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Robert Taylor Prints  Royal Air Force  Blenheim |
[UP] - Spitfire - Hurricane - Mosquito - Typhoon - Lancaster - Stirling - Sunderland - Canberra - Hercules - Harrier - Beaufighter |
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| Text for the above items : |
Most Memorable Day by Robert Taylor. Adolf Galland and his wingman Bruno Hegenauer break through the fighter escort of No. 303 Squadrons Spitfires to attack Blenheim bombers of No. 21 Squadron over northern France, 21 June 1941. In two missions that day Galland claimed two Blenheims and one Spitfire, survived a forced crash-landing, and later a parachute escape from his blazing Me109. That evening he learned he was to become the first recipient of the Knights Cross with oak leaves and swords - Germanys highest award for heroism. |
Bristol Blenheim by Robert Taylor. No text for this item |
| Top Aces for : Blenheim | ||
| 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. |
| Robert A Karr | 6.00 | The signature of Robert A Karr features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Basil Gerald 'Stapme' Stapleton | 6.00 | The signature of Basil Gerald 'Stapme' Stapleton features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Blenheim Pilot and aircrew signature details |
 Flight Lieutenant Benjamin Bent Our estimated value of this signature : £45 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. |
  Squadron Leader Ian Blair DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £55 Died : 2016 | Squadron Leader Ian Blair DFM Ian Blair joined 113 Squadron in 1938 as a AC1/Armourer AG. on Hawker Hind and later Blenheim Mk 1s. He took part in the heavy fighting of the first Lybian campaign. He was forced to take control and fly the Blenheim airceaft after his pilot was killed following an attack by an Italian Fiat CR 42. Remarkably he managed not only to evade the enemy aircraft, but fly to fly the Blenheim 350 miles back to his base where he made a succesful textbook landing. This extraordinary action earned him the award of an immediate DFM. Ian Blair said about the event : The day before, we had been sent out to bomb an enemy airfield at Derna, about 400 miles west of Alexandria. We were in a Blenheim bomber, and I was the observer. That's the guy in the front who does the navigation and drops the bombs. But as soon as I had released the bombs, a fighter-plane attacked us. Glasgow-born Sqn Ldr Blair still has the blood-stained flight log he made that day. The pencil entries end suddenly. He said : There was an almighty bang. When I looked round, the pilot - a chap called Reynolds - was slumped forward on the controls. I think it was the very last round that killed him. It was really unfortunate. His luck had run out. Then the aircraft went into a steep dive. Despite having never flown an aircraft in his life before that moment, the young airman - paid one shilling and sixpence per day extra to fill in as part-time air crew - took charge. He said : From that moment the only thing going through my mind was survival. Everything happened so quickly, and we had to get the heck out of there. I managed to pull the pilot's body off his seat and get the aircraft under control. But we still had to get home and land the thing. My gunner, Hank, sent a message back to base saying: 'We're in dire trouble here, the observer is flying the aircraft.' Lo and behold, when we got back to base there was whole gallery of people, cars, ambulances and fire tenders all lined up waiting for the ultimate - but it didn't happen. I had spent a long time watching pilots, and made a textbook landing. We came down in a shower of dust. Perhaps I was a bit over-confident. The air officer commanding the base apparently said: 'If that guy can fly an aircraft without a pilot's course, let's send him on a pilot's course.' He was presented with his DFM by George VI. The experience led him to train as a pilot at No 4 SFTS RAF Habbaniya, where the No 6 War Course were heavily engaged in operations to raize the siege of the base from the Iraqi Army. He was finally awarded his wings in May 1941. On return to the UK he served with 501 Squadron on combat duties on Spitfire Mk V's until injured as a result of enemy action. On return to flying duties he was posted to 602 Squadron flying MkV's and MkIX's until June 1944. In February 1944, he claimed a high altitude victory by destroying a Me.109 F at an altitude of 35,000 feet, flying a Spitfire Mk.VII H.F. |
  Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom KCB CBE DSO DFC AFC Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2003 | Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom KCB CBE DSO DFC AFC Entering the RAF in 1940 he joined No 114 Squadron as a sergeant pilot flying Blenheims. After 12 operations he and his crew were allocated to No 105 Squadron and then No 107 Squadron, the last remaining Blenheim Squadron in Malta. The Squadron remained there without relief for five months carrying out low level attacks on the shipping. Very few of the original crews survived the detachment, in fact he was commissioned during this period, when 107 Squadron had lost all their officers and for a short time was the only officer, other than the CO, in the Squadron. At the end of this tour he was awarded the DFC. In early 1943 he became one of the first Mosquito instructors in the Pathfinder Force and later moved to No 571 Squadron with the Light Night Strike Force. He then formed No 163 Squadron as acting Wing Commander. He was awarded a bar to his DFC for a low level moonlight mining attack on the Dormund - Ems Canal from 50ft and then a second bar for getting a 4000lb bomb into the mouth of a railway tunnel during the final German Ardennes offensive. During his time on Mosquitoes his navigator was Tommy Broom, together they formed an inseparable combination. Remaining with the RAF after WWII and in accordance with peacetime rules for a much smaller Air Force he was reduced in rank first to Squadron Leader and then to Flight Lieutenant in 1948. Promoted to Air Marshal in 1974 he became the Head of the UK National Air Traffic Services and was the first serving officer to be appointed to the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority. Retiring from the RAF in 1979 he has been actively engaged in civil aviation since then. He died 24th January 2003. |
  Squadron Leader TJ Tommy Broom DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2010 | Squadron Leader TJ Tommy Broom DFC Thomas John Broom was born on January 22 1914 at Portishead, Bristol, and educated at Slade Road School, leaving when he was 14 to work as a garage hand. As soon as he reached his 18th birthday he enlisted in the RAF and trained as an armourer. He served in the Middle East, initially in Sudan, and in 1937 was sent to Palestine to join No 6 Squadron. With the threat of war in Europe, however, there was an urgent need for more air observers; Broom volunteered and returned to Britain for training. In February 1939 he joined No 105 Squadron at Harwell, which was equipped with the Fairey Battle. On the day the Second World War broke out No 105 flew to Reims in northern France to support the British Expeditionary Force, and within three weeks Broom had flown his first reconnaissance over Germany. During a raid on Cologne in November 1940 his aircraft was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire, but the crew managed to struggle back to England where they were forced to bail out as they ran out of fuel. For the next 12 months Broom served as an instructor. He returned to his squadron in January 1942, just as the Mosquito entered service, and on August 25 was sent to attack a power station near Cologne. As the aircraft flew at treetop height across Belgium, the crew spotted an electricity pylon. The pilot tried to avoid it but the starboard engine struck the top of the pylon and the aircraft ploughed into pine trees. Both men survived the crash, and were picked up by members of the Belgian Resistance. They were escorted to St Jean de Luz by the Belgian-run 'Comet' escape line, and Broom crossed the mountains under the aegis of a Spanish Basque guide on September 8; his pilot followed him two weeks later. Twenty-five years after the event Broom returned to St Jean de Luz to meet the woman who had sheltered him from the Germans. After the German advance into the Low Countries on May 10 1940, the Battle squadrons were thrown against Panzers and attacked the crucial bridges across the main rivers, suffering terrible losses. After the fall of France, Broom and some of his comrades managed to reach Cherbourg to board a ship for England. No 105 Squadron was re-equipped with the Blenheim, and during the Battle of Britain Broom attacked the German barges assembling at the Channel ports in preparation for an invasion of England. After spending a period as an instructor at 13 OTU he rejoined 105 Squadron on Mosquitoes, they were in fact the first squadron in the RAF to receive them. Through early 1942 he was navigator on many of the daylight raids carried out by 105 Squadron. In August 1943 Tommy Broom was the chief ground instructor at the Mosquito Training Unit when he first met his namesake Flight Lieutenant Ivor Broom (later Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom), an experienced low-level bomber pilot. They immediately teamed up and flew together for the remainder of the war, in 163 Squadron as part of the Light Night Strike Force forming a formidable on Mosquitoes including the low level attack on the Dortmund - Ems Canal and completing 58 operations together, including 22 to Berlin. Known as The Flying Brooms Initially they joined No 571 Squadron as part of Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennetts Pathfinder Force, and on May 26 1944 they flew their first operation, an attack on Ludswigshafen. On August 9 they took part in a spectacular night-time mission to drop mines in the Dortmund-Ems Canal. They descended rapidly from 25,000ft to fly along the canal at 150ft, releasing their mines under heavy anti-aircraft fire. The force of eight Mosquitos closed the canal for a number of weeks. Tommy Brooms brilliant navigation had helped ensure the success of the raid, and he was awarded a DFC. The Brooms took part in another daring attack on New Years Day 1945. In order to stem the flow of German reinforcements to the Ardennes, the RAF mounted operations to sever the rail links leading to the area, and the Brooms were sent to block the tunnel at Kaiserslauten. They were approaching the tunnel at low level just as a train was entering it. They dropped their 4,000lb bomb, with a time delay fuse, in the entrance and 11 seconds later it exploded, completely blocking the tunnel – the train did not emerge. Tommy Broom received a Bar to his DFC and his pilot was awarded a DSO. When Ivor Broom was given command of No 163 Squadron, Tommy went with him as the squadrons navigation leader and they flew together until the end of the war. Their last five operations were to Berlin, where searchlights posed a perpetual problem. On one occasion they were coned for as long as a quarter of an hour. After twisting, turning and diving to escape the glare, Ivor Broom asked his disoriented navigator for a course to base. Tommy replied: 'Fly north with a dash of west, while I sort myself out.' A few weeks later Tommy Broom was awarded a second Bar to his DFC – an extremely rare honour for a bomber navigator. Tommy Broom left the RAF in September 1945, but he and his pilot remained close friends until Sir Ivors death in 2003. Sadly Tommy Broom passed away on 18th May 2010 |
 Flight Lieutenant Owen V Burns Our estimated value of this signature : £35 Died : 2015 | Flight Lieutenant Owen V Burns Flight Lieutenant Owen V Burns was born in Birkenhead on 20th November 1915. He flew throughout the Battle of Britain. His Squadron, 235, based at Bircham Newton in Norfolk, was equipped with Mark IV Bristol Blenheims, which had four guns under the nose and two in the mid-upper turret, which he operated. The squadron was attached to Fighter Command to replace its losses in the Battle for France, but because Blenheims lacked the speed of single-engined fighters, squadron duties were mainly aerodrome protection and fighter escort to aircraft crossing the Channel. On 14th February 1941 his Blenheim was caught in an enemy raid while returning from a night patrol over the North Sea. The aircraft crashed on landing as the flare path had been extinguished. The observer was killed and the pilot spent a year in hospital, but Owen escaped with a broken collar bone. Owen Burns went onto join 279 Sqn on Hudsons carrying out Air Sea Rescues. In January 1945 he was appointed Gunnery Officer for 19 Group, Plymouth and a month later he became PA to AOC, AVM CBS Spackman. He left the RAF in March 1948. Owen Burns died on 30th June 2015 aged 99. |
Flight Lieutenant Joseph P R Chamberlin Our estimated value of this signature : £50 | Flight Lieutenant Joseph P R Chamberlin Joining the RAFVR in June 1939 he was then called up at the Outbreak of war. He flew Blenheim's with No.235 Sqn during the Battle of Britain On the 14th February 1941 when returning from a dusk patrol over the North Sea. Having to divert to Langham airfield prepared to land The airfield's lights went out and the Blenheim hit a tree. The navigator, P/O ER Phillips, was killed and the air gunner Sgt. Burns slightly injured. Chamberlain himself was seriously injured and spent eight months in hospital. On returning he was placed on ground duties at RAF Langham. Sadly he passed away on the September 21st, 2011 |
  Air Vice Marshal Edward Crew CB DSO DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £75 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. |
Squadron Leader Stanley S Duff Our estimated value of this signature : £45 | Squadron Leader Stanley S Duff Flew Blenheims with 23 Squadron. |
Sergeant Hubert Luiz Flower Our estimated value of this signature : £35 Died : 2015 | Sergeant Hubert Luiz Flower Hubert Luiz Flower (always known as Luiz) 24.11.1921- 17.04.2015. Hubert Luiz Flower was born in Balla Salla in the Isle of Man on the 24th November 1921 to Connie and Jack Flower. He was the second of four boys and was the last surviving sibling. He joined the RAF in 1939 flying in Bristol Blenheims as a navigator bomber and wireless operator throughout the Second World War. He only realised that he was one of the Few about twenty years ago when he received one of the special medals that were awarded to Battle of Britain crew. He was the youngest airman to fly in the Battle of Britain flying in over 120 sorties. Luiz met his first wife Eve when stationed in Scotland and they had a son, Colin. Luiz Flower and his friend Harry Rose flew together in the Berlin airlift after the war. Luiz completed 103 sorties carrying coal to Berlin. After the war Luiz studied at the London School of Economics and was recruited by the colonial service. He met his second wife Jutta and they had three daughters, Petra, Deirdre and Hilary. Luiz took his young family to Sierra Leone in 1951 serving there for ten years until independence in 1961. While working for the Sierra Leoneon government, he studied as an external candidate for a law degree and was called to the bar at Grey's Inn. He met his third wife Mina in Sierra Leone and had two children, Judith and James.He returned to England in 1966 and started working as a Crown Prosecutor for Custom and Excise. He then became the Courts Administrator for the North of England working in Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. He retired in 1981, meeting his wife Clara, who shared the same pastimes as him of music and walking. They walked in the Himalayas together and have spent the last twenty seven years, happily hopping all over the world together. He sadly died on 17th April 2015. |
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. |
  Group Captain Richard Haine OBE DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £60 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 |
 Sergeant Leopold Heimes Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2009 | Sergeant Leopold Heimes Already in the Belgian Air Force, he moved to 235 Sqn Coastal Command as an Air Gunner on Blenheims during the Battle of Britain before becoming a pilot, flying Spitfires and Catalinas with 350 Sqn before converting to 76 Sqn on Dakotas in India. Heimes stayed in the RAF until September 1951 having been gazetted as a Master Pilot. Sadly, Leopold Heimes died in 2009. |
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. |
Flight Sergeant John Keatings Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flight Sergeant John Keatings Flew Blenheims with No.234 Squadron |
 Squadron Leader Kenneth R Lusty Our estimated value of this signature : £45 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 : £55 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. |
Squadron Leader Charles Patterson Our estimated value of this signature : £35 | Squadron Leader Charles Patterson Charles Patterson joined the RAF on the outbreak of WWII and flew Whitleys. He switched to Blenheims in 1940 with 114 Squadron on anti-shipping operations over Norway. After a period instructing he briefly flew Bostons before converting to Mosquitoes with 105 Squadron flying mostly Daylight raids, but also the first night raid to Berlin. In January 1943 he was selected as pilot for the Mosquito Film Unit and flew Mosquito DZ414 (now restored) on over 20,000 operational hours both day and night. In September 1943 he converted 3 Ventura Squadrons to Mosquitoes under Group Captain Pickard. In total he completed an unprecedented 3 tours on Mosquitoes, his final tour being with 487 Squadron (New Zealand) mainly on strikes against V1 sites. On D-Day he flew the film unit Mosquito over the beach head during the invasion. |
  Squadron Leader Basil Stapleton DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £65 Died : 2010 | Squadron Leader Basil Stapleton DFC Born in South Africa, Basil Gerald Stapleton joined the RAF in Jan 1939, being posted to 603 Sqn flying Spitfires. He first saw action off Scotland, sharing in the destruction of two bombers, before the Squadron was posted south to Hornchurch during the height of the Battle of Britain. By Nov 1940 his tally had risen to 6 and 2 shared victories and 8 probables. In March 1942 he was posted to 257 Sqn as flight commander. In August 1944 he commanded 247 Sqn flying Typhoons, taking part in the Arnhem operations. In December 1944, whilst attacking a train, debris hit his aircraft forcing him to land behind enemy lines where he was taken prisoner of war. Stapme Stapleton had scored 6 victories, plus 2 shared, 5 probable and 2 damaged. Sadly, we have learned that Basil Stapleton passed away on 13th April 2010. |
 Wing Commander Richard G B Summers Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2017 | Wing Commander Richard G B Summers Richard G B Summers was a navigator on Blenheims with 219 squadron at the age of 18. He fought throughout the Battle of Britain and after the cmapaign served in West Africa and Gibraltar. After the war he served on V-Bombers and received an OBE for gallant and distinguished service during the Mau Mau emergency in Kenya during the 1950s. Richard Gordon Battensby Summers was born on 18th October 1921 in Beverley, East Yorkshire and was educated at Ermysteds Grammar School at Skipton. In April 1939 Richard joined The Royal Air Force as a direct-entry Airman u/t Observer. On 26th June he went to the Bristol Flying School, Yatesbury for basic navigation training, moved to B&GS Warmwell on 30th September and then completed his training with an astro-navigation course at St. Athan in November. On 4th December 1939 Summers was posted to Church Fenton to join 242 Squadron, as a navigator at the age of 18. The squadron was equipped with Blenheims. He went to 219 Squadron at Catterick on 16th April 1940. Summers left the squadron on 28th September to go to the Ferry Pool and Defence Flight Takoradi, in West Africa. In early July 1941 Summers aircraft made a wheels-up forced-landing on a beach in Liberia. To escape internment he walked 48 miles in bare feet before putting out to sea and being picked up by a British merchantman on the 5th. For this incident, Summers was awarded the AFM (gazetted 1st January 1942). Commissioned in May 1942, he was posted back to the UK where he was appointed Bombing Leader on Hudsons at No. 1 (Coastal) OTU Silloth on 12th October. Summers was posted to 48 Squadron at Gibraltar on 22nd May 1943 as Bombing Leader. He returned to the UK and on 1st March 1944 became Bombing Leader at No. 1 APC Aldergrove. Summers went on a Specialist Armament Course on 19th April, firstly at 2 School of Technical Training Cosford and from late June at the Empire Air Armament School at Manby. He was appointed Armament Staff Officer at HQ 15 Group Liverpool on 17th November 1944 and he moved to RAF Lossiemouth on 7th August 1945 as Station Armament Officer. Staying in the postwar RAF, in October 1946 Summers was posted to the staff of ACAS (Training) at the Air Ministry as an Acting Squadron Leader. Pre-selected for the RAF Staff College in 1949, he graduated at the end of 1950 and was appointed Command Weapons Officer at HQ Bomber Command. From August 1953 until January 1956 Summers was Deputy Station Commander at RAF East Leigh, Kenya during the Mau-Mau Emergency. He was made an OBE (gazetted 6th March 1956) for 'gallant and distinguished services in Kenya'. Back in the UK, Summers returned to flying and commanded 109 Squadron at Binbrook. In December 1956 he was promoted to Acting Wing Commander and took command of No. 2 Wing RAF Cosford. In July 1959 he did a RAF Flying College Course at RAF Manby. In January/March 1960 Summers did a conversion course on Vulcans and was then appointed Wing Commander Operations at RAF Finningley, a Vulcan station. In December 1962 he was posted to the staff of SHAPE in Europe, for 'nuclear activities'. He returned to the UK in December 1966 and became a staff officer in the Department of the Chief of Defence Staff. Summers retired from the RAF on 18th October 1968 as a Wing Commander. He died on 7th May 2017. |
 Squadron Leader Michael Terry Wainwright Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2015 | Squadron Leader Michael Terry Wainwright Squadron Leader Michael Terry Wainwright joined 64 Squadron RAF flying Spitfires and in May 1940 during the Battle of Birtain destroyed an Me109. On the 25th of July his section destroyed a Messershmitt Bf109 fighter encountered off the south coast. He went on to become a flight instructor at the Central Flying School at RAF Upavon, Wiltshire, and later flew Douglas Dakotas. Sqd Ldr Michael Terry Wainwright retired form the Royal Air Force in March 1958, but continued his flying as an instructor and also as a Civil Airline Pilot in the UK as well as the Middle East. Michael still flew until August 1st 1990 and logged a total of 14,100 hours. He died on 23rd March 2015. |
Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £35 Died : 2002 | Flight Lieutenant Kenneth Wolstenholme DFC* Ken Wolstenholme was a pilot first with 107 Sqn flying Blenheims before joining 8 Group Pathfinders flying Mosquitos. He completed 100 ops. After the war he became a famous sports broadcaster with the BBC. He died 26th March 2002. |
| Blenheim Squadron details |
No.105 Sqn RAF Country : UK On 20 January 1968 the squadron disbanded for the last timein Bahrain Known Codes : , GB, OM, MT, | No.105 Sqn RAF Fortis in proeliis - Valiant in battles |
No.11 Sqn RAF Country : UK On 29th March 2007, XI(F) Squadron reformed at RAF Coningsby flying the Typhoon F.2 as the lead multi-role Typhoon squadron. Known Codes : , EX, OM, OY, YH, | No.11 Sqn RAF Ociores acrierosque aquilis - Swifter and keener than eagles |
No.21 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 31st January 1976 Known Codes : , YH, JP, UP, | No.21 Sqn RAF Viribus vincimus - By strength we conquer |
No.455 Sqn RAAF Country : Australia Disbanded 25th May 1945 Known Codes : , UB, | No.455 Sqn RAAF Strike and strike again |
No.61 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 31st March 1958 Known Codes : , QR, LS, | No.61 Sqn RAF Per prurum tonantes - Thundering through the clear sky |
No.619 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 18th July 1945 Known Codes : , PG, | No.619 Sqn RAF |
No.92 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st October 1994 Known Codes : , GR, QJ, DL, 8L, | No.92 Sqn RAF East India Aut pugna aut morere - Either fight or die |
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