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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Aircraft More Aircraft Initials K to M  Lysander |
[UP] - Kate - Ki44 - Ki64 Hein - Kittyhawk - La-7 - Lagg-5 - Lysander - Macchi 200 - Macchi C.202 - Manchester - Marauder - Maryland - Master - Mavis - MB210 - Me110 - Me163 - Me410 - Meteor - MiG3 - Mistel - Mitchell - Mohawk - Mustang (RAF) |
| Lysander Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Loire Rendezvous by Philip West. Lysanders of 161 Special Operations Squadron turn onto their final course to a clandestine landing field somewhere in central occupied France during a full moon period in 1943. Based at Tempsford, Bedfordshire and often operating from Tangmere to shorten the flight, the pilots flew a dead reckoning course to their first turning point, usually on the River Loire, using rudimentary navigating equipment. The moonlit town of Blois is easily distinguishable by its chateau, churches and bridge with the Forest of Chambord beyond. The agents in the rear cockpit prepare themselves by torchlight for the forthcoming landing. |
Black Lizzie by Ivan Berryman. Entering service with the RAF in June 1938, the Westland Lysander was to prove invaluable in its role of transporting SOE agents on clandestine missions during World War II. 1,652 Lysanders were built and they were the first British aircraft to be based in France at the outbreak of the war and the last to see action there during the evacuation of Dunkirk. The example shown is of 161 Sqn based at Tempsford. |
Stealth 1944 by Steve Gibbs. Little attention is given to the role played by agents and resistance workers in the success of the D-Day landings. Inspired by the stories of one such agent, this picture depicts him being lifted from a field near Paris in May 1944 and returned to England. The Lysander will fly at tree-top level all the way home and eventually land at Tempsford in Bedfordshire, England. After a thorough briefing the Lysander will return to occupied France to co-ordinate sabotage against the transport network and disruption of communications to hamper the enemy efforts to bring reinforcements against the landing grounds and beaches. |
Moonlight by Gerald Coulson. Flying secret agents in and out of occupied France, transporting arms and radio equipment to the Resistance, and collecting downed airmen from behind enemy lines, was one of the most hazardous flying operations of World War II. These cloak and dagger sorties, always conducted at night by the light of the moon, required a cool head and inordinate flying and navigational skills - a duty performed courageously by the pilots of RAF Special Duty Squadrons. Due to their clandestine nature, the true magnitude of their operations only became fully appreciated when the war was over. |
A Westland Lysander by Stanley Gleed. No text for this item |
They Landed by Moonlight by Robert Taylor. To fly a small aircraft at the dead of night, without radio communication or navigational assistance, deep into enemy-occupied territory, was an extremely perilous task. To then land on an unlit remote field, deliver secret agents, collect Resistance leaders, or downed airmen and fly them home without attracting the attentions of enemy night fighters, was appallingly risky work. Yet throughout World War II the prime function of the pilots of the RAFs Special Duties Squadrons was to fly time and again into occupied France, in utmost secrecy, under the cover of darkness. It was acutely dangerous work requiring inordinate flying and navigational skills, and supreme courage. Most suited to these clandestine operations was the rugged Westland Lysander, operations being conducted, weather permitting, during the moons fullest phase. Guided only by torch light, the pilot made a hazardous night landing into an isolated field at a pre-arranged time, trusting that agents on the ground had checked the field for cart tracks and loitering Gestapo. Every mission required ice cool bravery and nerves of steel. |
Lysander Pick Up by Graeme Lothian. A Lysander of 161 Squadron from RAF Tempsford banks to port as it circles a field somewhere in France 1943. These missions only took place on or around the full moon period to pick up or drop off SOE agents with the help of the Resistance. 161 Squadron, the most secret of all RAF squadrons, had in its flight, Lysanders, Hudsons, and Halifaxes which carried out parachute operations. Two of 161s top pilots Hugh Verity and Lewis Hodges both received the DSO & bar and DFC & bar, and from France the Legion dHonneur and the Croix de Guerre. |
Only the Brave by Philip West. A Lysander prepares to leave its base on yet another dangerous and secret mission to drop agents into occupied France during WWII. Agents and Pilots alike, took great personal risk during these operations. Pilots having to navigate by map, timing and sight, find and land in fields in the dead of night. Agents having to slip away into the countryside, constantly aware that the enemy could discover them at any moment. They were the bravest of the brave. |
| Lysander Pilot and aircrew signature details |
Flying Officer (Acting Flt/Lt) Bill Anderson Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flying Officer (Acting Flt/Lt) Bill Anderson Flying Officer (Acting Flt/Lt) Bill Anderson flew with 16 Sqn from 1943 until the war was over. He trained in Georgia, USA, before becoming attached to 16 Sqn at Benson, flying missions over France and Germany. Bill flew many different types of aircraft beginning with a PT17 Stearman in the USA; others include Tiger Moths, Typhoons, Tempest, Harvards, Lysanders, Hurricanes and Oxfords. |
Captain Murray Anderson DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £20 Died : 2016 | Captain Murray Anderson DFC* Commissioned in the Royal Tank Regiment from RMA Woolwich in 1939, Murray Anderson was seconded to the Royal Air Force in 1940. He flew Spitfires with No.1 Photo Reconnaissance Unit at RAF Benson until 1943. He then joined 161 (Special Duties) Squadron flying Lysanders, and was the most successful pick up pilot for the whole of that year even though in May 1944 he was posted to 65 Squadron 2nd Tactical Air Force, flying Mustangs. After a rest period he was posted to 52 Sqn at Dum Dum in May 1945. Murray Anderson died in April 2016. |
Flight Lieutenant Peter Arkell Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2010 | Flight Lieutenant Peter Arkell For his first tour Peter flew Mustangs and Spitfires with 26 Squadron on intruder and low lever photographic sorties over France, before joining 161 Squadron as Tempsford in 1944, flying Lysanders into occupied Europe. He then accompanied the Lysanders to Burma where he flew 35 successful but hazardous missions supplying Force 136 behind the Japanese lines. He was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 1997 for his work as chairman of the Anglo-American community relations committee at RAF Fairford. Peter Arkell passed away on 27th August 2010. |
  Air Marshall Sir Alfred (Freddy) Ball, KCB DSO DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Air Marshall Sir Alfred (Freddy) Ball, KCB DSO DFC Air Marshall Sir Alfred (Freddy) Ball, KCB DSO DFC attended RAF College, Cranwell in 1939 and joined 13 Squadron in France in March 1940 on Lysanders (Army Co-operation). He joined No 1 PRU Benson early in 1941 on Spitfires. He commanded 4 PRU (later 682 Sqdn) as Squadron Leader in October 1942 and flew out to North Africa for Operation Torch, the Allied landings, flying Spitfires. He was posted to the UK as CF1, 8PR, OTU Dyce, Aberdeen in September 1943 and took over 542 Sqdn Benson in March 1944 (PR Spitfire Mk XIs and Mk XIXs). In September he was promoted to Wing Commander and given command of No 540 Squadron flying Mosquito 16s and 32s. The Squadron moved to France early in 1945 to support the Allied armies. In December, Freddy was posted to Egypt to take command of No 680 PR Sqdn (later to become 13 Sqdn), flying Mosquitoes and Spitfires. He was posted to Staff AHQ East Africa in 1946 and retired from the RAF in April 1979. |
  Wing Commander Paddy Barthropp DFC AFC Our estimated value of this signature : £60 Died : 2008 | Wing Commander Paddy Barthropp DFC AFC At the outbreak of war Paddy flew obsolete Hinds, Hectors and Lysanders in combat, but converted to Spitfires and joined 602 Squadron at Tangmere. During the Battle of Britain he flew with some of the great aces - Douglas Bader, Sailor Malan, and Bob Stanford Tuck. In 1941 he was a Flight Commander with 610 Squadron. Continuing to fly Spitfires, now with 122 Squadron based at Hornchurch, he flew fighter sweeps and escort missions. On 17th May 1942 he was shot down over St Omer. He baled out but was captured, spending the next three years as a POW. One of the RAFs best known and best loved characters, though the bane of certain senior officers, Paddy Barthropps RAF service spanned the period from bi-planes to supersonic jets. Joining the RAF in 1938, his first squadron was 613 flying Hinds, Hectors and Lysanders. In 1940 he was released to fly Spitfires with 602 Squadron where he shared in the destruction of two aircraft. He was posted to 610 Squadron, and then to 91 Squadron, shooting down two Bf 109s during summer 1941 and receiving the DFC. In August 1941 he returned to 610 Squadron as a flight commander. He was shot down three times, the third time being taken prisoner ofwar. He had by then brought his total to 9. Scraps in the air were accompanied by scrapes on the ground, and appearances in Magistrates Courts for disorderly conduct. Addicted to fast cars and lively ladies - and the sworn enemy of stuffed shirts everywhere - he was the irrepressible life and soul of any party, and a persistant thorn in the side of overweening authority as the Germans were to discover. The war over, he was posted to the Empire Test Pilots School where he flew over a hundred different types of plane in ten months. Soon, he was out in the Sudan and in serious trouble again - under arrest after taking a hippo to an upper-crust party. As a boy, he had been taught to ride by champion jockey Steve Donaghue and now, posted to Hong Kong, he rode winners on the track at Happy Valley, and seriously thought of turning professional. Then it was back to the U.K. to take up an appointment as a Fighter Station Commander, and to lead the Coronation fly-past over Buckingham Palace. He left the RAF to set up his own luxury car-hire firm. He died on 16th April 2008. A Clipped Signature is Available |
 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. |
Flight Lieutenant Bryan Colston Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Flight Lieutenant Bryan Colston Bryan Colston was born in Buckinghamshire on 27 May 1921 and was educated at St Pauls School. He joined the RAFVR in 1940, training on Tiger Moths, Oxfords and Lysanders, becoming a fighter reconnaissance pilot with 225 Squadron in 1941. He served with 225 Sqn until July 1943 and became a Flight Commander in 1942. He flew Lysanders, Tomahawks, Hurricanes, Mustangs and Spitfires serving throughout the Tunisian campaign and flying over a hundred operational sorties. He contracted typhoid fever at the end of the campaign and was invalided back to the UK, where, after periods of instructing at 61 OTU and some staff appointments, he commanded 695 Squadron flying Spitfire XVIs. |
Donald Dunstan Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Donald Dunstan Trained as Flight Mechanic working on Fairy Battles then transferred to 103 Squadron, Bomber Command on Wellingtons. After a Fitter 2E course he joined 161 Squadron at Tempsford with their Lysanders. During the 'Moon Period' often working at Tangmere. He serviced the aircraft of Wing Commanders Pickard and Hodges. |
Wing Commander Edward (Tim) Fairhurst DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £15 Died : 2009 | Wing Commander Edward (Tim) Fairhurst DFC Wing Commander Edward (Tim) Fairhurst DFC was born on April 14th 1918 at Mirfield in Yorkshire and educated at Shrewsbury School. He joined the Territorial Army in 1936 and was commissioned into the 7th West Yorkshire Regiment. With little activity after the outbreak of war, he responded to a request for Army officers to transfer to the RAF to train as pilots. He completed his flying training in November 1940 when he was posted to No 4 Squadron, flying the Lysander. In October 1941 he was posted to D Flight No1 PRU (Spitfires), which later became No 541 Squadron. In September 1942 he flew to Russia as OC PRU detachment and operated there with red star markings in place of RAF roundels. He was promoted to Sqd Ldr, converted to Mosquitoes and posted across the airfield as OC A Flight 544 Sqdn. Fairhurst went to America to brief the USAAF on photographic operations before returning to the UK. In September 1944 he was posted back to 541 Sqn (Spitfires) as CO and remained there until the end of the war. By the end of the war he had flown 88 long-range photographic sorties. He was twice mentioned in despatches, was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre avec Palme and received the Territorial Decoration. After two years as a civilian, Wing Commander Edward (Tim) Fairhurst rejoined the RAF in May 1947 and flew Spitfires in Malaya before going to Hong Kong. Following a period selecting men for officer and aircrew training, he spent the final two years of his service as the permanent president of a court martial standing board. He retired in 1965, when he became a civil servant and worked for the MoD as a positive vetting officer. In old age he was invited to the Russian embassy to be presented with the Arctic Star. Tim Fairhurst died on April 25th 2009 aged 91. |
Air Chief Marshal Christopher Foxley-Norris Our estimated value of this signature : £65 Died : 2003 | Air Chief Marshal Christopher Foxley-Norris Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris, (DSO 1945; OBE 1956; CB 1966, KCB 1969, GCB 1973 ) was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire 16 March 1917. Initially wanting to become a barrister, Foxley-Norris read Law at Trinity College, Oxford, but after he had learned to fly with the University Air Squadron his academic career was cut short by the outbreak of the Second World War, and in early 1940 he was piloting Lysanders with 13 Squadron in France. Then, having participated in the Battle of Britian, Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris trained as a flying instructor and applied his newly acquired skills in Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme. Christopher Foxley-Norris was posted to the Middle East where he first teamed up with Pat Tuhill, initially on Beaufighters. Returning to Europe in 1943, he flew Beaufighters on anti-shipping operations over the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Foxley-Norris took command of 143 Squadron flying Mosquito IIs and VIs as part of the Banff Strike Wing, led by Max Aitken, for attacks on enemy shipping off Norway. Hazardous operations against heavily defended ships, using rockets and cannon, were made even more dangerous by the weather and fjords which the Mosquitos often had to negotiate below cliff height. Christopher Foxley-Norris went on to a distinguished career in the post-war RAF. His experience was now broadened with a variety of staff and command appointments, including a spell on the Directing Staff at Bracknell and command of the Oxford University Air Squadron and in 1953 his staff skills were recognised when he took over the air planning in Singapore at the height of the Malayan Emergency. Back home in 1956, Foxley- Norris found himself commanding a fighter station, Stradishall, at the time of the Sandys cuts in Fighter Command and in 1963 he served in the recently formed Defence Staff under Earl Mountbatten of Burma, where he gained invaluable experience of Nato and Commonwealth affairs. He was thus an excellent choice to return to Singapore to command 224 Group during the confrontation with Indonesia in 1964. There he commanded a miniature air force of some 300 aircraft in a joint-service campaign where air mobility was the key; this highly cost-effective exercise, as he called it, contributed much to the subsequent stability of South East Asia. Director-General, RAF Organisation, Ministry of Defence 1967-68, Chief of Personnel and Logistics 1971-74; Commander-in-Chief, RAF Germany and Commander, Nato 2nd Tactical Air Force 1968-70; Chairman, Cheshire Foundation (later Leonard Cheshire) 1974-82 (Emeritus), President 2001-03; Chairman, Battle of Britain Fighter Association 1978-2003. Sadly Air Chief Marshal Christopher Foxley-Norris passed away on 28th September 2003. |
  P/O Peter Harding Our estimated value of this signature : £20 Died : 2006 | P/O Peter Harding P/O Peter Harding joined the University of London Air Squadron in 1937, Flying Tutors, Harts and Hinds. He received a VR commission in June 1939 and was prohibited from joining up. In his reserved occupation as metallurgical student at the Royal School of Mines he failed his exam in 1940 and then wrote to the Air Ministry saying 'failed exam - call me up'. By return post he was told 'get medical, get uniform'. He was put through his training period and passed out in Lysander in 227 Squadron. He was converted to Spitfires by Wg Cdr Tuttle and then to 3 PRU Oakington and later to Benson. During his 23rd op his enginestopped over Wilhelmhaven and he had to bail out. He was a PoW from August 1941 to May 1945. After his discharge VJ + 1, he returned to his studies. We have learned that Peter Harding passed away on 24th January 2006, aged 86. |
  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. |
  Flight Lieutenant R G (Bob) Large, DFC, Legion d Honneur Our estimated value of this signature : £25 Died : 2015 | Flight Lieutenant R G (Bob) Large, DFC, Legion d Honneur Learned to fly in Scotland in 1940 and in 1941 joined 616 Squadron as part of the Tangmere Wing, commanded by the famous legless pilot Wing Commander Douglas Bader. The Squadron flew Fighter and Bomber sweeps over Northern France. The remains of Bobs Spitfire lie at the bottom of the sea ten miles off Hythe (where he now lives) after being bounced by eighty plus ME 109Gs over the English Channel. Having learned of the activities of 161 SD Squadron he was interviewed by the CO, Wing Commander Lewis Hodges, and joined the Lysander Flight. He then flew many important missions into occupied France in single, double and a memorable treble pickup when his excuse for being late at the rendezvous was that he had had a haircut in the firms time because it grew in the firms time! After D-Day he returned to Fighter Command and later flew Meteors. (Bobs dog, Patrick, became the first dog in the Allied Forces to fly in a jet which took place in a Meteor 3 on 11th May 1946 and is now recorded in the Guinness Book of Records!) We have learned that Bob Large died on 29th December 2015. |
Mr. F Lowe, DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £10 | Mr. F Lowe, DFM Joined the RAFVR in 1938 and started flying training at Kidlington. He was posted to 16 OTU, Upper Heyford in July 1940 where he completed a course on Ansons and Hampdens. Later he retrained as a staff pilot until he was posted to CTS Finningsley in November 1940, before transferring to 49 Sqdn. Scampton in December 1940. He flew a tour of 30 bombing and minelaying operations on Hampdens before returning to 16 OTU, Upper Heyford in July 1941 as instructor on Ansons and Hampdens and then as staff pilot on Air Firing Training Flights, using Hampdens, Lysanders and Wellington aircraft. On 28 July 1942, he was detailed to captain a Wellington on a thousand bomber raid on Hamburg, with a pupil crew. Although recalled due to bad weather, the trainee WOP failed to receive the signal and the aircraft was shot down by an Me110. Three crew were killed and three bailed out including the second pilot who was later one of the 50 shot after the Great Escape from Stalag Luft 3. Chatting to his twin brother (a Spitfire PRU Pilot) after the end of the war they discovered that he had taken a photograph of a Prisoner of War camp near Bremen, where he was held near to the end of the war. At that time, of course, he had no idea that he was a prisoner in the very same camp! Frank returned to the UK in May 1945 and subsequently was demobbed in January 1946. |
Flt. Lt. Michael Penny Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Flt. Lt. Michael Penny His war service began in October 1940 at I.TW. Newquay. On completion of his training he was posted to No. 24 E. F.T.S. Luton. After 11 hours dual flying he first flew solo in a Miles Magister. After forty hours instruction he was posted to No. 9 S.F.T.S. Hullavington for advanced flying on Miles Masters and Hurricanes. On completing this course he was presented with his 'Wings', having now flown 62 hours. His next posting was to No. 60 O.T.U. at East Fortune where he converted to B & P Defiants. 'The Defiant was a very unpleasant aircraft to fly, very heavy and I did not like the idea of becoming a night fighter in this aircraft' said Michael. He was then posted to No. 153 Squadron in Northern Ireland; after only a few days the Squadron was disbanded and he was given a chance to convert to Beaufighters or stay on 'singles'. Michael requested training for Spitfires but was informed that there were no vacancies at that moment in time. He then asked if he could fly Lysanders being used to tow drogues. His request was granted and he flew Lysanders until January 1943 when his posting came through to 58 O.T.U. Grangemouth. He completed 50 hours on Spitfires and was posted to 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron 124 Airfield, Lasham. Michael recalls, 'Although we were operational, we were now in 2 nd T. A. F. and most of our flying was done in cooperation with the Army and Tank Cor. This involved continual very low flying and demanded very strict air flying discipline - this held me in good stead as time went on'. In May 1943 the Squadron moved to 121 Airfield Fairlop where he flew his first operation over occupied Europe on a fighter sweep over Rouen, followed by an escort op. with Ventura bombers to Zeebruger; this was his first experience of enemy antiaircraft fire. Various escort and fighter sweeps followed. There followed a series of moves to various airfields in Sussex and Kent. In early 1944 the Squadron, then stationed at Ford, had bombs fitted to our aircraft for dropping on V1 launch sites. 'We began our dive at about 10,000 feet and released our bomb at 5000 feet - a most unpleasant experience. This brought us into range from all kinds of anti-aircraft fire, but fortunately we suffered very few direct hits,' Michael recalls. After completing over 120 operations Michael was posted 'tour expired' by the Air Comm. and went on to become a Spitfire flying instructor. He was demobilised in November 1945. |
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. |
  Group Captain Hugh Verity DSO* DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £35 Died : 2001 | Group Captain Hugh Verity DSO* DFC Learning to fly in the Oxford University Air Squadron in 1938, Hugh Verity flew Beaufighters in Coastal Command and night fighter squadrons before volunteering to join 161 (Special Duties) Sqn. In 1943 he commanded this squadrons Lysander flight and became the Squadron Commander. On his 29 successful pick ups, of which 24 were in Lysanders, he brought back to England a total of 93 people from the meadows of occupied France, lit only by pocket torches. He died in 2001. A Clipped Signature is Available |
Warrant Officer Peter Wall Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Warrant Officer Peter Wall Joined the RAF at the Air Crew Reception Centre at Lords Cricket Ground, London in 1941 and after Initial Training Wing at Clare College, Cambridge, found himself en route to the USA to take part in the 'Arnold Scherne', being trained to be a pilot by the South East Army Air Corps in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. After 200 hours of training Peter graduated at a ceremony where he was given the silver wings normally awarded to the American cadets - the RAF wings came later out of a cardboard box! On return to the UK and after six weeks at the Advanced Flying Unit at Bodney, Norfolk, he was posted to the target towing at 61 OTU, Rednal and West Felton, flying Westland Lysanders and Miles Martinets, towing drogues for the Spitfire pilots to shoot at. After six months he joined a Spitfire course and after completion Peter was sent to Hawkinge, Kent to join No 41 Sqdn who were flying a new Spitfire, the Mark 12 with the Griffon engine developing nearly 2000 horsepower. The task there was to protect the bombers returning from raids in Northern France. From there the Sqdn was sent to Beachy Head to deal with the 'hit and run' raiders attacking Eastbourne and other South Coast towns. Up until then it had been forbidden to take the aircraft over to the continent but the policy changed and the Sqdn joined up with 91 Sqdn to form a Wing acting as escort cover to the bombers trying to destroy the V1 and V2 sites. Returning from one of these operations he had an accident on landing and was sent to Training Command as an Instructor! After converting to the twin engine Oxford he taught trainees at Southrop Advanced Flying Unit for a further six months when he was selected to be an instructor at Luisgate Bottom teaching ex-operational Bomber pilots to be OTU instructors. Whilst there, he gained an A2 instructing category. As not so many instructors were then required the Unit was closed down and he then went to Church Lawford where he taught Naval Officers to fly on Harvards without any preliminary training on simpler aircraft quite successfully! |
Wing Commander Ken Wallis Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2013 | Wing Commander Ken Wallis Kenneth Horatio Wallis was born on April 26 1916 at Ely, Cambridgeshire, where his father ran a cycle and motorcycle shop, and was educated at The Kings School. Kenneth had limited vision in his right eye and as a child wore an eye patch and in 1936 this defect led to his rejection by the RAF. Undeterred, he paid £14 to obtain a private flying licence which required only a certificate signed by his GP, obtaining the licence after just 12 hours flying a Gypsy Moth. Having failed another test for the RAF in 1938, when he tried again after the outbreak of war Wallis decided to cheat. While the doctors back was turned, he sneaked a look with his good eye at the bottom line of letters on the test chart and passed. After flying Westland Lysander patrols with No 268 Squadron, in 1941 Wallis transferred to Bomber Command, flying Wellingtons with No 103 Squadron, based at RAF Elsham Wolds in north Lincolnshire, attacking heavily defended targets in the Ruhr. Though he survived 28 missions over cities in Germany he gained something of a reputation for being accident prone, earning the nickname Crasher. Returning from Frankfurt in September 1941, Wallis found his airfield blanketed by fog. He made a number of abortive attempts to land but, with his fuel tanks almost dry, he climbed to allow his crew to bail out. After they had done so, his parachute snagged on his seat - he finally got clear at very low level, and his parachute opened only seconds before he hit the ground. After a tour as a bombing instructor, Wallis left for Italy and flew bombing operations with No 37 Squadron. Having survived another crash when his aircraft was struck by lightning, he applied to fly Mosquito bombers at night - a mistake, as it meant that his night vision was tested. All hell let loose - You have been flying with a bomber crew and you cant see properly! he recalled being told. But the RAF ophthalmologist was more positive. He said, Wallis, I would rather have a man with a bit of fire in his belly who wants to fly than some of the perfect specimens I get here who do not. Wallis remained in the post-war RAF and specialised as an armament officer, among other things solving the problems of loading bombs efficiently on to the RAFs first jet bomber, the Canberra, and testing the Mach 2 – later known as the Lightning. During a two-year posting to the USAFs Strategic Air Command armament and electronics division in the 1950s, he flew B-36s laden with nuclear bombs over the North Pole and participated in powerboat races in vessels that he made from redundant parts, winning the 56-mile Missouri Marathon. He also set about building his first autogyro. He returned to Britain to be the Command Armament Officer at Fighter Command. Wallis demonstrated his autogyros at numerous RAF air shows before leaving the RAF in 1964 in the rank of wing commander. He moved to Norfolk, hoping that he would be able to put them into commercial production for reconnaissance, research and development, surveillance and military purposes. But it never happened. Instead, during the 1970s, he worked with a company that pioneered a type of multi-spectral aerial photography that could detect where bodies were buried, as a result of which he was called in to help in several high-profile missing-person searches. He also flew an autogyro at 18,976ft without oxygen; became the oldest pilot to set a world record when, aged 81, he accidentally achieved the fastest climb to 3,000ft, in seven minutes 20 seconds; and he set a world speed record for an autogyro of 129.1mph at the age of 89. kenneth Wallis never found a commercial manufacturer for his autogyros, although he was delighted when the James Bond film producer Cubby Broccoli recognised its dramatic potential: Wallis and his autogyro, Little Nellie, were duly dispatched to the set of You Only Live Twice, where Wallis stood in for Sean Connery in a famous sequence in which Bond, in a rocket-firing autogyro, fights baddies in orthodox helicopters, zipping around an active volcano - Wallis received many national and international awards, was appointed MBE in 1996. Wing Commander Kenneth Wallis, born April 26 1916, died September 1 2013. |
Flight Lieutenant John Frederick Wickins DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £55 Died : 2006 | Flight Lieutenant John Frederick Wickins DFC Nos44, 106 and 241 Squadrons. RAFVR 1939. Trained as AG 26/8/40. Qualified 26/9/40. Rank-Sgt. Posted to 241 Squadron Army Co - op Nov. 1940. Apr 1941 - 241 Sqd -Joined the Fifth Army Division at Bury St Edmunds - Lysanders were thcaircraft. Oct 1941 Commissioned and posted to Scampton -Waddington 44 squadron. No Ops but one flightvdth S/L/ NettletonV.C. W/C LeroydV.C. was Flight Commander. April 1942 posted to Coningsby 106 Squadron and joined W/C Gibson's crew as Rear Gunner and started my Ops tour. Started in Manchesters then Lancasters completed 24 ops trips with W/C (Gibson) which was more than anyone else. Then went on my pilots course. Aircraft flown: Tiger Moth - Solo in Shrs. 10mins. Canada Curnell - Solo. Anson 11 - Solo. 25 Aug 1944. Passed above average and got wings, UK 1945 - Oxford. UK 1945 Nov - then posted to Farnborough Experimental & Research Dept re Gurinery. Operational record, date. target, pilot, comment. 22/4/42, Baltic, W/C Gibson, Mine Laying. 23/4/42, Rustock, S/LNelms, Mine Laying. 23/4/42, Rustock, W/C Gibson, Mine Laying. 8/5/42, WarDemunde, W/C Gibson. 30/5/42, Cologne, S/L Wooldridge, first 1000 +raid. 1/6/42, Essen, S/L Wooldridge, 1000 +raid. 2516/42, Bremen, 1000 + raid. 29/6/42, Bremen, S/LWooldridge, 1000 + raid. 8/7/42, Wilemishaven, W/C Gibson. 1117/42, Danzig, W/C Gibson, Daylight 10.15 hrs. 18/7/42, Essen, W/CGibson, Recalled. 26/7/42, Hamburg, W/C Gibson. 29/7/42, Dusseldorf, W1C Gibson. 27/8/42, Gdynia, W/C Gibson, Graf Zeppelin - Sub Docks 9.50 hrs. 1/9/42, Saarbucken, WIC Gibson, First 8000 Ibs bombs on Germany. 13/9/42, Bremen, WICGIbson. 1919/42, Munich. P/O1Butterworth. 23/9142, Wismar, W/CGibson, DorrilerWorks. 5110/42, Aachen, P/01,Vellington. 15/10/42, Cologne, WICGibson. 17/10/42, LeCreusot, W/CGibson, Daylight 94 A/C 10.25 hrs target Montchanin Power Station. 22/10/42, Genoa, W/C Gibson, Largest on Italy at that time 9.30 hrs 8000 Ibs bomb. 24/10/42, Milan, W/C Gibson, Daylight 10.25 hrs. 7/11142, Genoa, W/C Gibson. 18/11142, Turin, W/C Gibson, Flat works. 20/11/42, Turin, P/0 Cooper, Lost an engine. 28/11/42, Turin, W/C Gibson, 8000 Ibs first ever Italy. 11/11/42, Essen, W/C Gibson. 18/1/43, Berlin, W/C Gibson, lst 8000 Ibs bomb Berlin took Major Dimbelby (BBC News). 14/2/43, Milan, W/C Gibson. 25/2/43, Nurenberg, W/C Gibson, 8000 Ibs bomb. 26/2/43, W/C Gibson. 28/2/43, St.Nazarle, F/Lt Shannon (Dam Buster. Sadly he passed away on the 20th of November 2006. |
| Lysander Squadron details |
No.116 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 21st August 1958 Known Codes : , II, | No.116 Sqn RAF Precision in defence |
No.13 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , AN, OO, | No.13 Sqn RAF Adjuvamus tuendo - We assist by watching |
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.16 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , EE, EG, KJ, UG, | No.16 Sqn RAF Operta aperta - Hidden things are revealed |
No.161 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 2nd June 1945 Known Codes : , MA, JR, | No.161 Sqn RAF Liberate |
No.2 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , KA, KO, OI, XV, | No.2 Sqn RAF Hereward - Guardian of the Army |
No.20 Sqn RAF Country : UK As a result of 2010 defence cuts, 20 Squadron disbanded on 31 March 2010, with its tasks taken over by the retitled 4 (Reserve) Squadron. Known Codes : , HN, 6D, PM, TH, | No.20 Sqn RAF Facta non verba - Deeds not words |
No.208 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , GA, RG, | No.208 Sqn RAF Vigilant |
No.225 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st November 1965 Known Codes : , WU, LX, | No.225 Sqn RAF We guide the sword |
No.227 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 5th September 1945 Known Codes : , 9J, | No.227 Sqn RAF |
No.231 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 15th January 1946 Known Codes : , VM, | No.231 Sqn RAF |
No.239 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st July 1945 Known Codes : , HB, | No.239 Sqn RAF Exploramus - We seek out |
No.241 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 14th August 1945 Known Codes : , HC, RZ, | No.241 Sqn RAF Find and forewarn |
No.26 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st April 1976 Known Codes : , XC, HL, RM, | No.26 Sqn RAF N Wagter in die Lug - A guard in the sky |
No.267 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 30th June 1970 Known Codes : , KW, | No.267 Sqn RAF Sine mora - Without delay |
No.268 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 31st March 1946 Known Codes : , NM, | No.268 Sqn RAF Adjidaumo - Tail in the air |
No.275 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st September 1959 Known Codes : , PV, | No.275 Sqn RAF Non interibunt - They shall not perish |
No.276 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 14th September 1945 Known Codes : , AQ, TQ, | No.276 Sqn RAF Retrieve |
No.277 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 15th February 1945 Known Codes : , BA, | No.277 Sqn RAF Quaerendo servamus - We save by seeking |
No.278 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 14th October 1945 Known Codes : , MV, MY, | No.278 Sqn RAF Ex mare ad referiendum - From out of the sea to strike again |
No.28 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , BF, US, | No.28 Sqn RAF Quicquid agas age - Whatwsoever you may do |
No.287 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 15th June 1946 Known Codes : , KZ, | No.287 Sqn RAF C'est en forgeant - Practice makes perfect |
No.309 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 6th January 1947 Known Codes : , WC, AR, ZR, | No.309 Sqn RAF Polish - Land of Czerwien Flew Mustangs from October 1944. |
No.4 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , FY, NC, TV, UP, | No.4 Sqn RAF In futurum videre - To see into the future |
No.400 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 7th August 1945 Known Codes : , SP, | No.400 Sqn RCAF Percussuri vigeles - On the watch to strike |
No.414 Sqn RCAF Country : Canada Disbanded 7th August 1945 Known Codes : , RU, | No.414 Sqn RCAF Imperial Totis viribus - With all our might |
No.613 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 10th March 1957 Known Codes : , QJ, Q3, RAT, SY, ZR, | No.613 Sqn RAF City of Manchester (Auxiliary) Semper parati - Always ready |
No.614 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 10th March 1957 Known Codes : , 7A, LJ, YX, | No.614 Sqn RAF County of Glamorgan Codaf I geislo - I rise and search |
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