Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry x38
A Second War ‘1941’ Western Desert D.F.C. group of eight awarded to Blenheim pilot Flight Lieutenant W. M. Lewis, Royal Air Force, later Royal Canadian Air Force, who was shot down during the Battle of France but, after hitching a lift with a Belgian General and in a French Bloch bomber made it back to England, subsequently serving with 39 Squadron in the Western Desert and at the Battle of Crete
Distinguished Flying Cross,
G.VI.R., reverse officially dated 1941, in Royal Mint case of issue; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Africa Star; Defence Medal, Canadian issue in silver, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal; War Medal 1939 -45, Canadian issue in silver; Canadian Forces Decoration, E.II.R. (F/L W. M. Lewis); together with the recipient’s mounted group of seven Second War miniature awards, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Service clasp, nearly extremely fine (8)
£1,000-£1,400 D.F.C. London Gazette 22 August 1941.
The Recommendation states: ‘Flying Officer Lewis has carried out over 40 sorties over enemy occupied territory in Europe and Africa. During the Battle of France he was shot down over the enemy lines but by skilful handling of his aircraft he and his observer escaped by parachute and made their way back to England during the retreat. He and his Observer then crewed up again and ferried a Blenheim out to Aden where they joined No. 39 Squadron. There he undertook his bombing with determination and vigour. More recently he has been employed on reconnaissance duties over Libya and Crete. His crew have done exceptionally fine work particularly in the Benghasi and Derna areas. On one occasion he sighted and attacked about 80 Junkers parked on Benina Aerodrome, leaving one in flames and damaging several others. On another occasion he led a successful bombing raid on the oil storage depot at Beirut, during which he was wounded in the head but managed to bring his aircraft and crew safely back to their base. This officer has repeatedly displayed courage and determination in the face of the enemy.’
William Maurice Lewis was commissioned Acting Pilot Officer on 5 August 1939 and was posted to No. 40 Squadron. He saw action during the Battle of France, and was shot down on 14 June 1940: ‘The 14th June brought the Fall of Paris, and with it the virtual end of French resistance. For No. 40 Squadron it also brought the worst losses since 6 June. Three sections were briefed to attack targets in the Eure Valley around Breteuil. Nine Blenheims of the Squadron took off at 1:45 p.m., led by the veteran, Squadron Leader G. W. C. Gleed. Their target included motor transport and a bridge over the River Eure. They encountered flak so accurate that one aircraft was forced to turn back, its oil tank holed, and two (Squadron Leader Gleen and Pilot Officer W. M. Lewis) were shot down. Lewis, one engine on fire, gave the order to “Abandon aircraft”. His observer, Sergeant Bob Currie, recalls: “I jettisoned the bombload, then the escape hatch and blister gun before heading back out of the nose to get my parachute pack on. Then there was a difference of opinion with the pilot. He seemed to think that I had decided not to bale out, so put a foot on my chest and began pushing me out. I waved like mad and got him to see that I hadn’t got my pack on. After that I quickly clipped on my chute, knelt on the edge of the escape hatch, noticed the altimeter showing 1,000 feet, and rolled out, forgetting to take off my helmet. Whilst getting my chute I had seen the Wireless Operator/ Air Gunner still removing the camera mounting to get at his escape hatch. I pulled my ripcord fairly quickly, the chute opened, i saw the Blenheim going into the ground in a trail of smoke and flame, then I touched down, standing up, very gently as there was no wind. I heard the aircraft’s fuel tanks explode, noticed a lot of soldiers in grey uniforms staring at the wreckage, so quickly got rid of my chute and headed for a ditch.” Currie soon found that the troops were Belgian, and was able to use his schoolboy French to convince them of his nationality, and that of Lewis, whom he found nearby, “shouting loudly in English, so the foreigners would understand that he was R.A.F.”. Lewis had bailed out at 300 feet, his parachute barely opening in time. The Wireless Operator/ Air Gunner, Sergeant S. W. Johnson, had been less fortunate, and perished in the crash. The adventures that befell Lewis and Currie en route back to England would grace a novel of derring-do. Having hitched a ride with a Belgian general as far as Tours, they stayed overnight with a French fighter unit, then hitched a further ride in a Bloch bomber- Lewis as co-pilot and Currie as gunner- and at Nantes joined the personnel of a Hurricane squadron about to fly out their last serviceable machines. Currie was told to join ground crew who were about to be evacuated by lorry to St. Nazaire, thence by the Lancastria to England, but they had just left (fortunately, since the Lancastria was bombed, and sank with huge loss of life), and he was smuggled aboard a Handley-Page Harrow about to be flown back to Heston with a load of parachutes- ‘smuggled’ because the Station Commander had decreed that no one was to be evacuated by air, and had only let Lewis fly with the Harrow’s pilot because he lacked a co-pilot or navigator. In the event, Currie ended up navigating, and, despite having no maps, brought them safely to Heston.’ (Sweeping the Skies- History of No. 40 Squadron, by David Gunby refers).
Returning to the Squadron, Lewis was next tasked with delivering a Blenheim to the Middle East. He departed on 17 August 1940, and upon arrival transferred to No. 39 Squadron. His new Squadron, equipped with Bristol Blenheims, had left India for Aden in May 1940. Following Italy’s entry into the Second World War on 10 June 1940, the No. 39 Squadron was quickly committed to action against Italian East Africa, carrying out its first combat mission of the war on 12 June when a force of Blenheims attacked Dire Dawa airfield in Ethiopia. The squadron continued operations against Italian forces until 24 November 1940, when it was ordered to transfer to Egypt to support the planned offensive in the Western Desert (Operation Compass). Subsequently re-equipped with Martin Maryland bombers, becoming the first RAF squadron to operate the Maryland, the squadron, owing to the long range of the Maryland, was primarily used for reconnaissance work, and was heavily deployed during the Battle of Crete, claiming at least two Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft shot down in the course of its operations during the battle, 20 May to 1 June 1941.
Lewis was promoted Flying Officer on 24 March 1941, and Flight Lieutenant on 24 June 1942. He transferred to the Royal Canadian Air Force on 26 June 1944.
Sold with a photographic image of the recipient. all lots are illustrated on our website
www.dnw.co.uk and are subject to buyers’ premium at 20% (+VAT where applicable)
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