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Robert Taylor Prints  Royal Air Force  Beaufighter |
[UP] - Spitfire - Hurricane - Mosquito - Typhoon - Lancaster - Stirling - Sunderland - Canberra - Hercules - Harrier |
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| Text for the above items : |
Strike and Strike Again by Robert Taylor. By the spring of 1945, Germanys once all-conquering submarine fleet, driven by allied forces from its bases in estern France, had fled to the relative safety of the Norwegian fjords - territory still remaining under German occupation since 1940. In one of Hitlers last stands, more than 100 U-Boats, merchant freighters, flakships, and other military vessels were hathered in the narrow fjords, laying up by day and sailing undercover of darkness. They were a menace that had to be dealt with. Tasked with the difficult job of eliminating this force were the Beaufighters and Mosquitos of RAF Coastal Commands Strike Wings based in Scotland. - Our job was to go after this shipping and sink it - recalled Wing Commader Colin Milson, C.O. of No. 455s Beaufighters. - The fjords were often just 200 - 300 yards across with cliffs rising vertically up 2000 feet, the deep water allowing the German shipping to get in beneath these high overhanging cliffs. This made for difficult and dangerous flying, exacerbated by the heavy flak and machine gun fire that always welcomed us. |
| Top Aces for : Beaufighter | ||
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name. | ||
| Name | Victories | Info |
| John Randall Daniel Bob Braham | 29.00 | |
| John Cunningham | 20.00 | The signature of John Cunningham features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| William Dennis David | 20.00 | The signature of William Dennis David features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Robert Carl Fumerton | 13.00 | The signature of Robert Carl Fumerton features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| James Douglas Lindsay | 7.00 | The signature of James Douglas Lindsay features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Ladislav Bobek | 5.00 | |
| Joseph Berry | 3.00 | |
| Beaufighter Pilot and aircrew signature details |
 Wing Commander Eric Barwell Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2007 | Wing Commander Eric Barwell Born in Suffolk in August 1913, Eric Barwell joined the RAFVR in 1938 to train as a pilot. He was commissioned into No.264 Sqn in February 1940, flying the Boulton-Paul Defiant. His squadron flew in support of the evacuation of Dunkirk, and he claimed two Me109s, two Ju87 Stukas and a Heinkel during this evacuation. However, in the combat with the Heinkel, his aircraft was damaged and he was forced to ditch, managing to put it down in the water between two British destroyers. He and his gunner were rescued by HMS Malcolm. On 24th August, while scrambling to intercept bombers, he and his wingman were attacked by five fighters, his wingman being immediately shot down. His gunner managed to shoot down one of the enemy fighters before the Defiant managed to escape, but it was clear that the aircraft was no match for the German fighters. They were withdrawn from combat and used in a night-time training role. Barwell was awarded the DFC for the six victories scored. In April 1941, he scored a night-time victory over a Heinkel, with a second also probable. He transferred to No.125 Sqn flying Beaufighters, claiming a Dornier damaged on 1st July 1942. By March 1943, No.125 Sqn were equipped with Mosquitoes. He shot down two Ju-88s in this aircraft, and also recorded his final victory, over a V-1 rocket. He was awarded the bar to his DFC and transferred to various experimental squadrons before leaving the RAF in September 1945. Sadly, Eric Barwell died on 12th December 2007. |
 Flight Lieutenant Benjamin Bent Our estimated value of this signature : £25 Died : 2013 | Flight Lieutenant Benjamin Bent Having joined the RAF in 1937, he flew with No.25 Sqn as a Radar and Wireless Operator on Blenheims on night fighter duties throughout the Battle of Britain, assisting in five successful interceptions on his first tour, all with S/Ldr. HP Pleasance. On the night of 4th-5th May 1941 they intercepted and damaged an unidentified enemy aircraft, on the 7-8th and 8-9th two Do17s were destroyed, on the 11th-12th an He111 was damaged and during the night of 13th-14th June a Ju88 was destroyed. Bent remustered as a Radio Observer on 10th July 1941. Tour expired, he was posted to 54 OTU Charter Hall on 29th April 1942 as an instructor. On 23rd July Bent was reclassified as a Navigator Radio and rejoined No.25 Squadron, then at Church Fenton, on 8th September 1942 for his second tour. He was commissioned from Warrant Officer in April 1943. On 21st March 21 1944 he assisted in destroying two Ju88s and at 00.43 hrs on 6th June a Me110 over the North Sea, possibly the first enemy aircraft shot down on D-Day. Awarded the DFC (gazetted 26th May 1944), Bent finished his tour in July and then served as Night Fighter Liaison Officer in France with a P-61 Black Widow squadron of the USAAF. Bent was released from the RAF on 2nd February 1947 as a Flight Lieutenant. In total he assisted in a total of eight victories. He died on 4th March 2013. |
  Flight Lieutenant Terry Clark Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2020 | Flight Lieutenant Terry Clark Terry Clark was born in Croyden on 11th April 1919. Terry Clark joined 615 RAuxAF in March 1938 in Kenley, as an Aircrafthand. Called up in 1939, he joined 615 Squadron, Auxiliary Air force, and flew as a gunner in Hawker Hectors before he qualified as an Air Gunner and also a Radio Observer. He joined No.219 Sqn at Catterick in July 1940 and flew on Beaufighters throughout the Battle of Britain. By September 1940, the conflict had reached its zenith and at night the feared Blitz began in earnest. More radar specialists were needed to deal with the threat so Mr Clark was sent to Beaufighters. He did not receive any training and still wore the AG brevet, but people began to ask why a plane without a gun turret had an air gunner on board, so he was given a badge that said RO. Eventually, in recognition of his new role, Mr Clark was awarded his third flying badge – N for Navigator. His job was to track enemy aircraft and guide the pilot towards the selected contact. It was while flying the Beaufighter that he was awarded the DFM on 8th July 1941 after assisting his pilot to down three aircraft at night. He joined 1455 Flight in 1941, forming at Tangmere with Turbinlite Havocs, then flew the same aircraft with 1451 Flight at Hunsdon, locating enemy aircraft by Radar in the Havoc for accompanying fighters to attack and destroy. Commissioned in May 1942 from Warrant Officer and in May 1943 he was posted to No.488 Sqn RNZAF. He died on 7th May 2020. |
 Flying Officer Harold Corbin CGM Our estimated value of this signature : £30 Died : 2017 | Flying Officer Harold Corbin CGM Harold Corbin joined the RAF in November 1940 and was sent to the United States to train as a pilot. On completion he returned to England as a Sergeant and after several positions was posted to 235 Squadron at RAF Portreath flying operations on Beaufighters. He completed many missions attacking various ports and enemy shipping on the French coast and in the Bay of Biscay. In 1944 he converted onto Mosquitos and joined 248 Squadron at RAF Banff, part of the Banff Strike Wing. The Banff Wing was to become immortalised for undertaking some of the most dangerous and concentrated attacks on German surface vessels and U-boats in the North Sea and on the Norwegian coastline. He was awarded the CGM in August 1944, and was given a full commission in December 1944. He had flown as co-pilot / observer with Maurice Webb from 1943 until the end of the war. |
  Air Vice Marshal Edward Crew CB DSO DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2002 | Air Vice Marshal Edward Crew CB DSO DFC Joining No 604 (County of Middlesex), an Auxiliary Air Force Squadron, in July 1940, Crew began to learn his trade as a night fighter pilot; among those with whom he flew at this time was John Cats' Eyes Cunningham, who himself became one of the most famous night fighter pilots of the war. It was a hard apprenticeship because Crew's Bristol Blenheim was equipped with early, and rudimentary, airborne radar, and much depended on the ability of his air gunner, Sgt Gus Guthrie, to adapt to his new calling as a radar operator. It was not until the following spring, when the squadron converted to two-engine Bristol Beaufighters, that the pair acquired a more suitable aircraft and sufficient expertise to dispatch five enemy bombers within a period of 10 weeks. This early run of success was speedily recognised with the award of the first of Crew's two DFCs. The citation stated: This officer is a pilot of outstanding ability who has shown tenacity of purpose to engage the enemy, which culminated in the destruction of two enemy aircraft in one night. Citations, by their very nature, are matter-of-fact, and do not capture the essence of their subjects. Others in the same squadron remembered Crew as a small, compact man who gave the impression of being larger than he was. He was seen as a patrician who hunted down his victims with a ferocity which was in marked contrast to his quietly spoken and always imperturbable manner. From the end of July 1941, Guthrie - Crew's eyes in combat - was posted away, and Crew was joined by Sgt Basil Duckett, with whom, in the spring of 1942, he achieved three further kills. Crew and Duckett made a brilliant team in which the radar operator's quiet persistence matched the pilot's natural hunting instincts. In early May 1942 Duckett enabled Crew to shoot down two Dornier 17 bombers on successive nights. Returning from the first of these encounters, over Portland in Dorset, Crew arrived back at base with the Dornier's trailing aerial wrapped around his Beaufighter's starboard propeller. Crew's second encounter developed into a long, drawn-out chase as he stalked the Dornier well out to sea off the Isle of Wight. As the enemy pilot twisted and turned to evade his pursuer, Crew refused to be shaken off, despite the fact that his guns were out of ammunition and Duckett was struggling to reload. Eventually, however, Crew's plane was able to deliver a burst which set the enemy bomber on fire and slowed it down as its gunner continued to return fire. At this point, the Beaufighter overshot the enemy aircraft, but Crew managed to keep it in view while Duckett again reloaded. Hunter and hunted continued to lose height until, at 2,000 ft, Crew saw the enemy crash into the sea, raising a plume of smoke and steam. Shortly afterwards Crew received a Bar to his DFC, the citation singling out his readiness to fly in all weather, his skill and ability in dealing with the enemy at night and his great example to the squadron. Edward Dixon Crew was born on December 24th 1917 at Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire. He was brought up by his step-father, Sir Kenneth Murchison, a Tory MP, and educated at Felsted School and Downing College, Cambridge, where, in 1939, he joined the University Air Squadron. Following a sustained period of night operations with 604 Squadron, he was rested from October 1942 while commander of the Radio Development Flight; in March the following year he returned to operations in No 85, a Mosquito night fighter squadron. In June 1943 Wing Commander Crew received command of No 96 Squadron, leading its Mosquitoes against night raiders until the summer of 1944; this was when Hitler launched his so-called 'revenge weapons' against London and the South of England. Chasing pilotless V-1s - or 'chuff bombs', as Crew liked to call them - was by no means tame target practice. On June 25th he was on the tail of a V-1, travelling at high speed, when the force of the explosion as he shot it down split open his own aircraft's nose. Crew held the Mosquito steady long enough for his radar navigator, Warrant Officer W R Croysdill, to bail out over land. Then, as the Mosquito became uncontrollable, Crew himself jumped, landing safely near Worthing, in Sussex. Completing his Second World War operational career when 96 Squadron was disbanded in 1945, Crew was awarded the DSO. The citation emphasised his great skill in devising tactics to meet the menace of the flying bombs. That year he received a permanent commission and attended the RAF Staff College, before being posted in 1948 to command No 45 Beaufighter Squadron in the Far East. Operational once again, Crew led his squadron effectively against Communist insurgents aiming to destabilise Malaya. Harassing the jungle-based enemy in 100 night attacks, he consistently drove the terrorists into the hands of the security forces, for which he received a Bar to his DSO. The Air Ministry stated that Crew had displayed an almost uncanny knack in locating the target and attacking it on the first run in. From 1952 Crew served in Canada, where he commanded an operational training unit and introduced the Avro Canada CF100 all-weather fighter. After two years there he returned to command the all-weather development squadron at the Central Flying Establishment, with particular emphasis on trials of the Javelin. Later he commanded RAF Bruggen in Germany, before returning to the Far East in charge of the air task force in Borneo from 1965; his role here was dealing with the Indonesian Confrontation of the mid-1960s. Subsequently Crew commanded the Central Reconnaissance Establishment; he also served at the Ministry of Defence as Director of Operations (air defence and overseas), and was Deputy Air Controller of National Air Traffic Services. He retired as an air vice-marshal in 1973, when he joined the planning inspectorate of the Department of the Environment. Serving there until 1987, Crew was appointed CB in 1973 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1972. Air Vice Marshal Edward Crew CB DSO DFC died on the 18th August 2002 at the age of 84. |
  Group Captain John Cunningham CBE DSO DFC AE DL FRAeS Our estimated value of this signature : £70 Died : 2002 | Group Captain John Cunningham CBE DSO DFC AE DL FRAeS John Cunningham joined the RAF in 1935 with 604 Squadron. At the outbreak of World War Two he was based at North Weald flying Blenheims on day escort and night fighter operations. In September 1940 he converted onto Beaufighters equipped with radar, the first aircraft that made night fighting really possible. In November he had the Squadrons first successful night combat. He took command of 604 Squadron in August 1941. After a period at HQ81 Group, he was posted on his second tour to command 85 Squadron equipped with Mosquitoes. In March 1944 with 19 night and 1 day victory he was posted to HQ11 Group to look after night operations. The most famous Allied night fighter Ace of WWII - 20 victories. He died 21st July 2002. Born in 1917, Group Captain John Cunningham was the top-scoring night fighter ace of the Royal Air Force. Cunningham joined the RAF in 1935 as a Pilot Officer. He learned to fly in the Avro 504N and was awarded his wings in 1936. While assigned to the Middlesex Squadron Auxiliary based at Hendon, Cunningham received instruction in the Hawker Hart prior to moving on the Hawker Demon. The Demon was a two-seat day and night fighter. Cunningharns squadron was mobilized in 1938 following the Czechoslovak crisis. His No. 604 unit was moved to North Weald. Later in 1938 his unit returned to Hendon and was reequipped with the more modern Blenheim 1 fighter. In August of 1939 the unit was again mobilized and returned to North Weald. The Squadron was primarily utilized to provide daylight air cover for convoys. Lacking radar the Blenheim was relatively useless as a night fighter. In September of 1940 the unit was moved to Middle Wallop and the first Bristol Beaufighters arrived. The Beatifighter had a modestly effective, although often unreliable radar. It was an excellent aircraft with reliable air-cooled engines and four 20mm cannons. Cunningham attained the units first night victory in the Beaufighter, and his tally rose steadily. He was promoted to Wing Commander of 604 Squadron in August of 1941. Cunningham completed his first combat tour of duty in mid-1942 with a total of 15 victories. He was then posted to H.Q. 81 Group, which was an operational training group under the Fighter Command. In January of 1943 Cunningham was transferred to command of No. 85 Squadron which was equipped with the Mosquito. With the higher speed of the Mosquito, Cunningham was successful at downing Fw-190s, something impossible in the slower Beaufighter. Cunningham completed his second tour in 1944 with a total of nineteen victories at night and one by day. He was promoted to Group Captain at that time, and was assigned to H.Q. 11 Group. Cunninghams radar operator Sqd. Ldr. Jimmy Rawnsley participated in most of Cunninghams victories. The 604 Squadron was disbanded in 1945, but in 1946 Cunningham was given the honor of reforming the Squadron at Hendon - flying the Spitfire. Cunningham left the RAF in 1946 and joined the De Havilland Aircraft Co. at Hatfield as its Chief Test Pilot. Cunningham had a long and distinguished career in the British aviation industry, retiring from British Aerospace in 1980. Cunningham was appointed OBE in 1951 and CBE in 1963. He was awarded the DSO in 1941 and Bars in 1942 and 1944; the DFC and Bar in 1941, also the Air Efficiency Award (AE). He also held the Soviet Order of Patriotic War 1st Class and the US Silver Star. Group Capt John Cunningham died at the age of 84 on the 21st July 2002. |
 Flight Lieutenant Des Curtis DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Flight Lieutenant Des Curtis DFC Originally a Wireless Operator / Gunner with No.235 Sqn on Beaufighters before converting to Mosquitos as a Navigator. He helped form 618 Sqn for ops against the Tirpitz, and then had success against U-boat pens om the French coast. In September 1944 he joined 248 Sqn Banff Strike Wing in Scotland. |
  Group Captain Dennis David CBE DFC AFC Our estimated value of this signature : £75 Died : 2000 | Group Captain Dennis David CBE DFC AFC Dennis David served with distinction in both the Battle of France and Battle of Britain. He regards the RAFs success in the former - during which he was credited with 11.5 victories - as crucial to victory in the Battle of Britain. He was a member of 87 Squadron at the outbreak of war and was posted to France in 1939 as part of the Air Component. When the Blitzkrieg began on 10th May 1940, he was a Flying Officer. He destroyed a Do17 and shared a He111 on the first day, and by the time the squadron withdrew to the United Kingdom late in the month he had brought his score to 11.5 and been awarded the DFC and Bar. He continued to fly during the Battle of Britain, destroying a Ju88 and a Bf109 on the 11th August, a Ju87, a Bf110 and another shared on the 15th and a Ju88 and Bf109 on the 25th. He shot down a He111 on 15th September and the following month was posted as a Flight Commander to 213 Squadron. On 19th October he destroyed a Ju88 to bring his score to 20 and in November was posted to 152 Squadron. In 1943, with the rank of Wing Commander, he was posted to the Middle East to command 89 Squadron on Beaufighters. In November he led the Squadron to Ceylon and early the following year was promoted again to Group Captai. He served in Burma until the end of the war, after which he remained in the RAF with the Rank of Wing Commander. He died 25th August 2000. |
Warrant Officer Les Doughty DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £20 | Warrant Officer Les Doughty DFM Joining the RAF in 1939 as a driver, Les Doughty was posted overseas to serve in Iraq. In 1941 he applied for, and was accepted, to be a pilot and went on to train in Rhodesia. In 1943 his first operational posting was to 248 Squadron flying Beaufighters from RAF Predannack, providing fighter escorts and coastal patrols, with combat strikes mostly against enemy shipping. He moved with 248 Squadron to RAF Portreath and converted to Mosquitos. In early 1944 whilst out on a strike mission, he attacked submarine U-155 whilst under heavy fire as it was entering the French harbour of Lorient. The submarine was put out of action for the duration of the war, and Les was awarded an immediate DFM. |
 Wing Commander Peter Dunning-White DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £25 Died : 2008 | Wing Commander Peter Dunning-White DFC Joining 601 Squadron in 1938, Peter Dunning-White was called up to full-time service in August 1939, being posted to 29 Squadron in May 1940, then a few weeks later to 145 Squadron at Westhampnett, flying Hurricanes. He was soon in action over the Channel, sharing in the destruction of an HeIll on 18 July. Transferring to 615 Squadron in March 1941, on 15 April his victory over an Me109 confirmed him as an Ace. In 1942 he was attached to 409 Squadron RCAF, and then to 255 Squadron on Beaufighters. He went to North West Africa with this squadron, being made Flight Commander in March 1943. In July 1944 he was posted to 100 Group, Bomber Command. Sadly, he died on 27th December 2008. |
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. |
Flight Lieutenant Herbert Bert Graham Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Flight Lieutenant Herbert Bert Graham Bert Graham joined the RAF in 1941 and was immediately posted to a pilot training station in Torquay, Devon. After passing his final exams he then went on to fly Tiger Moths, before being posted to RAF Brize Norton flying Oxfords. In 1942 Bert transferred to start flying with 143 Squadron on Blenheims, but quickly moved on to Beaufighters with the North Coates Strike Wing. For his second tour Bert was posted to Scotland flying Mosquitos, where, before the end of hostilities, he completed many port and shipping strikes over Norway and occupied Europe. |
 Flight Lieutenant Albert E Gregory DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2010 | Flight Lieutenant Albert E Gregory DFC Albert Gregory was born in Derby on 9th May 1917. Gregory joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in April 1939 as an Airman u/t Wop/Air Gunner. Called up on 1st September and posted to Aldegrove in October to commence Air Gunnery training in December 1939, Albert joined 141 Squadron at Grangemouth as an Air Gunner flying in Blenheims before the squadron converted to Defiants. He could not fly in the Defiant because he was too tall for the turret, so transferred to 219 squadron based at Catterick in May 1940 with whom he served throughout the Battle of Britain on Beaufighters. In September 1940 the introduction of Radar equipped Beaufighters meant Albert Gregory retrained as a Radio Observer and in March 1941 his aircraft accounted for the destruction of a He111. In May 1941, he went to no 2 Radio School at Yatesbury for a Wireless Operators course and passed out from this in September 1941. Albert then served with 23 Sqn in Boston IIIs on intruder patrols over occupied France, Belgium and Holland on bombing and strafing missions, before spending time with 275 and 278 (ASR) Squadrons. On 2nd April 1942 he damaged two Do 17s and in July 1942, Albert Gregory was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and was commissioned in August 1942. Albert later served with 278 (ASR) squadron and was released from the RAF in November 1945 with the rank of Flight Lieutenant. In July 1947 Albert Gregory rejoined the RAF and in February 1948 he was posted to 52 Squadron at Changi, Singapore. The squadron was engaged in Army support supply dropping and troop carrying in the anti-terrorist campaign in Malaya. In 1950 following his return to Britain, Albert became a signals instructor and retired from the RAF in May 1955. Sadly, he passed away on 12th November 2010. |
Wing Commander William Gregory DSO, DFC*, AFC, DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £30 Died : 2001 | Wing Commander William Gregory DSO, DFC*, AFC, DFM Radar Operator to Ace Bob Braham, flying Defiants, Beaufighters and Mosquitos, and contributing to 29 victories. Wing Commander Bill Sticks Gregory was Air Interception (AI) radar operator to the Second World War night fighter ace Wing Commander Bob Braham. William James Gregory, was born on November 23rd 1913 at Hartlepool, where he attended the Lister Sealy School. Before the war, he worked for his father as a plasterer, and was drummer in the Debroy Somers Band - earning the nickname Sticks. William James Gregory enlisted in the RAF soon after the outbreak of war, and in May 1940 was posted to No 29.Squadron as a wireless operator/air gunner. Subsequently, he was redesignated observer/radio operator and then radar operator. Before teaming up with Braham, Gregory had a nasty experience when he and his pilot were, as he noted in his logbook, scrambled to intercept Huns raiding Liverpool. They were about to shoot down a Do17 when their Beaufighter was hit in the starboard wing by friendly anti-aircraft fire. Having baled out at 16,000 feet, Gregory landed on the roof of Lime Street station - and as he climbed down to the ground rail passengers mistook him for a German airman and roughed him up. Flight Sergeant William Gregory joined Wing Commander Bob Braham when he stood in temporarily for Brahams usual radar operator, Gregorys superb radar skills helped Braham to destroy 29 German aircraft in the night skies over Britain and occupied Europe - a tally which was among the highest of any wartime RAF fighter pilot, flying by day or night. Their first combat took place in early July 1941. Flying in a twin-engine Bristol Beaufighter of No.29 Squadron over a moonlit Thames Estuary, Gregory called to Braham: Contact dead ahead and at 2,000 yards.As Braham went into a gentle dive to close the range and to get below a Ju 88 bomber, the enemy opened fire. When Gregory urged Braham to open up, Braham said calmly: No, not yet. We must get closer to make sure of him. Despite heavy fire from the Ju88, Braham continued to delay firing, until with three short bursts he sent the bomber blazing down into the Thames. Later that year, after a brief detachment in Scotland to assist No.141 Squadron convert from obsolescent Boulton Paul single-engine Defiants to Beaufighters, Braham and Gregory returned to No.29 at West Malling in Kent. Early in 1942, Gregory was commissioned a pilot officer - a promotion for which Braham had been pressing - and he and Braham were posted as instructors to No.51, a night fighter Operational Training Unit at Cranfield. Keen to return to operations, in early June the two men slipped away for an unofficial weekend visit to their old squadron, No.29, in Kent. During a night sortie, Gregory positioned Braham to attack a Do217 bomber. Braham soon set it alight, and it dived into the sea off Sandwich. Bad weather then caused them to divert to Manston, on the Kent coast. With fog rolling in from the sea, Braham overshot and crash-landed in a ploughed field. After the mishap at Manston, Gregory and Braham returned to No.29 Squadron where Braham became a flight commander. In December 1942 Braham, aged only 22, received command of No.141 Squadron at Ford on the south coast; Gregory, at 29 the old man of the team, stayed with him. One moonlit night, Gregory and most of the squadron aircrew were having a party at Worthing, on the Sussex coast, when they heard enemy aeroplanes overhead. Racing back to their airfield they took off in their waiting Beaufighter. Gregory brought the aircraft to within visual range of a Do 217 bomber, flying at 15,000 feet. There was an exchange of fire in which Braham, having rather enjoyed himself at the party, opened up at too long a range. Gregorys caustic comments quickly sobered Braham up, and in four long bursts he sent the Dornier diving ablaze into the sea. Early in 1943 the squadron moved west to Predannack, near the Lizard Point in Cornwall, mainly for night training. Visiting Fighter Command, Braham urged the use of AI night fighters in support of the bomber offensive over occupied Europe, in which heavy losses were being incurred. Although his proposal was not accepted at this stage, he won approval for moonlight attacks on rail and road traffic on the Brest peninsula. At the end of April 1943 Braham and Gregory led No.141 Squadron to Wittering, near Stamford, Lincolnshire. Their aircraft were now fitted with Serrate, a radar device which enabled Gregory and his fellow operators to home in on enemy fighter transmissions from a distance of up to 100 miles. This was an ideal aid in Gregorys new night-intruding role, and after he and Braham had exchanged their Beaufighter for a de Havilland Mosquito equipped with Serrate, the two men went into action in support of Sir Arthur Harriss bomber formations. One night, flying over Cologne, they were attacked by two enemy night fighters, one of which shot out their port engine, obliging them to make a perilous return back to base. Another night, supporting a raid over Mannheim, Gregory logged a hell of a dogfight. In a 25-minute battle, they destroyed one German aircraft - an Me 110 fighter - and drove off another. In March 1944, Gregory, by now highly experienced, joined the night operations staff at No 2 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force (2nd TAF) headquarters, where Braham had preceded him. Such was his and Brahams hunger for action that from time to time they would slip away from their desks to freelance on sorties over Europe with various Mosquito squadrons. On one daylight sortie, they destroyed an He 177 heavy bomber which was circling Chateaudun airfield in France at 1,000 feet. Caught in a stream of fire from their Mosquitos nose guns, the bomber, Gregory recalled, reared up like a wounded animal, winged over on its back and dived vertically into the ground. On May 12 1944, Gregory and Braham - truanting again from the operations room - had just taken part in the destruction of a Fw190 fighter off the Danish coast when an Me 109 fighter struck. Short of fuel, and further damaged by anti-aircraft fire, Braham coaxed the stricken aircraft towards home until he had to ditch 70 miles off the Norfolk coast, where they were rescued by two minesweepers. Shortly after that, the team broke up. Braham was shot down and ended the war as a prisoner; Gregory continued staff duties. While Braham accumulated three DSOs, three DFCs and an AFC in the course of his wartime service, Gregory was awarded a DSO, two DFCs, an AFC and a DFM. At the end of the war, Gregory accepted a permanent commission, specialising in navigation and fighter control. He received the Air Efficiency Award in 1946, and after commanding RAF Wartling, in East Sussex, retired in 1964. Thereafter, until final retirement, he worked as an estate agent at Eastbourne. He was a member of Cooden Beach golf club and, having retained his drumming skills, played with a local band. Later in life, so as to be near his daughter, he moved to Camberley, Surrey, where golf, bowls and darts - he was known as The Demon - brought him much enjoyment. Sadly Wing Commander Gregory passed away at the age of 87, on the 6th October 2001 |
  Group Captain Richard Haine OBE DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2008 | Group Captain Richard Haine OBE DFC Richard Dickie Haine was born in St Stephens in October 1916. In 1936, he qualified as an RAF pilot, and flew the Hawker Fury with No.25 Sqn, which re-equipped with Bristol Blenheims prior to the outbreak of war. In February 1940, he transferred to No.600 Sqn. Shortly afterwards, he piloted one of six Blenheims tasked with attacking an airfield where Ju52 transport aircraft and their cargo of paratroops were reported to be landing during the Blitzkrieg on Holland. During this action he was shot down and crash landed, escaping back to Britain on the destroyer HMS Hereward, the destroyer which evacuated Queen Wilhelmina and her government. He was awarded the DFC for his actions over Holland that day. On his return to England, he flew night patrols on Blenheims, Defiants and Beaufighters, but rarely intercepted any aircraft due to poor radar. In January 1944 he took the post of Commanding Officer of No.488 Sqn flying Mosquitoes. With this squadron he flew beachhead patrols on D-Day, and had victories over two Ju88s. He was appointed to No.302 Sqn in the Pacific but had yet to arrive when the Japanese surrendered. He continued his career in the RAF until his retirement. Sadly, Richard Haine died on 30th September 2008 |
  Flight Lieutenant Ray Harrington Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Flight Lieutenant Ray Harrington Ray joined the RAF in 1941, completing his training in South Africa. In January 1944 he was posted to 603 Squadron flying Beaufighters in North Africa. Here he teamed up with navigator, Warrant Officer A.E. 'Bert' Winwood, and from where they launched attacks across the Mediterranean into Crete, Greece and the Aegean Islands against shipping, harbour installations and enemy aircraft with much success. In December 1944 they were posted to 235 Squadron Coastal Command, part of the Banff Strike Wing, converting to Mosquitos. In April 1945 they were shot down following a strike in the Kattegat, but avoided capture and with the help of the Danish resistance made it home, where they continued to fly again from Banff. |
Flight Lieutenant Aubrey Hilly Hilliard Our estimated value of this signature : £45 | Flight Lieutenant Aubrey Hilly Hilliard 'Hilly' Hilliard trained as a pilot on Blenheims and Beaufighters, and in April 1943 was posted to 618 Squadron on Mosquitos, specially formed to carry Barnes Wallis's famous bouncing bomb. In August he transferred to the Mosquitos of the Banff Strike Wing. Whilst attacking and damaging a number of U-boats, one of which returned fire, damaging his aircraft. Forty years later 'Hilli' met the U-boat's capitan, Gunther Heinfich, and became good friends. |
 Squadron Leader Kenneth R Lusty Our estimated value of this signature : £20 Died : 2009 | Squadron Leader Kenneth R Lusty Kenneth Lusty joined the RAF as an Airman u/t Air Gunner on 4th September 1939. After call-up, he did his basic training at Padgate and then went to RAF Aldergrove on 30th December for a gunnery course. On 24th February 1940 Lusty joined 235 Squadron. As a Coastal Command Squadron, the need for WOp/AGs in the crews meant that Lusty was posted away on 14th May to 25 Squadron at North Weald. He served with the squadron throughout the Battle of Britain first flying Blenheims and then Beaufighters. He was nicknamed 'Lucky' after he survived an attack by a Ju88 with the only damage being a hole in his sleeve. Lusty retrained as a Radio Observer, was commissioned in May 1941 and on 16th July he joined 1453 Flight, newly-formed at Wittering and equipped with Turbinlite Havocs. On 1st August 1942 Lusty was rested. He returned to operations on 2nd April 1943, joining 410 (RCAF) Squadron at Drem operating Beaufighters. Lusty's pilot was posted to 406 (RCAF) Squadron at Predannack on 25th August and they went together but when the squadron became all-Canadian Lusty went to 264 Squadron at Fairwood Common on 9th October 1943. After completing his tour Lusty was sent to the Staff College on 5th July 1944. He was posted to 132 Squadron at Vavuyina, Ceylon on 28th November 1944 as Adjutant. He moved to BHQ Colombo on 23rd June 1945 as Senior Admin Officer. Lusty returned to the UK and was released from the RAF on 21st January 1946 as a Squadron Leader. He died on 18th September 2009. |
 Wing Commander Roger Morewood Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2014 | Wing Commander Roger Morewood An uncle suggested to Roger Morewood that he should join the RAF so Roger did at the age of 17. Roger said : I was going be a pilot, that was the only reason to join. Roger trained to fly in a Tiger Moth biplane before joining 56 Squadron - regarded within the RAF as an elite unit - flying open cockpit Gauntlet fighters. The squadron were then re-equipped with Gloster Gladiators - the last RAF biplane - then the Hawker Hurricanes that would join Spitfires in fighting off Hitlers Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. While serving with 56 Squadron Roger Morewood was assigned the dangerous role of long-range fighter sweeps over the coast of occupied France and Holland but left to help form 248 Sqn at Hendon with whom he served throughout the Battle of Britain flying Blenheims. Roger said: We had a few panic station alerts when we were scrambled. We wouldd be leaping into our aircraft with flying suits over our pyjamas as we tried to get into the air in a minute and a half. In July 1942 Morewood went to 9 OTU and later HQ Transport Command. After a long post-war career in the RAF he retired in 1957. Roger Morewood once said of his squadron: It was damned dodgy. We had a high loss rate on operations. And on one sortie - then aged 21 - he nearly met his maker : I flew across to Den Helder (Northern Holland) in a long-nosed Blenheim to look after this battleship at the entrance to the Zuiderzee. We flew round this thing and sure enough I saw some aircraft coming up. They were twin-engine bombers naturally - Messerschmitt 110s. That was a bit hairy. My two blokes (other pilots) shoved off in a hurry into a cloud, and there was me popping away until I ran out of ammunition. There was just me left. I realised there was no point chasing - I was not going to knock his wings off. So I started flying home. After making hardly any noise all flight the chap (navigator) in the back said you haveve got somebody on your tail now - you had better move swiftly. So I moved to left and right. We got a pretty hefty clobbering. His turret disappeared at the back. My poor navigator wore a tin hat and I dont blame him. He got a bullet half way through his armour. He was alright. I had a dreadful wound. If I shook my hand really hard I could get blood out of one finger. I was hit all over the place. We took dozens of bullets. The aircraft was ruined. That is all there was to it. We were still going home - even with the North Sea to go across. So I trundled off back and ditched the damn thing. Thank God it didnt blow up. We literally got away with it. It was the hairiest trip I ever did. On another occasion, Roger intercepted a German weather forecasting flying boat called Weary Willy : I was in a Beaufighter at this time. I flew upwind and had a shot at him downwind. Then all the guns jammed. So I pulled alongside him - not too close - and waved him good luck lad. Anyway he sank when he got back to Norway. That was that one finished. Flying from Shetland, his squadron attacked German shipping off Norway. Roger was rested and spent two years training new Beaufighter pilots but still managed to go on some operations, mainly attacking convoys off the coast of Holland. Roger Morewood said: job was to attack the flak ships, floating anti-aircraft batteries, so other Beaufighters could attack the cargo ships. It could be pretty hairy as 12 Beaufighters lined up to have a crack at the target. You wouldd see tracer shells from your mates plane whizzing over your head or underneath you. They were a bigger danger than the Germans Wing Commander Roger Morwood was posted to the Mediterranean where he contracted TB. He recalled: "In hospital, they treated you with whisky in milk and a pint of Guinness for breakfast, very primitive stuff." When the war ended and the RAF were scaled down, Roger continued to serve in various postings around the UK until 1947. after leaving the RAF Roger was recalled again as an instructor at the Central Flying School, but with the rank of flight lieutenant. He was posted to Edinburgh and then Glasgow University squadrons. finnaly leaving service in 1957. Wing Commander Roger Morewood notched up more than 5000 flying hours in 32 different types of aircraft. Roger Morewood died in early December 2014. |
 Flying Officer Maurice Webb DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2018 | Flying Officer Maurice Webb DFM Maurice joined the RAF in 1942, and trained as an observer/ wireless operator/ gunner. In October 1943 he was posted to 235 Squadron based at RAF Portreath, flying Beaufighters attacking shipping and harbour installations. In 1944 he converted to Mosquitos, and joined 248 Squadron, moving on to serve with the Banff Strike Wing until March 1945. He was awarded the DFM in August 1944, and then spent time flying in a RAF Walrus on Air Sea Rescue operations. He had flown with Harold Corbin as his co-pilot / observer from 1943 until the end of the war. |
  Colonel Richard Willsie Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2013 | Colonel Richard Willsie Joining up in 1942, Dick Willsie was posted to North Africa with the 414th Night Fighter Squadron, where he flew 31 missions on the Beaufighter. He transferred to the 96th Fighter Squadron, 82nd Fighter Group, flying the P38 Lightning on 82 day missions through to the end of hostilities in Europe. Willsie would go on to serve in both Korea and Vietnam, and Willsie became the commanding officer of the 602nd Air Commando Squadron and retired in 1974. Dick Willsie was born on the 6th of September 1920 in Michigan USA and joined the US Air force in 1942. Dick Willsie was posted to North Africa with the 414th Night-fighter Squadron, where he flew 31 missions on the Beaufighter. He transferred to the 96th FS, 82nd Fighter Group, flying the P38 Lightning on 82 day missions through to the end of hostilities in Europe. He notched up a large number of ground attack victories as well as three aerial victories in his P38 'Snake Eyes'. On one mission Captain Richard 'Dick' Willsie's P-38 was damaged by flak near Ploesti, Romania. Lieutenant Willsie felt the bullets tearing into his aircraft, the force of the hits actually making his feet bounce on the rudder pedals. He noticed oil leaking from the left engine, and then the engine lost oil pressure. Willsie immediately feathered the propeller, turning the blades edge on to present the least resistance to the wind, and headed for home, his right engine at full power. Then he noticed coolant streaming from his remaining good engine. Within minutes he would be without power. He immediately reported over the radio that he was going down. One of the many to hear his broadcast announcement was 19-year-old Richard T. 'Dick' Andrews, who flew with the same 82nd Fighter Group as Willsie. But unlike the more experienced Willsie, Andrews had less than 100 flying hours in the P-38. Pick a good field, radioed the youngster, and I will come in after you.It was a strange message; it made no sense. But Willsie had no time to wonder about it. His remaining engine was popping loudly, a fresh hit shattered his windscreen and bloodied his forehead, and a plowed field appeared ahead. As his wounded fighter barely made it over the final obstacle he planted his forehead firmly against the padded gun sight. That did not prevent his nose taking a beating as his plane skidded to a stop with its wheels retracted. Scrambling from the cockpit as quickly as possible, he - as per instructions - destroyed his P-38 with a small phosphorous bomb. With truckloads of enemy troops approaching from beyond some trees six Me-109 German fighters appeared overhead. And a second P-38 was coming toward him with its landing gear down! Other Lightnings engaged the Me-109s and Andrews set his P-38 down, landing in line with the plowed furrows. Willsie raced to the plane, praying it might be his salvation, praying they would both be able to fit into the one small seat. Andrews threw his parachute - and everything else that was handy and not nailed down - out of the cockpit. With no time to think of how it might be done both men climbed hurriedly into the plane 'with miraculous precision,' as the older pilot would later joke. At Andrews' suggestion the more experienced Willsie took the controls. With Andrews in back, one leg slung over Willsie's shoulder, the two somehow managed to close and securely lock the canopy. They barely cleared the trees at the end of their improvised 'runway' and quickly ran into inclement weather and became separated from the other P-38s. With no map and fully expecting to be greeted by friendly fire because of their aircraft type, with which the Russians might not be familiar, they headed for an air base at nearby Poltava. Word of the rescue spread and others tried to emulate it. But so many were injured in these attempts that the USAAF had to issue orders forbidding the use of such tactics. Richard T. Andrews was awarded the Silver Star for his unique rescue. Willsie would go on to serve in both Korea and Vietnam, and Willsie became the commanding officer of the 602nd Air Commando Squadron and retired in 1974. Colonel Richard Willsie died on Febuary 16th, 2013 in Dana Point, Orange County, California. |
  Warrant Officer Bert Winwood Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2012 | Warrant Officer Bert Winwood WO A.E. 'Bert' Winwood was a Navigator on Mosquitoes and Beaufighters, flew only with pilot Ray Harrington attached to 603 sqn in the Greek Campaign. Bert did his Navigator training in Canada and in January 1944 was posted to 603 Squadron on Beaufighters, based at Gambut, near Tobruk. From here they launched attacks right across the Mediterranean into Crete, Greece and the Aegean Islands against shipping, harbour installations and enemy aircraft with much success. In December 1944 he was posted to 235 Squadron at RAF Banff flying as navigator on Mosquito's flying in the Banff Strike Wing. In April 1945 he was shot down when returning from a strike in the Kattegat, he and his pilot Ray Harrington avoided capture, and with the help of the Danish resistance made it home to England. After a short rest he continued to fly again from RAF Banff, he left the RAF in 1946. Bert Winwood passed away in 2012. |
| Beaufighter Squadron details |
No.603 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 10th March 1957 Known Codes : , XT, RL, | No.603 Sqn RAF City of Edinburgh (Auxiliary) Gin ye daur - If you dare |
No.85 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 19th December 1975 Known Codes : , VY, NO, | No.85 Sqn RAF Noctu diuque venamur - We hunt by day and night |
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