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Signatures on this item | |
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
Name | Info |
Air Commodore Peter Brothers CBE, DSO, DFC* (deceased) *Signature Value : £65 | Learnt to fly at the age of 16 and joined the RAF two years later in 1936. He first saw action in 1940 when as a Flight Commander in 32 Squadron, based at Biggin Hill, he flew his Hurricane against the fighters and bombers of the Luftwaffe. He recalls this as an intensely busy period, during which he shot down an Me109 - his first enemy aircraft; by the end of August that same year his tally of enemy aircraft shot down increased to eight. Awarded the DFC, he was transferred to 257 Squadron where he joined Bob-Stanford Tuck as a Flight Commander. Promoted in 1941 to Squadron Leader, Pete Brothers then took command of 457 Squadron RAAF, equipped with Spitfires. A year later when 457 Squadron returned to Australia, Pete took command of 602 Squadron. In the early autumn of 1942 he went on to become Wing Leader of the Tangmere Wing, succeeding his old friend, Douglas Bader. By the end of the war Pete Brothers had amassed 875 operational hours over a 44-month period. He was credited with having personally shot down 16 enemy aircraft and damaged many more. He later went on to command 57 Squadron during the Malaya campaign. Upon return to the UK Pete Brothers joined the V-Force, flying Valiant-4 jet bombers. He retired in 1973. Sadly, Pete Brothers died 18th December 2008. |
Group Captain Billy Drake DSO DFC* (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Joined the R.A.F. in 1936. His first posting was to 1 squadron flying Furies then Hurricanes and first saw action over France in the Spring of 1940 and was awarded his first DFC by the end of the year. As a Squadron Leader he was sent to West Africa to command 128 Squadron. 1942 saw his commanding 112 squadron in North Africa, in July saw an immediate BAR to his DFC and in December an immediate DSO. Posted to Malta as Wing Commander he won a US DFC in 1943. Back in the UK he now was flying Typhoons in the lead up to D-Day. With Pete Brothers he was sent to the States to attend the US Staff School at Fort Leavenworth. After the war he continued in the R.A.F. serving in Japan, Malaya, Singapore, Switzerland and his final posting as Group Captain RAF Chivenor, Devon. Retired in July 1963. Going to Portugal where he ran a Bar and Restaurant and dealing in Real Estate. In his flying career he accounted for more than 24 enemy aircraft. Sadly, Billy Drake passed away on 28th August 2011. |
Group Captain Dennis David CBE DFC AFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £75 | 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. |
Wing Commander Christopher Bunny Currant DSO DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £75 | Born 14th December 1911. One of the most succesful fighter pilots in the RAF, credited with 13 kills during the Battle of Britain. On 15th August 1940, with No. 605 Sqn, he downed two He111s and claimed a third probable. On 8th September he downed another bomber and damaged three more, sharing in two more the next day, downing two more and damaging a further three on the 15th of that month, before being shot down himself. The same afternoon, he got airborne again, shooting down a fighter. After the Battle of Britain, he became an instructor, before rejoining combat flying with No.501 Sqn. In August 1942 he took command of No. 122 Wing, leading them until the D-Day landings in June 1944 before taking a non-flying post until the end of the war. He died 12th March 2006. |
Wing Commander Gordon Sinclair OBE DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £60 | A short service commission officer, Sinclair joined 19 Squadron as early as 1937 and was still with the Squadron in 1940. Over Dunkirk he destroyed a Bf 109 and probably another, and then on June 1 he destroyed two Bf 110s and on a later patrol the same day he claimed a He 111 and a Do 17 destroyed. He was awarded the DFC. He knew Bader well during his stay with 19 Squadron when Bader often flew as his No 2. Sinclair remembers his forceful personality, but also that he was great fun. They often played golf and squash together. In June 1940 Sinclair was posted as Flight Commander to 310 Squadron at Drixford and was soon to fly with that Squadron as part of the Duxford Wing, led by Douglas Bader. His final score was 10 confirmed victories. He later commanded 56 Squadron on Typhoons before promotion to Wing Commander and a post on the staff of HO 84 Group. Sinclair retired from the RAF in 1957. He died on 26th June 2005. |
Wing Commander Paul Farnes DFM (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Paul Farnes was born in Boscombe, Hampshire, July 16, 1918. He joined the RAFVR in April 1938 and is mobilized in July 1939 before being posted to 501 Squadron, 14 September 1939. He accompanied the Squadron when it was sent to France in May 1940, winning his first victories in the campaign of France and during the Battle of Britain. In October, he was awarded the DFM after eight victories and was promoted to officer the following month. In February 1941 he was transferred to 57 OTU as an instructor and then to 73 OTU in November, in Aden. In late February 1942, he was posted to 229 Squadron in North Africa as Flight Commander. On March 27, 1942, he flew to Malta with the rest of the Squadron aboard the Hurricane IIc BN122. After a period of intense and difficult battles in which defenders of the island will lose many fighters, during which he took command of the Squadron, he returned to Egypt with the survivors of his unit May 27, 1942. He then transferred to Iraq where he joined the Headquarters and remained there until March 1945. He then returned to Great Britain and three weeks after upgrading to the UTO 53, he took command of 124 Squadron, a position he held until the end of the war. He joined the Tangmere before making command of 611 Squadron equipped Mustang IV July 7, 1945. In August, the Squadron was disbanded and it supports the 164 Squadron with Spitfire IX. 63 Squadron was designated in August 1946. In January 1947, he became an officer of Liaison with training centres with the Air Ministry until October 1948. He then became an instructor in various centres. He continued his career in the RAF until 1958 and left active service with the rank of Wing Commander. He returned to his civilian career in the industry. He died on 28h January 2020. |
The Aircraft : | |
Name | Info |
Hurricane | Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built. |
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