GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY
1349
A rare Second World War D.F.M. group of seven awarded to Flying Officer I. A. Blaikie, Royal New Zealand Air
Force, who completed a tour of operations in Wellingtons in the Middle East before joining No. 161 (Special Duties)
Squadron in January 1944, with whom he flew another 26 sorties prior to being killed in action on clandestine
operation “Bob 106” on the night of 5-6 August
DISTINGUISHED FLYING MEDAL, G.VI.R. (N.Z. 405365 Sgt. I. A. Blaikie, R.N.Z.A.F.); 1939-45 STAR; AIR CREW EUROPE STAR, clasp,
France and Germany; AFRICA STAR, clasp, 8th Army; DEFENCE AND WAR MEDALS; NEW ZEALAND WAR SERVICE MEDAL 1939-45,
extremely fine (7) £3000-3500
A little over 180 Distinguished Flying Medals were awarded to the R.N.Z.A.F. in
the 1939-45 War.
D.F.M. London Gazette 12 March 1943. The original recommendations states:
‘During the last six months, Sergeant Blaikie has flown on operations with
coolness and courage. It is largely owing to his skilful navigation and bomb
aiming that many successes have been achieved.’
Ian Armstrong Blaikie was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in July 1918, and
joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force at Palmerston North in January 1940.
Embarked for Canada in February 1941, he trained as a Navigator and was
awarded his Air Observer’s badge that July, in which month he was also
advanced to Sergeant. Next embarked for the U.K., he attended No. 11
Operational Training Unit, was advanced to Flight Sergeant in February 1942,
and was posted to the Middle East.
Joining No. 105 Squadron, a Wellington unit, he commenced his first operational
tour, completing 45 sorties, initially from landing grounds in the Western Desert,
major targets including Tobruk, in addition to enemy transport, gun positions and
airfields in support of the 8th Army. While from December 1942, operating out
of Luqa, Malta at the height of the siege, 104 Squadron attacked such targets as
Catania, Garbini and Comiso in Sicily, in addition to further targets in Italy and
Sardinia. And it was costly work, the period 1940-42 witnessing Squadron losses
of over a hundred aircraft, with 206 members of aircrew being killed or taken
prisoner. Blaikie was recommended for the D.F.M. and returned to the U.K. in
January 1943, where he took up instructional duties and was commissioned as
Pilot Officer that May.
161 (Special Duties) Squadron
In February 1944, having been advanced to Flying Officer, Blaikie commenced a second tour of duty, when he joined No. 161
Squadron at Tempsford, Bedfordshire, a “Special Duties” unit charged with dropping agents and supplies into Occupied Europe in
support of S.O.E. and S.I.S. circuits - his first such mission being flown in one of the Squadron’s Halifaxes, under Flight Lieutenant
Parker, on the night of the 4th-5th, but with no lights being seen from the relevant reception committees, pilot and crew returned to
base.
A few nights later, on the 8th-9th, in another run to France, Blaikie and his crew had more success, four agents and nine containers
being dropped to an awaiting reception committee near Chateauroux, the agents being recruits from De Gaulle’s B.R.C.A. and part of a
combined O.S.S./S.I.S. initiative code-named “Sussex”. One of them, a woman agent, was subsequently captured and executed. While
on the night of 11th-12th, Blaikie’s aircraft dropped 15 containers to resistance members in the Cahors area.
March witnessed a further six sorties, many more containers being dropped to awaiting committees near Toulouse, Nantes, Liege,
Marseille, Orleans and Limoges, the Liege trip on the night of 3rd-4th including another agent (a.k.a. Operation “Make Up”), so, too,
the drop near Marseille (a.k.a. S.O.E. Operation “Monk 5”)
www.dnw.co.uk
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