Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry 62
A Second War Mid-Upper Gunner’s D.F.M group of five awarded to Flight Sergeant M. Ransome, 76 Squadron Royal Air Force, who completed a tour of operations in Halifaxes, including three trips to the ‘Big City’, and the Nuremberg Raid, 30-31 March 1944
Distinguished Flying Medal,
G.VI.R. (1593164. F/Sgt. M. Ransome. R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, minor edge bruising and scratches to first, this very fine, the campaign awards nearly extremely fine
£1,000-£1,400 Provenance: Spink, July 2017 (when sold as just the D.F.M.)
D.F.M. London Gazette 17 November 1944. The original recommendation states: ‘Sergeant Ransome has completed 35 sorties as Air Gunner against the enemy, and flown a total of 178 operational hours. He has carried out attacks against many of the heaviest defended of targets, including Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Aachen and Kiel. This Non-Commissioned Officer has recently completed a highly successful tour of operations. He is a man who possesses courage, skill and initiative and a remarkable devotion to duty, both in the air and on the ground. His work as an Air Gunner has always been of the highest order and has gained for him the complete confidence of his crew. His meritorious service is considered worthy of the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.’
Maurice Ransome was born in Sunderland on 22 November 1915. The 1939 census shows him working as a rolling mill clerk with his address given as 43 Corder Road, Middlesborough. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force in September 1941 at Weston-super-Mare, training as an Air Gunner at 4 A.G.S, 15 O.T.U, 1663 C.U, before joining 76 Squadron in late 1943. The squadron operated Halifax bombers from R.A.F. Holme-on-Spalding Moor. This period was at the midst of Arthur Harris’ all-out campaign against the German ‘Big Cities’ and the squadron had a substantial number of Norwegian pilots.
Ransome joined the crew of the Norwegian Pilot Officer Carl Larson who prior to joining up had worked on the whaling ship the FLK Lancing since the age of 14. They commenced their operational tour on in December 1943, when he participated in a strike on Berlin; he returned to the ‘Big City’ on two further occasions, in January and March 1944. Operation Mainly as a Mid-Upper Gunner, he visited a number of other heavily defended German targets, most notably Nuremburg on the night of 30-31 March 1944; his name appears as a contributor to Martin Middlebrook’s The Nuremburg Raid 30-31 March 1944, in addition to his input to the same author’s The Berlin Raids - The Bomber Battle, Winter 1943-1944, where he describes events during a raid on Berlin on the night of 28-29 January 1944:
‘We were attacked by a Ju. 88 which knocked out one engine. We managed to lose him but we were losing height and the Navigator informed the skipper that we could never make it, so we jettisoned our bomb load near Rostock. After this we decided to go back the way we had come, the Navigator quite confident he could make it. Our lone aircraft was harried by flak, and another twin-engined fighter appeared ahead of us slightly above. Our Navigator claims he could see the enemy Observer's head looking around everywhere except below him. He must have been guided on to us by radar and it seemed a long, long time before the enemy crew must have told their ground control that they had boobed, and they broke away. We got home O.K.’
Ransome was otherwise employed against targets of a French nature, participating in 20 or so such sorties, including strikes on the batteries located at Montfleury and St. Lo on the eve of D-Day in June 1944. He ended his operational tour in late July. Following the end of the War he stayed in contact with the rest of the crew including Carl Larsen. He died in April 1997.
63
A fine ‘Queen Victoria’s funeral’ R.V.M. group of five awarded to Chief Petty Officer J. T. Old, Royal Navy
East and West Africa 1887-1900, 1 clasp, Witu 1890 (J. T. Old. A.B. H.M.S. Conquest); Queen’s South Africa 1899 -1902 (J. T. Old, P.O. 1 Cl., H.M.S. Forte.); British War Medal 1914-20 (142663 J. T. Old. C.P.O. R.N.); Royal Victorian Medal, V.R., silver, unnamed as issued; Royal Navy L.S. & G.C.,
E.VII.R. (J. T. Old, P.O. 1 Cl., H.M.S. Hermione) generally better than very fine (5)
£420-£460 R.V.M. awarded February 1901 for services at Queen Victoria’s funeral
John Thomas Old was born in Queenstown, Cork, on 25 February 1872 and entered Naval service as a Boy 2nd Class in H.M.S. St Vincent on 30 September 1887. He served with that ship until 15 February 1889, when he was drafted to Conquest, in whom he served until 11 May 1892, seeing advancement to Able Seaman in 1890. After promotion to Petty Officer 1st Class, while serving in Camperdown on 1 April 1898, he was drafted to H.M.S. Forte, with whom he remained until 10 May, but rejoined from 4 April 1902 to 16 February 1905. Between drafts, he served at ‘stone frigate’ H.M.S. Excellent, where he was part of the guard of honour drawn from the Senior Service for Queen Victoria’s Funeral. Following an incident with the horses, the Naval ratings had the honour of pulling the Queen’s body on a gun carriage to Windsor Castle. After being awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal on 6 March 1905, while serving in H.M.S. Hermes, he was pensioned to shore on 26 January 1912, after which he joined the Bristol Division Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, seeing service during the Great War.
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