of 30 operations in September 1940, flying with 49 Sqn at Scampton. His crew had bombed invasion barges in the Channel ports, mined enemy waters, operated against the Ruhr, and taken part in the first raids against Berlin. In July 1941 he was posted to 408 (Goose) Sqn RCAF, at Syerston, where one night in January 1942, returning from Hamburg, their Hampden crashed in extreme weather. Wilf was the sole survivor, and he was hospitalised. Recovering he was accepted to command 138 (Special Duties) Sqn at Tempsford who were engaged in dropping agents and supplies to the Resistance in occupied countries flying Halifaxes, later Stirlings. He died 26th November 2006. A Clipped Signature is Available |
Group Captain Dudley Burnside DSO OBE DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £25 Died : 2005 | Group Captain Dudley Burnside DSO OBE DFC* Dudley joined the RAF in 1935 and in 1937 went to India flying on the North West Frontier, and Iraq. At the outbreak of war he went to Burma and in 1942 was fortunate to escape when his airfield was overrun by the Japanese. Escaping back to England he took command of 195 Squadron RCAF flying Wellingtons. In 1943 he became CO of 427 Squadron on Halifaxs, later converting to Lancasters. In the Korean War he commanded a Flying Boat Wing operating Sunderlands. He retired from the RAF in 1962. He died 20th September 2005. |
Wing Commander Charles C Jock Calder DSO* DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £55 Died : 1997 | Wing Commander Charles C Jock Calder DSO* DFC Twice mentioned in dispatches. Nos 78, 76, 158 and 617 Squadrons. Born 12th July, 1920. Joined RAF early 1940. Training E.F.T.S. Prestwick, S.F.T.S. Little Rissington, O.C.U. Abbingdon. Joined 78 Whitley Squadron approx May/June 1941. Some three months later posted to 76 Halifax Squadron as deputy Flight Commander. Awarded D.F.C. Nov/Dec 1941 posted as O.C. 76 Squadron Training Flight. Approx June 1942 transferred to Riceal to form Halifax O.C.U. Promoted to Squadron Leader. Approx August 1943 appointed O.C. 158 Squadron, promoted to Wing Commander. March /April screened and posted as C.F.I. Marston Moor O.C.U. Volunteered tojoin 617 Squadron. Application approved approx September 1944. Remained with 617 until screened approx January 1945. Awarded bar to D.S.O. He was Mentioned in Despatches for the first time on 2nd June 1943. He was Mentioned in Despatches for a second time as Acting W/Co on 14th January 1944. On 13th June the London Gazette published the notification that he was to be awarded the DSO for service with 158 Squadron. The citation for this reads.. This officer has completed a second tour of operations and has displayed the highest qualities of skill and gallantry throughout. He has displayed the greatest determination in pressing home his attacks and has achieved much success. On one occasion, in an operation against Frankfurt, two engines became unserviceable. In spite of this, Wing Commander Calder flew the aircraft back to this country after cleverly outmanoeuvring a fighter which had closed in to attack. This officer is an efficient and forceful squadron commander, whose genius for leadership has contributed in good measure to the success of the formation he commands. Having completed his second Tour he was posted to a training instructional role for a while but served with 617 Squadron in the later months of the War. He piloted the aircraft that dropped the first of the 22,000lb Grand Slam bombs - the biggest high-explosive bomb developed by any country during the war - to wreck the Bielefeld railway viaduct in Germany. He was awarded the Bar to the DSO for service with 617 Squadron, Gazetted on 5th June 1945. The citation reads.. Since being awarded the Distinguished Service Order, this officer has completed many sorties. Throughout these operations he has shown the greatest resolution and the successes obtained are a splendid tribute to his great skill and courage. Wing Commander Calder led the squadron on the operation when the first 22,000 Ib. bomb was dropped over Germany. The target was the viaduct at Bielefeld and complete success was achieved. This officer has rendered much loyal and devoted service. He died on 17th May 1997 aged seventy eight years old. |
Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2008 | Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE Joining the RAF in 1932, after qualifying as a pilot, he served as an instructor until 1942, when he joined 15 Squadron at Mildenhall, flying Lancasters. Volunteering for the Pathfinder Force he joined 35 Squadron at Gravely on Halifaxes, followed by 582 Squadron on Lancasters, taking part in many bombing sorties over Normandy, including two missions on D-Day. He finished the war having completed 66 operations. Pat Carden sadly died 28th June 2008, aged 96. A Clipped Signature is Available |
Flying Officer Don Carruthers Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Flying Officer Don Carruthers Joining the RAF in 1941 he trained as a wireless operator and completed his ops training at Lossiemouth on Wellingtons where he formed up with a crew that was to stay together for his entire operational career in Bomber Command. In 1943 he was posted to 466 squadron at Leconfield on Wellingtons before converting to the Halifax. He and his crew volunteered for the Pathfinder Force and joined 35 squadron on Halifax's and then Lancasters. In 1945 having completed a total of 63 operations he moved to Transport Command flying Dakotas in India with 238 squadron and then Calcutta with 52 squadron. He left the RAF in 1946. |
  Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO** DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £75 Died : 1992 | Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO** DFC* One of the most courageous and determined bomber leaders of World War II, Leonard Cheshire flew four operational tours, starting in June 1940 with 102 Squadron on Whitley bombers at RAF Driffield. In November 1940, he was awarded the DSO for getting his badly damaged aircraft back to base. He completed his first tour in January 1941, but immediately volunteered for a second tour, this time flying Halifaxes with 35 Squadron. He became Squadron Leader in 1942, and was appointed commanding officer of 76 Squadron later that year. Leonard Cheshire ordered that non-essential weight be removed from the Halifax bombers in a bid to increase speed and altitude, hoping to reduce the high casualty rates for this squadron. Mid-upper and nose turrets were removed, and exhaust covers taken off, successfully reducing the loss rate. In July 1943 he took command of 617 Squadron. During this time he led the squadron personally on every occasion. In September he was awarded the Victoria Cross for four and a half years of sustained bravery during a total of 102 operations, leading his crews with careful planning, brilliant execution and contempt for danger, which gained him a reputation second to none in Bomber Command. Sadly, Leonard Cheshire died of motor neuron disease on 31st July 1992, aged 74. |
Warrant Officer Reg Cleaver Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Warrant Officer Reg Cleaver Served with 419 (Moose) Squadron RCAF. Reg Cleaver was a Flight Engineer and Co-pilot on Halifaxes until On his 17th operation on 24 June 1943, on a raid to Wuppertal, his aircraft was shot down by German Fw190 nightfighters. After initially evading capture he was eventually captured in Holland where he was beaten by the Gestapo and taken as a PoW to Stalag Luft 6 until the end of the war. He died aged 89 when his car hit a tree in Brandon, he was given a funeral with full military honours at St. John the Baptist Church in Brinklow. |
Flight Lieutenant David Codd DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flight Lieutenant David Codd DFC Joining the Army in 1938 he initially served with Royal Engineers at Dunkirk before volunteering for aircrew and transferring to the RAF in 1941. He qualified as a navigator and in 1942 joined 10 squadron at Leeming on Halifaxes before moving to 35 squadron with the Pathfinders, again on Halifax bombers. In 1943 his aircraft was shot down near Cologne and he became a POW at Stalagluft 3, having completed 42 operations. He returned to England in May 1945 and left the RAF in 1947. |
Flight Lieutenant Tommy Coles DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Flight Lieutenant Tommy Coles DFC Having completed training as a pilot, he joined 158 Sqn with whom he completed 37 Operations on Halifaxes and was awarded the DFC |
Warrant Officer Tom Cosby Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Warrant Officer Tom Cosby Having completed his training as a Flight Engineer he served on Halifaxes with 578 Sqn but was shot down in March 1944 on his 12th Op by a German night fighter. He was eventually captured and spent was a PoW until his liberation at the end of the War. |
Squadron Leader Fred Crawley DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Squadron Leader Fred Crawley DFC As a Navigator Fred completed a full Tour with 158 Sqn during 1943 on Halifaxes. He was then posted to 139 Sqn on Mosquitos, and completed 45 further Operations. Of his 75 Operations, over 20 were to Berlin. |
Flt Lt Alan Cresswell DFC AFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flt Lt Alan Cresswell DFC AFC A pilot flying Whitleys for 10 OTU Operational Detachment over the North Atlantic, Alan completed a further 27 Operations flying Halifaxes with 76 Squadron over NW Europe. |
Miss Lettice Curtis Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Miss Lettice Curtis Joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) in July 1940 having been taken on to ferry Tiger Moths. Although we were later allowed to ferry other training types such as Oxfords and Masters, it was not until the autumn of 1941 that women were allowed to fly operational aircraft types. I flew my first Hurricane in August 1941 and my first Spitfire a couple of weeks later. After a brief course on a Blenheim I was cleared to fly without any further training, twin-engine bombers up to the Wellington. In November 1943 I was sent on a Halifax course, which due to unserviceability and bad weather closed, restarting in February 1943 at Pocklington where I was cleared for ferrying Halifaxes. After that without further training, I ferried Lancasters and over 100 Stirlings. In November 1945 I ferried 14 Liberators. |
  Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss KCB KBE Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2013 | Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss KCB KBE John Curtiss trained as a navigator in RAF Bomber Command. He joined his first operational squadron - He flew bombing operations over Germany with Nos 578 and 158 Squadrons, flying the Halifax. He joined the air transport force and in 1949 was promoted to be a flight commander on a York squadron, he flew more than 260 missions into blockaded Berlin during the 1948–49 airlift. In 1953 Curtiss converted to a night-fighter role and flew in Meteor and Javelin aircraft with Nos 29 and 5 Squadrons, the latter providing a quick reaction alert force in Germany. After commanding the operations wing at RAF Wittering, the home of Victor bomber squadrons equipped with the Blue Steel nuclear missile, he returned to Germany as the station commander at Bruggen, the RAF’s largest operational base. Curtiss managed the introduction of four Phantom strike/attack squadrons to the base where he flew with the units, Sir John held many high ranking posts in the RAF, in 1980, he was promoted to air marshal and appointed AOC No 18 Group and Nato Commander Maritime Air Forces, Eastern Atlantic and the Channel, not expecting to find himself commanding air operations “out of area” during his final appointment in the RAF and was Air Commander Falklands Operations in 1982. he coordinated British air assets, including Vulcan bombers flying long-range raids from Ascension Island. His leadership earned him a knighthood, followed by a second, making him one of the few officers to hold both the KBE and KCB. He retired a year later in 1983. Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss KCB KBE passed away on 14 September 2013, aged 88 at his Milford-on-Sea home A Clipped Signature is Available |
Flying Officer George Dann Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flying Officer George Dann As a Pilot, George flew Stirlings with 620 Squadron, originally on bombing raids and then later flying special Operations for SOE. George flew 3 Operations over Arnhem and later flew Halifax bombers in Palestine. |
Flight Lieutenant Jack Dundas DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flight Lieutenant Jack Dundas DFC Jack Dundas joined 424 (Tiger) Sqn No 6 Group RCAF on 25th May 1944. He flew on D-Day 5th/6th June and ended a relatively fast tour on the Halifax flying two missions on the same day over Duisberg, 14th October 1944. |
Lishman Y Easby Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Lishman Y Easby Lishman Y. Easby (Wireless Operator) joined the RAF in 1941 after service in the Home Guard. He was selected for training as a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner but after training as a W/Op he was posted to Coastal Command 159Gp HQ, Liverpool, and served in 1942 as a ground wireless operator. Later in the year he was called for training as a W/op (air) which was followed by an air-gunner course. Following this he was posted to an Operational Training Unit and joined Ron Clark and his crew as a W/op on 4 engined aircraft – the two jobs were separate. The crew were later posted for further training, first on Halifax and then on Lancasters; then posted to 100 Sqn, Waltham, near Grimsby, where they were given a brand new Lancaster which they named the Phantom of the Ruhr. Their Flight Engineer, Harold Bennett DFM painted its name and insignia on the nose of the aircraft. The same name today adorns the Lancaster which flies as part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. In the Phantom they completed 21 ops to Germany and two to Italy, after which the Phantom was taken in for extensive repairs due to enemy damage. The crew completed a further four ops which then completed their tour. For their 27th op the crew were transferred to 625 Sqn Kelstern (Lincs) which turned out to be their final operation and they were then disbanded. Lishman Easby was then posted to OTU near Shrewsbury to help with the training of new crews. Later he was posted to 298 Sqn Transport Command with another pilot (Ian Forbes) and crew where they received training in towing Horsa Gliders in preparation for an airborne attack on Singapore. However, the war ended suddenly and the Sqn was posted to India and eventually to Burma to take part in Operation Hunger. This entailed dropping sacks of rice on isolated villages thus saving them from famine. This ended his service and he was released from service in 1946. He agreed to his name being held in reserve as a Minute Man until aged 45. During this time he could be called back in an emergency for immediate service. However, this never happened. |
Flying Officer Jack Easter Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Flying Officer Jack Easter Joining the RAF in 1940 he was a Wireless Operator/Air Gunner on both Halifaxes and Liberators with 148 Sqn which served on Special Duties carrying out supply drops and pick-up missions to resistance groups. Before leaving the RAF in December 1945 he had completed 75 Operations and over 500 hours of flying. |
Flying Officer John Evans Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flying Officer John Evans John joined the RAF in late 1942. He qualified as a pilot and was posted to 158 Squadron at RAF Lissett. His 12th operation on 12th May 1944 was to Hasselt, where his Halifax was shot down by a night fighter. He evaded capture with the help of the Resistance in the Freteval Forest, and got back to England in September 1944. |
Squadron Leader John Fisher DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Squadron Leader John Fisher DFC John Fisher served with 644 Squadron flying Special Duties Halifaxes on supply drops to resistance movements throughout North West Europe, and dropping personnel for SOE duties. On the night of 5th June, he flew Halifax LL219 towing a Horsa glider as part of the assault on Pegasus Bridge. In two operations on D-Day + 1 he towed two further gliders into the Normandy area. He later flew two more glider operations over Arnhem, and another on the Rhine crossing. He received the DFC (USA) which was presented to him by General Jimmy Doolittle. |
Warrant Officer Laurie Godfrey Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Warrant Officer Laurie Godfrey As a WOP/Air Gunner he joining 408 Sqn, only the second RCAF squadron formed overseas, serving on first Halifaxes and Lancasters completing 32 operations. |
Warrant Officer Harry Gough Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Warrant Officer Harry Gough Harry joined the RAF in 1943 as a Rear Gunner in 10 Squadron affectionately known as Shiny 10 at RAF Melbourne, part of 4 Group. At the beginning of the war they were equipped with Whitleys, upgrading to the Halifax in December 1941. On 8th July 1940, they moved to RAF Leeming, Yorkshire and again on 19th August 1942 to RAF Melbourne, Yorkshire. Harry completed 33 operations. |
Flight Lieutenant James Hampton Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Flight Lieutenant James Hampton James Hampton enlisted in the RAF in 1945 and trained as a Flight Engineer. He flew Halifaxes operationally with 76 Squadron from RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor in Yrokshire. He was also the youngest and only survivor of three brothers. After leaving the squadron he flew on flight testing. |
Flying Officer Sir Michael Hanham DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £35 Died : 2009 | Flying Officer Sir Michael Hanham DFC He joined the RAF straight from school in 1942 and initially qualified as a navigator but then retrained as a flight engineer in 1943. He volunteered for the Pathfinder Force and joined 35 squadron as a flight engineer on Halifaxes and Lancasters, completing 55 operations with this unit. In May 1945 he became a Flying Control Officer and was posted to India, leaving the RAF in 1946. Died 20th May 2009. |
Squadron Leader Ian Hewitt DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Squadron Leader Ian Hewitt DFC* Ian was originally a Navigator on Whitleys with 58 Squadron, before joining 35 Squadron. Shot down attacking the Tirpitz in Halifax S for Sugar, he managed to crash land and escape into Sweden. Through a successful PoW exchange Ian was flown back to England in a Mosquito and went back to operations with 405 Squadron RCAF. |
  Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges KCB CBE DSO DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2007 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges KCB CBE DSO DFC* Lewis Hodges flew with 49 Sqn from June 1940 until he was shot down over occupied France in Sept 1940 and taken prisoner by the Vichy French. He managed to escape and made his way back to England, rejoining 49 Sqn. He took part in the attacks against the German Channel dash operation in Feb 1942. In Nov of that year he joined 161 (Special Duties) Sqn, flying Halifaxes, Lysanders and Hudsons landing and parachuting agents into German occupied territory. Among the people he brought out of France were two future Presidents - Vincent Auriol and Francois Mitterand. He died 4th January 2007. |
Flt Lt Matt Holiday DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flt Lt Matt Holiday DFC Matt joined the RAF in March 1939 and was originally posted to 10 Squadron and later to 77 Squadron. He completed 52 operations as a Mid Upper Gunner on Halifaxes. On a raid to Dusseldorf they were attacked by fighters and broke away from the bomber stream, but after evasive action they followed on later and bombed Dusseldorf on their own, resulting in the whole crew receiving instant awards. |
  Flight Lieutenant Harry Hughes DFC DFM AE* Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2023 | Flight Lieutenant Harry Hughes DFC DFM AE* After joining the RAF in March 1941, Harry Hughes trained as a Navigator. On completion of training he was posted to join 102 (Ceylon) Squadron at RAF Pocklington flying Halifaxes. Instead of flying on a mining operation, the traditional first operation for a new crew, Hughes and his colleagues joined 442 other bombers to attack the Krupp factory at Essen. Over the next seven months, Hughes and his colleagues took their Halifax bomber to 25 other heavily defended targets. In addition to attacks against targets in the Ruhr, Hughes visited Nuremberg, Munich and the Skoda armaments factory in Pilsen, a sortie of 10 hours. On a raid to Mülheim, Hughes’s Halifax returned on two engines. Over Stettin on April 20, his Halifax was hit by anti-aircraft fire and the controls were damaged, but the aircraft was recovered safely to Pocklington. Harry completed his first tour with 102 Sqn. For his second tour Harry was posted to join 692 Squadron at Graveley, as Navigator (B). Equipped with Mosquito light bombers, 692 Squadron was part of the Light Night Striking Force of N0.8 (PFF) Group, Bomber Command; famous for its fast striking raids on Berlin using 4000lb cookie bombs. On July 24th the next operation was on Hamburg . Using “window” for the first time (metal foil strips to confuse the enemy radar system), the raid caused extensive damage. Over the next 10 days, Hughes flew on two more attacks on Hamburg. On What became known as the Battle of Berlin opened on August 23. This was to be the first of many sorties Hughes would make to the Big City. After successfully bombing the target, one of the four engines of the Halifax failed and the long flight to base was made on three engines. On September 22, Hughes bombed Hanover, the final operation of his tour. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that he had been awarded the DFM, and he was commissioned. After a short spell at navigation squadron training he volunteered in July 1944 to join the Bomber Command’s Pathfinder Force and he began converting to the twin-engine Mosquito bomber. In August he joined 692 Squadron, which was part of the Pathfinder Forces Light Night Striking Force (LNSF). The main task of the Mosquitos was to accompany the main bomber force and drop window before the attack to confuse the enemy air defence radars. They then headed for a different target on a siren tour, when they ranged far and wide over the Reich to drop a 500lb bomb on each of three or four targets. Among other tasks were spoof raids: when the main force was attacking a major target, the fast high-flying Mosquitos would head for other major cities to draw away the enemy night-fighter force. On New Years Day 1945, Hughes flew on a tunnel-busting operation against vital German lines of supply to the Ardennes offensive. During his tour of operations, Hughes attacked Berlin no fewer than 10 times, the last occasion on February 5. On the 14th, he flew a siren tour raid to Frankfurt, his 50th operation with the LNSF. He was awarded the DFC, the recommendation stating: Since the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal this officer has completed many further operational sorties against strongly defended enemy targets. At all times he has shown himself to be a skilful and accurate navigator. His courage, determination and devotion to duty have always been noteworthy. After the war, Hughes flew Mosquitos to Burma, where he later joined 52 Squadron at Calcutta flying Dakotas on re-supply routes in support of the campaign in Burma. Among the passengers he carried were the Supreme Commander, Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, and the future Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Harry Hughes DFC DFM AE Died on July 25th of 2023 at the age of 100. A Clipped Signature is Available |
 Warrant Officer Harry Irons DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2020 | Warrant Officer Harry Irons DFC Joining the RAF at the age of 16 in 1940, he did 2 full tours as a Rear Gunner with 9 Squadron and took part in nearly all the famous raids of Bomber Command. He finished in 1945 at 158 Squadron flying Halifaxes. 'I had just turned 18 when we went on a gunnery school course. After that six-week training, we usually went for a further three months training to an Operational Training Unit. It so happened that 9 Squadron had just converted from Wellingtons to Lancasters and they were 14 air gunners short on the squadron, so they posted us from gunnery school after six weeks' training straight to the squadron. 'When I got there, I was approached by a Flt Lt Stubbs, who said to me: 'You're my new gunner. We've got a gunner already but he's been flying Wellingtons and he doesn't want to be a rear gunner. He wants to go in the mid-upper turret. You'll be the rear gunner.' But, he said, on my first raid, the best thing for me to do would be to go on the mid-upper turret. 'That way you can see exactly what's going on,' he said. 'My first raid in Lancasters with 9 Squadron was to Dusseldorf on September 10th, 1942. Every time we went on a bombing raid, we had to do an air test first. We would test our guns, test the bomb sight, test the hydraulics, test the engines, and when you landed, if everything was OK, you told the engineers that everything was fine for the raid. As we landed, the armourers arrived with the bomb load. I still remember now, it was one 4,000 pounder - one huge, fat bomb - and 1,200 incendiaries. 'Our bomb aimer was an 'old sweat'. We used to call him 'The Old Boy'. He was 26. He said that with that bomb load we had, we were definitely going to the Happy Valley. When we returned to the mess, we got ready to go to the briefing. We were briefed and the curtain came down off the target and there it was - Dusseldorf. 'That's right,' said the bomb aimer to me, 'that's where we are going, Dusseldorf.' Most of our raids were on the Ruhr Valley and the reason why I am alive now is because - I don't know why - but I never went to Berlin. I wouldn't be talking to you now if I had been to Berlin. I can assure you. 'We put all our gear on. It took about half an hour for the air gunner to get dressed with all the clothing. I clambered into the mid-upper turret and off we went. As we crossed the Dutch coast, I could see we were about 1,400 or 1,500 feet over the coast. I could see a huge number of lights coming up. Far below us there was light flak, in beautiful colours, but it never touched us because we were a little too high. 'We crossed over Holland and the bomb aimer said: 'We are approaching the target, Skipper,' so I decided to swing my turret around and have a look. I was absolutely shocked by what I saw. I could not believe my eyes seeing what was in front of me. The flak, the guns, the lights, the search lights. It was incredible and I was really, really, really frightened. The plane was bouncing about. Then the bomb aimer said: 'Bomb doors open' and in we go straight and level. 'On my left I could see an aircraft on fire going down, and one below us I could see exploding. And I thought to myself: 'We're in for something here!'. I could not believe that we were going to fly through this huge explosion. But we went through it. Then the pilot was talking to the bomb aimer, and the bomb aimer said: 'We have missed the target, Skipper. We're going to have to go round again.' And I thought: 'Dear, oh dear, we've got to go all the way round, come back and go through all that again.' Which we did. And on the second run, we dropped our bombs. 'Bomb doors closed. On the way home. Flying back, there were problems with the oxygen, so the skipper – he was 21 and on his second tour, and old hand – took us down lower. We had to drop below 10,000 feet, and as we crossed the Dutch coast, the light flak opened up. It was absolutely hair-raising. There were hundreds and hundreds of these lights flashing past us but, strangely enough, not one of them hit us. 'When we got back, we landed and had a look at our aircraft. There were about 10 or 15 holes, two or three inches wide, across the fuselage, flak holes caused by shrapnel from the shells. We must have caught them on the Dutch coast. We were lucky but I've seen much worse. We went in for a briefing, had a coffee and went to bed. That was my first raid. Later, I found out, that our skipper, who had finished his tour, unfortunately got killed during training a couple of weeks later.' Harry Irons died on 10th November 2020. |
Wing Commander George Walter Johnson Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2004 | Wing Commander George Walter Johnson Wing Commander George Walter 'Johnnie' Johnson flew more than 60 operations against targets in Germany before becoming one of the Royal Air Force's most experienced test pilots. After leaving the RAF, he embarked on a career in the aviation industry and played a leading role in the success of overseas sales of the Harrier and Hawk jets. Johnson joined No 158 Squadron, flying Halifax bombers, at the height of the Battle of Berlin early in 1944. On his first operation over the 'Big City', the radio communications with his two gunners failed immediately after take-off. He could justifiably have returned to base; but, conscious of the stigma of being thought 'LMF' (lacking moral fibre) on his first operation, he decided to press on to the target, using light signals to keep in contact with his crew. Flying the same aircraft the next night, the fault recurred. Reflecting that he had got away with it the night before, he stayed with the bomber stream and dropped his bombs. By the end of March, Johnson and his crew had flown 16 operations and losses had been so high - 16 crews in four operations - that they were the senior crew on the squadron. They were then transferred to the Pathfinder Force to fly Lancasters with No 635 Squadron at Downham Market. Priorities for Bomber Command had changed in the build-up to the D-Day landings, and supply dumps, marshalling yards and transportation targets in France were attacked. Returning from one target early on June 15, Johnson and his crew were crossing the Thames Estuary at low level 'when something overtook us going very quickly and apparently on fire'. They had seen one of the first V-1s launched against London. The Pathfinder force marked targets for the main bomber attack supporting the breakout from Normandy. Johnson flew as a marker against the V-1 sites in the Pas de Calais and the huge construction site at Wizernes before the bombing offensive against Germany was resumed. His aircraft was hit by flak over Kiel and then by night fighters. Despite the damage to his Lancaster, he landed safely. By the end of October, Johnson had completed 62 operations, including 46 as a Pathfinder. He was awarded a Bar to the DFC he had been given earlier in the year for his 'high standard of courage, determination and devotion to duty'. The son of a civil servant, George Walter Johnson (always known as Johnnie) was born on January 8 1923 at Camberley, Surrey. He was educated at Erith County School, Kent, and joined the RAF on his 18th birthday. Johnson trained as a pilot in the United States before returning to England where, to his great disappointment, he was sent to be a flying instructor on single-engine aircraft. After a year trying to persuade the authorities to send him to an operational squadron, he was expecting to be posted to fighters, but found himself training on four-engine bombers. After completion of his bomber tours, Johnson was sent to Transport Command before joining the RAF Mission to Australia and New Zealand to fly Dakotas. He first went to Canada to collect a new aircraft and then flew it from Montreal, via the Pacific islands, to Sydney. For the next year he flew freight and passengers between Australia and the Pacific staging posts occupied by the British and Commonwealth forces as the Japanese retreated; he flew into Hong Kong shortly after the Japanese surrender. After a spell as the personal pilot to the RAF Chief of Staff (Australia), he returned to England and joined No 6 Course at the Empire Test Pilots' School. He was just 23, and had flown 2,500 hours on more than 20 different types of aircraft. Johnson spent the next three years at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down during which he tested some of the early jet fighters and bombers. He conducted the hot weather trials of the Vampire jet fighter at Khartoum. During a test flight to assess the efficiency of an airventilated suit being developed to keep pilots cool, the cockpit heating system stuck on hot, and Johnson just managed to land before passing out. The doctors lifted him clear of the cockpit and measured his body temperature before thinking of giving him some water. Johnson returned to England to learn that he had been posted to Namao, Alberta, to join the Winter Experimental Flight to conduct cold weather trials. During two years in Canada, Johnson flew many aircraft to assess performance in extreme cold temperatures. This often involved taking aircraft to airfields in the Yukon and to Churchill on Hudson Bay where outside temperatures reached minus 45 degrees centigrade. After spending another three years at the Empire Test Pilots' School as an instructor, Johnson was sent to the RAF Staff College, Bracknell, then became a staff officer at Fighter Command. In February 1962 he was appointed to command the Operations Wing at RAF Tengah, Singapore, the home of four RAF squadrons of Hunters, Javelins and Canberras and a RNZAF bomber squadron. In November 1963 the generally even tenor of station life overseas was interrupted by the 'confrontation' with Indonesia. With detachments of his squadrons in Malaysia, Kuching and Labuan, Johnson had a hectic time, commenting that 'confrontation' became 'a way of life, never reaching a climax but causing a good deal of frustration, proving that 'action stations' with no subsequent action is extremely debilitating'. On coming home, Johnson joined the staff of the RAF Staff College at Andover, where the student body was half British and half 'visiting officers'. The close association with many foreign air force personnel was to be important for his future. Johnson retired from the RAF in 1969, having flown more than 100 types of aircraft, in order to join the Hawker Siddeley Aviation marketing team, led by Bill Bedford, the former chief test pilot, whom he eventually succeeded. Sadly on the 28th July 2004 Wing Commander G W Johnnie Johnson died aged 81 (Telegraph obituary) |
Warrant Officer Eddie Jones Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Warrant Officer Eddie Jones A Wireless Operator, he served on Halifaxes with 428 Sqn RCAF, he was shot down in April 1944 on his 29th ‘Op by a German night fighter whilst on a mission to Germany. After being taken PoW he spent time in various camps all with W.O Reg Cleaver. |
  Flt Lt Eric Kemp DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £45 | Flt Lt Eric Kemp DFC Flew with 578 Squadron on Halifaxes |
Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM Joining the RAF in 1940 he was initially posted to Cardington as a driver and ended up on the Isle of Sheppey releasing explosive met balloons in order to hamper enemy aircraft. Volunteering for aircrew he attended a gunnery course at Stormy Down in 1942 and shortly after joined 51 squadron at Snaith in Yorkshire, as a Rear Gunner on Halifaxes. In 1943 after many operations with the main force he volunteered for the Pathfinders and joined 35 Squadron at Gravely on both the Halifax and Lancaster. He remained with this unit until the end of the war completing 82 operations and left the RAF in 1946 |
  Pilot Officer Bill Leckie, AEM, KW Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2021 | Pilot Officer Bill Leckie, AEM, KW Bill Leckie was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 23rd June 1921, joined the Royal Air Force in June 1941 and went to St Johns Wood on the 15th of September 1941. Bill Leckie started his flying training on the 4th of April 1942 at Stoke Orchard near Cheltenham in Tiger Moths. He went to Canada on the 26th of May 1942 at Monkton for further training until June before going on to Detroit and on to Pensacola, Florida on the 1st October 1942, flying Stearman and Catalina Flying boats until 31st March 1943 when Bill went to Prince Edward Island for further training. Back in the UK, Bill was expecting to join a Coastal Command squadron flying Catalinas but was transferred to Bomber Command and a conversion course on to Whitleys at Kinloss Scotland on the 22nd of February 1944, and joined 77 Squadron at Full Sutton on the 19th July 1944 on Halifaxes, flying 6 bombing missions, one being the bombing of the Flying Bomb Factory at Russesheim, before transferring to 148 Special Duties squadron on the 19th of August 1944 and going to Brindisi. Pilot Officer Bill Leckie was involved in the dropping of supplies (guns, ammunition and food) to the Polish during the Warsaw uprising. This was a costly mission and many aircraft were lost. (Bill was flying Halifax JD319 (FS - G). For his efforts in air-dropping supplies during this period, Bill Leckie was awarded the Polish Cross of Valour (KW). Pilot Officer Bill Leckie was also the Pilot for Operation Ebensburg on Sunday 8th April 1945. Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special) JP254 of 148 Special Duties Squadron carried out the misison to drop four SOE agents and their equipment near Alt Aussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps. Thier mission was to secure and protect 6,755 items of the worlds greatest works of art that had been looted and stored by the Germans as they swept across Europe. With the allied forces closing in, the Germans had planned to blow up the entire store to prevent the artworks from falling into the hands of the liberators. Once on the ground, the four agents linked up with local resistance fighters and the mine and its valuable contents were eventually secured, the explosives made safe and the entire cache taken into the safe keeping of the 80th US Infantry Division as the German occupation of Europe crumbled. Bill Leckie stayed with 148 Squadron until 18th May 1945 when he was posted to Cairo with 216 Squadron (Dakotas) of Transport Command and on 1st January 1946 to 78 Squadron flying Dakotas again until 1st June 1946 , finally leaving the RAF on the 18th September 1946. He died in October 2021. |
Mr. I J Lewis Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Mr. I J Lewis Met his crew at Heavy Conversion Unit in August 1944, being the last member to join them and he was then posted to 158 Sqdn. Lissett to fly on Halifax IIIs on 20 August 1944, and completed his tour after 41 ops. |
Squadron Leader Reg Lewis DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Squadron Leader Reg Lewis DFC Reg Lewis was a navigator in Bomber Command, first with XV Squadron, and then 214 Squadron, both on Stirlings. In August 1943 he was posted to 138 (Special Duties) Squadron based at Tempsford. Here he flew Halifaxes, dropping agents and arms into occupied Europe. In February 1944, after flying agent Francis Cammaerts over France, Reg was shot down but evaded capture and made his way to and over the Pyrenees into Spain, and home. |
Warrant Officer Fred Maltas Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Warrant Officer Fred Maltas Fred joined the RAF as a Flight Engineer and was originally sent to 51 Squadron at RAF Snaith on Halifaxes. He then joined 35 Squadron as they undertook their Pathfinder duties. On his 2nd operation to Krefeld on 21st June 1943 his Halifax HR799 was shot down, and Fred ended up as a PoW in Stalag Luft VI. |
Flight Lieutenant Edward Ted McGindle Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Flight Lieutenant Edward Ted McGindle Englishman Ted McGindle was studying in Australia at the outbreak of the Pacific war and joined the RAAF in April 1942. After initial training he gained his wings and graduated as a Sgt Pilot. Ted sailed for England and attended 21 OTU Morton-in-the-Marsh in March 1944 where he selected his crew and converted to Wellingtons. Ted McGindle converted to Halifaxes and in August 1944 was posted to 640 Sqn - 4 Group where he completed 11 operations. Later that month he transferred to 462 Sqn RAAF, equipped with Halifaxes and based at Driffield. On his 19th operation on 6th October 1944 to the synthetic oil plants at Sterkrade, Ted McGindle was awarded an immediate DFC and three of his crew immediate DFMs for bringing their crippled Halifax and wounded crew home to Woodbridge. During this seven month period he received four promotions from the rank of Sgt Pilot to Flt Lieutenant and acting Flight Commander in March 1945, completing his operational tour at the age of 21. |
Flying Officer Tony Monk Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flying Officer Tony Monk Flight Engineer on Halifaxes with 76 Squadron. Shot down on his 24th Operation to Nuremburg 30 -31 March 1944 he spent the next 14 months as a PoW. |
Warrant Officer John Morrison Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Warrant Officer John Morrison With 35 Sqn he flew as a WOP/Air Gunner on Halifaxes taking part in 24 'Ops' but was shot down on the attack on the Tirpitz in April 1942. After being captured he spent the rest of the War as a PoW in several camps including Stalag Luft III. We have learned that John Morrison has now sadly passed away. |
Flt Lt Bluey Mottershead DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flt Lt Bluey Mottershead DFC Completed a full tour of Operations in 1943 flying Halifaxes for 158 Sqn at Lissett. |
M/Sig R D Pearson Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | M/Sig R D Pearson Joined the RAF in 1943 to begin training as an Air Gunner. After the usual short attachments at various training stations eventually ending up at No 2 AGS Dalcross. Air firing was carried out from an Avro Anson. There was always a mad rush to be first aboard the aircraft on every detail, not from enthusiasm, but from trying to avoid winding up the undercarriage after take off. M/Sig Pearson went from Dalcross to Kinloss to join a crew flying Whitleys and several months later ended up at 158 Sqdn Lissett to commence operations on Halifaxes. After half a tour and very happy at Lissett his crew were posted onto a PFF Sqdn, 635 Sqdn Downham Market. His first operation, and very nearly his last, was a daylight raid on Hamburg. On the bombing run, they had the misfortune to be selected by the pilot of a ME262 as his victim. He was not spotted until he was dead astern and blazing away with the four 30mm cannon in the nose. Evasive action was given and the pilot promptly stood the Lanc on its nose. Unfortunately not all the cannon shells missed and they lost quite a piece of fuselage leaving ammo belts hanging out in the slipstream. After regaining level flight, they were attacked again by another ME262, but this time they were lucky. Both ME pilots decided to push off and find some other sitting duck! Despite these attacks, they carried on and bombed, making their way home across the North Sea, not a pleasant journey. The pilot received an immediate award of the DFC. M/Sig Pearson finished the war out at Downham Market and after the war in Europe ended was posted to 83 Sqdn Conningsby for Tiger Force training and operations against the Japanese. Fortunately the war in the east ceased just as they were ready to depart. He was demobbed in May 1947, but was not happy out of uniform so was back in again at the end of 1949 as an A/G flying on Lincolns at 9 Sqdn. Binbrook. He had a short detachment with 617 Sqdn at Shallufa, Egypt and at the end of 1952 was posted onto B29 aircraft with 15 Sqdn. Coningsby. After six months he was posted to Little Rissington on a Link Trainer course and then to FTS Syerston as a Link instructor to Naval cadet pilots. In 1955, he was required to either remuster to a ground trade or take another aircrew trade. He was posted to Swanton Morley to take training as an Air Signaller and from then to St Mawgan 228 Sqdn on Shackletons. Next came a posting to Northolt in a drawing office drawing En-Route charts and Terminal Approach Procedures. Back to flying in 1961 and a posting to 224 Sqdn Gibraltar and then to Air Traffic Control School at Shawbury. On completion of this course came a posting to RAF Lyneham as Local Controller and thence to RAF Colerne as Approach Controller. He left the service in 1968. |
Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Perks DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £50 | Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Perks DFC Joining the RAF in July 1941 he trained as a pilot in the USA and was posted to 420 Sqn as part of no 6 Group (RCAF) initially flying Wellingtons. The unit then converted to Halifaxes and he moved firstly to 427 Squadron and then 434 Sqn still flying this aircraft. In November 1944 he joined OTU as an instructor on Halifaxes, converting to Mosquitoes in January 1945. He then joined 571 Sqn as part of the Light Night Strike Force, flying the B Mk XVI and dropping 4000lb cookie bombs over Germany. He left the RAF in 1946 but rejoined, finally leaving in 1958 |
  Flight Lieutenant John Petrie-Andrews DFC DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £50 | Flight Lieutenant John Petrie-Andrews DFC DFM John Petrie-Andrews joined the RAF in 1940. After training as a pilot, in January 1943 he was posted to join 102 (Ceylon) Squadron at Pocklington for his first tour, flying Halifaxes. In February 1943 he transferred to 158 Squadron, still on Halifaxes. John the joined 35 Squadron, one of the original squadrons forming the Pathfinder Force. Here he flew first Halifaxes before converting to Lancasters. John Petrie-Andrews completed a total of 70 operations on heavy bombers, including 60 with the Pathfinders. A Clipped Signature is Available |
Squadron Leader W C Pierce DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Squadron Leader W C Pierce DFC Trained in the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, Wib Pierce was posted overseas in 1943. He joined the RCAF 433 (Porcupine) Sqn No6 Group RCAF, where he flew the Halifax Mk3 on almost all of his 36 operations over Europe. He returned home on VE Day, 1945. |
Flight Officer Stephen J Puskas DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flight Officer Stephen J Puskas DFC Stephen Puskas joined 429 (Bison) Sqn No6 Group RCAF in February 1944. He completed 40 operations over Europe on the Halifax by August 1944. surviving a ditch in the North Sea, he went on to become an instructor at Training command, Ossington. |
Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2005 | Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC After joining the RAF in 1940 he was called up in early 1941 and entered OTU where he qualified as an observer and was then posted operationally to 466 Sqn at Leconfield on Wellingtons. At the end of 1942 he joined 35 Sqn as a Navigator at Gravely as part of the Pathfinder Force, initially on the Halifax and later converting to Lancasters. He remained with the Pathfinders until 1944 when he was posted to Stoney Cross to convert back to Wellington 1C's as a way of becoming reacquainted with two engined aircraft. he spent the remainder of the war flying Dakotas in the Far East and left the RAF in mid 1946. Died 26th March 2005. |
F/O Tom Sawyer Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | F/O Tom Sawyer Flew Whitleys with 10 Sqn from Leeming and then Halifaxes with 102 Sqn from Driffield - he completed 35 Operations, and then moved on to training aircrew on Stirlings towing gliders. |
Flying Officer Tom Sayer DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flying Officer Tom Sayer DFM Tom was originally part of the RAFVR and was first posted to 10 Squadron as a pilot on Whitleys. He then transferred to fly Halifaxes with 102 Squadron at RAF Driffield and flew operationally from May to October 1943. He completed 35 operations in total. After a rest period he went to train new aircrew flying Stirlings who were involved in the towing of gliders for airborne operations during 1944 - 45. |
Warrant Officer Dennis Slack Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Warrant Officer Dennis Slack Upon completing his training on Wellingtons, Dennis was assigned to 158 Sqn as a Bomb Aimer on Halifaxes. In 1943 he was shot down whilst on a raid to Berlin and spent the rest of the war as a PoW in Stalag Luft IV b. |
Flt Lt Larry Taylor DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flt Lt Larry Taylor DFC Joined the RAF in 1937 as a Flight Engineer took part in the very first raid of the war dropping leaflets with 166 Squadron. He went on to fly Whitleys, Hampdens and Halifaxes, completing 51 Operations for 405/102/78 Squadrons. |
Flt/Lt P G Taylor Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flt/Lt P G Taylor Joined the RAF as an Aircraft Apprentice at Halton in 1938, aged 16. In 1940 he became airframe fitter on the Maintenance Unit and volunteered for aircrew in 1941. He was recommended for training as a Navigator, completed his ground training in the UK and his flying training in Port Albert, Canada. On completion, he was Commissioned and returned to the UK in January 1943, where he commenced familiarisation training in Tiger Moths (15 EFTS) and Ansons. In August 1943, along with a pilot, wireless operator and bomb aimer, he commenced training on Whitleys. From December 1943 to January 1944, he underwent training for conversion to Halifaxes and was posted to 10 Sqdn. After one operation he was transferred to 158 Sqdn (Lissett). On his tenth op. (18th April 1944) his aircraft was returning from a bombing raid on the marshalling yards at Tergunier (northern France) when they were attacked by a German night-fighter. The port wing of the aircraft was on fire, they went into a steep dive and the pilot shouted 'Bale Out'. Fortunately for him, the navigator position in the Halifax was next to the forward escape hatch and both he and the Flight Engineer were the only ones able to bale out, the other five crew members were all killed on impact. The Flight Engineer was captured the next day but Flt/Lt Taylor avoided capture and was sheltered by the Resistance in various safe houses until 28th July. By this time in the war French collaborators had infiltrated the Resistance Movement and were turning evading Allied airmen over to the Germans. Flt/Lt Taylor was betrayed and turned over to the Germans on 28th July. He was imprisoned in Paris with approximately 140 other Allied airmen captured in similar circumstances. When Allied forces closed in on Paris, all prisoners mainly French civilians were packed into cattle trucks and evacuated to Germany, destination unknown, which turned out to be Buchenwald concentration camp. Along with other airmen, he was subsequently transferred to Stalag Luft 3 on 21st October where he remained as POW until the Russian advanced forced evacuation of all POWs and a long trek, finishing near Hamburg just as Germany surrendered. |
Flying Officer J A Tommy Thomas Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Flying Officer J A Tommy Thomas Trained in 1941/2 as a winch operator on Fairy Battles and Lysanders, target towing for Spitfire OUT. In 1942 Tommy remustered as Air Gunner and in 1943 he joined 161Special Duties Squadron at Tempsford on Halifaxes B flight, He later detached to A flight on Hudsons and Lysanders for mail pick-up duties. His training and quick thinking saved him and Bob Large when on one memorable flight Tommy reacted instantly to a tow wire fouling the elevators of their Lysander. Between July 43 and July 45 he completed 33 Ops. out of Tempsford and Tangmere. |
Warrant Officer Sam Thompson Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Warrant Officer Sam Thompson As a Mid Upper Gunner he was posted to 103 Sqn on Halifaxes before transferring to 9 Sqn where he completed 3 raids on the Tirpitz and also Berchtesgaden, completing 50 Ops in total. |
Warrant Officer Henry Wagner Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Warrant Officer Henry Wagner As a Flight Engineer with 51 Squadron flying Halifax bombers, Henry was shot down just before Christmas 1944 and spent the last 6 months of the war as a PoW in Stalug Luft 7. |
Flying Officer Frank Walker Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flying Officer Frank Walker Frank Walker joined the RAF in 1943, and did his original training in Glasgow. He was posted to 466 Squadron which was formed at RAF Driffield in Yorkshire on 10th October 1942, and changed over from Wellingtons to Halifaxes in September 1943. As a Rear Gunner on Halifaxes, Frank completed 36 operations before the end of the war. |
Warrant Officer Ken Wheeler Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Warrant Officer Ken Wheeler Was a Rear Gunner with 102 Squadron on Halifaxes based at Pocklington. Operating during the last six months of the War, Ken saw action over Germany. |
Warrant Officer Bill Wilcox DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Warrant Officer Bill Wilcox DFM Bill was a Wireless Operator with 466 Squadron on Wellingtons, before being posted to 640 Squadron on Halifaxes. In 1943 he joined 35 Squadron, part of the Pathfinder Force, on Lancasters. He remained with this unit until the end of the war, completing nearly 60 operations. |
Sqd Ldr Frank Williamson AFC Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Sqd Ldr Frank Williamson AFC Was at 10 Sqn and 102 Sqn at the same time as Tom Sawyer, he flew Whiltleys and Halifaxes and he completed 26 Operations. |
Flight Lieutenant Tom Wingham Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Flight Lieutenant Tom Wingham With 76 Sqn he was a Bomb Aimer on Halifaxes before his aircraft was shot down on a mission to Dusseldorf on 22nd April 1944. Using several well-organised 'escape lines', which were set up by local civilians throughout parts of Europe to help keep evading aircrew fed and clothed, he eventually made it through to Allied Lines on 13th September 1944. |
| Halifax Squadron details |
No.10 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , ZA, PB, | No.10 Sqn RAF Rem acu tangere - To hit the mark
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No.102 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 27th April 1963 Known Codes : , DY, EF, TQ, | No.102 Sqn RAF Ceylon Tentate et perficite - Attempt and achieve |
No.103 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 31st July 1975 Known Codes : , GV, PM, | No.103 Sqn RAF Nili me tangere - Touch me not |
No.113 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 10th July 1963 Known Codes : , AD, BT, MOHC, VA, | No.113 Sqn RAF Velox et vindex - Swift to Vengeance |
No.138 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st April 1962. Known Codes : , NF, AC, | No.138 Sqn RAF For Freedom |
No.147 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 15th September 1958 Known Codes : , 5F, OAF, | No.147 Sqn RAF Assidue portamus - We carry with regularity |
No.148 Sqn RAF Country : UK 1956 was detached to Malta for attacks on Egyptian airfields during the Suez operation. In April 1965, the Squadron was disbanded after the grounding Known Codes : , FS, AU, BS, | No.148 Sqn RAF Trusty |
No.158 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 31st December 1945 Known Codes : , DK, NP, | No.158 Sqn RAF Strength in unity |
No.161 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 2nd June 1945 Known Codes : , MA, JR, | No.161 Sqn RAF Liberate |
No.171 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 27th July 1945 Known Codes : , 6Y, | No.171 Sqn RAF Per dolum defendimus - Confound the enemy |
No.187 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 2nd September 1957 Known Codes : , 5L, PU, | No.187 Sqn RAF Versatile |
No.190 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 21st January 1946 Known Codes : , G5, L9, 6S, | No.190 Sqn RAF Ex tenebris - Through darkness |
No.192 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 21st August 1958 Known Codes : , DT, HS, | No.192 Sqn RAF Dare to discover |
No.199 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 15th December 1958 Known Codes : , EX, | No.199 Sqn RAF Let tyrants tremble |
No.202 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , Y3, AX, JU, TJ, TQ, | No.202 Sqn RAF Semper vigilate - Be always vigilant |
No.224 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 31st October 1966 Known Codes : , PW, QA, QX, XB, | No.224 Sqn RAF Fedele all amico - Faithful to a freind |
No.251 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 30th September 1946 Known Codes : , AD, | No.251 Sqn RAF However wind blows |
No.295 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 31st October 1948 Known Codes : , EE, 8E, PX, XH, 8Z, | No.295 Sqn RAF In caelo auxilium - Aid from the skies,/i> |
No.297 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 15th November 1950 Known Codes : , L5, MOHA, | No.297 Sqn RAF |
No.298 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 21st December 1946 Known Codes : , 8A, O6, 8T, | No.298 Sqn RAF Silent we strike |
No.299 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 15th February 1946 Known Codes : , 5G, X9, | No.299 Sqn RAF |
No.301 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 10th December 1946 Known Codes : , GR, | No.301 Sqn RAF Polish |
No.304 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 18th December 1946 Known Codes : , NZ, HR, QD, | No.304 Sqn RAF Polish - Land of Silesia |
No.346 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 27th November 1945 Known Codes : , H7, | No.346 Sqn RAF French G.B2/23 Guyenne |
No.347 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 21st November 1945 Known Codes : , L8, | No.347 Sqn RAF French G.B1/25 Tunisie |
No.35 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 28th February 1982 Known Codes : , TL, WT, | No.35 Sqn RAF Madras Presidency Uno animo agimus - We act with one accord |
No.405 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , LQ, | No.405 Sqn RCAF City of Vancouver Ducimus - We lead |
No.408 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , EQ, NA, | No.408 Sqn RCAF Goose. For freedom 2nd RCAF Squadron to be formed overseas. |
No.415 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 15th May 1945 Known Codes : , GX, 6U, | No.415 Sqn RCAF Swordfish Ad metam - To the mark |
No.419 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , VR, | No.419 Sqn RCAF Moose Moosa aswayita - Beware of the moose |
No.420 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , PT, | No.420 Sqn RCAF Snowy Owl Pugnamus finitum - We fight to the finish |
No.424 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 15th October 1945 Known Codes : , QB, | No.424 Sqn RCAF Castigandos castigamus - We chastise those who deserve to be chastised |
No.425 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , KW, | No.425 Sqn RCAF Aloutte Je to plumerai - I shall pluck you |
No.426 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 31st December 1945 Known Codes : , OW, | No.426 Sqn RCAF Thunderbird On wings of fire |
No.427 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 31st May 1946 Known Codes : , ZL, | No.427 Sqn RCAF Lion Ferte manus certa - Strike sure |
No.428 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , NA, | No.428 Sqn RCAF Ghost Usque ad finem - To the very end |
No.429 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 31st May 1946 Known Codes : , AL, | No.429 Sqn RCAF Bison Fortunae nihil - Nothing to chance |
No.431 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , SE, | No.431 Sqn RCAF Iroquois The hatiten ronteriios - Warrior of the sky |
No.432 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 15th May 1945 Known Codes : , QO, QU, | No.432 Sqn RCAF Leaside Saeviter ad lucem - Ferociously toward the light |
