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Some other related items available from this site. | ||||
  Clipped Signature - Vivian Snell. |   Snow Warriors by Ivan Berryman. |   Clipped Signature - Laurence Thorogood. |   Adversaries by Ivan Berryman. | |
| Signatures on these products | |
| *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature and is for the unmatted version where available. 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 |
 Flt Lt Bertie Boulter DFC (deceased) Died : 2010 *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 35 prints. Limited edition of 15 artist proofs. Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Boulter, Bertie (Flt Lt Bertie Boulter DFC (deceased)) Joining the RAF in July 1941, Bertie completed pilot training in the USA before returning to the UK in 1942, joining Coastal Command flying Ansons and Blackburn Bothas, and instructing on the use of radar. Converting to Blenheims he joined 1655 Squadron at Warboys, and began training on Mosquitos. In early 1944 he was selected for the Pathfinders, joining 128 Squadron flying Mosquitos from Wyton, then becoming part of the Light Night Strike Force with 163 Squadron, completing almost 50 operations. In his book, Mosquito to Berlin, Bertie recalls how they copied the other aircrew as they walked round their planes before the flights. 'We pulled and pushed a few things, kicked the tyres, nodded to each other and clambered aboard.' So with less than 30 hours of solo night flying they roared off down the runway, went to Wiesbaden, dropped their load and returned. 'It must have gone totally to plan because I remember so little of it,' he says. 'We were shot at and I remember a shell burst very close. I went into a hard dive to port before recovering height and heading.' Mission followed mission, with Bertie now a fully-fledged member of the squadron, until one flight over Nuremberg when they were on a diversionary raid designed to fool the Luftwaffe as to the evening's main targets and were carrying huge amounts of aluminium strip to confuse the German radar. They also had a 4,000lb bomb to deliver but things started to go wrong on the return trip to Wyton. The starboard engine was running too hot, so he shut that down and continued on the other engine. Then that began to overheat, so he shut it down and restarted the starboard engine which, by then, had cooled. For around 400 miles after leaving Nuremberg they tried flying on alternate engines and made it as far as Dunkirk, by which time both were heating up too quickly and Bertie and Jim agreed it was time to bail out. Unfortunately, as he was leaving the plane, Jim accidentally pulled the D-ring which activated the parachute, leaving him jammed in the hatch. Bertie delivered a sharp kick on his navigator's shoulder and he promptly popped out of the blazing plane. Bertie followed and a short time later landed with a squelch in a French field. He wasn't certain on which side of the frontline he had landed and thought he heard foreign voices. Eventually he found a farmhouse where the farmer told him the location of the nearest British troops. By the time he had found an old mill where they were stationed it was first light. Bertie wandered in to find them making their first brew of the day and was soon sitting by a fire with a steaming mug of tea. His navigator had been taken in by a Czech sentry and treated to superb hospitality, so that when Bertie caught up with him he was slightly the worse for wear. Bertie had to again bail out of his Mosquito a second time after a mission to Berlin. They found themselves at 25,000ft in a jet stream and overshot Berlin, their intended target. They returned and dropped their bomb but on returning to England the weather had closed in and they were running short of fuel. They made two attempts to land at Wyton, never saw the runway and by this time their fuel tanks were virtually empty. One plane had already crashed because of this. Then the voice of their commanding officer barked over the airways 'This is not a request, this is an order. Climb to a safe height and bail out. Acknowledge.' Bertie and his navigator promptly did so and landed in a muddy field somewhere in Cambridgeshire. In early 1945 he was posted to Canada to ferry back Mosquitos but the war ended. Sadly Flt Lt Bertie Boulter died in April 2010 aged 86. |
  Oberst Erich Hartmann (deceased) Died : 1993 *Signature Value : £95 Editions signed : Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Hartmann, Erich (Oberst Erich Hartmann (deceased)) Erich Hartmann started his career as Paule Rossmans wingman, and it was obvious that here was a very special pilot. Promoted Staffelkapitan of 7/JG52 in July 1943, he was shot down and taken prisoner for four hours before escaping. In September he took over 9/JG52. In March 1944 he reached the 200 victory mark. He later le 4/JG52, then briefly I/JG52, and lastly Gruppenkommandeur of I/JG52. Hartmann scored a total of 352 victories, more than any other pilot in history, and was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Erich Hartmann is the top-scoring fighter pilot in history. During WWII he shot down the equivalent of almost 15 Allied squadrons in aerial combat. In some 850 aerial combats he shot down 352 Allied planes and was shot down himself 16 times. He was never wounded. Hartmanns mother taught him to fly at age 14 and in 1942 at age 20 he was flying Me109s on the Eastern front. His first combat mission was disastrous. He spoiled his leaders attack by going for the kill himself, then mistook his leaders Me109 for a Russian fighter and fled in panic. Were it not for super ace Walter Krupinski believing in Hartmanns abilities he might well have had his flying career ended. Krupinskis tutoring coupled with the fact that Hartmann was a crack shot, turned him around. He scored his first victory on November 5th 1942 and by September 1943 he had completed 300 missions with 95 victories to his credit. In August 1944 Hartmann was awarded the Diamonds to his Knights Cross - Germanys highest decoration and one that was awarded to only 27 German militar ypersonnel. Hitler made the award personally. Before the award ceremony he was demanded to hand over his sidearm before meeting with Hitler. Hartmann told the generals that if Hitler could not trust his front line officers, he could stuff his Diamonds. After a brief confusion he was allowed to carry his pistol. Hartmanns success resulted from the lessons he learned from Krupinski - do not fire until your enemys plane fills your windscreen. That resulted in a sure kill with a minimum amount of ammunition expended. Almost every kill Hartmann made was a near collision. After the war Hartmann surrendered to the Americans, who turned him over to the Russians. He was singled out for especially brutal treatment and was illegally held by the Russians until 1955 when Chansellor Adenaur personally visited Moscow and arranged for his release. The Russians had used every persuasive device known to convert Hartmann to Communism and get him to join the DDR airforce. Upon his return to Germany, his friend and fellow ace, Walter Krupinski, urged him to join the new German Air Force with other old friends such as Barkhorn and Hrabak. Since he felt he was too old to begin a new career, he did. He was given refresher training in the United States and was selected to command the Richthofen Wing in the new German Air Force, the first fighter wing to be rebuilt since the war. He filled that and other jobs in the new Luftwaffe with great distinction until his retirement. He died 20th September 1993. |
  Adolf Borchers (deceased) Died : 1996 *Signature Value : £60 Editions signed : Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Borchers, Adolf (Adolf Borchers (deceased)) Adolf Borchers was born on 10th February 1913 in Wendhausen near Lunesburg. In the autumn of 1938 he was in the Legion Condor. He was transferred to JG51 where he flew in the Polish and Western campaign and in the Battle of Britain, during which he scored five victories. By the end of 1941 his score stood at 23. In October 1942 he was promoted to Officer and named squadron leader of 11./JG51. By the end of 1942 his score stood at 38. On 7th May 1943 he scored his 44th to 49th victories. A short time later he was awarded the Knights Cross for 78 victories. He was then neamd Commander of 1./JG52 on 11th June 1944 and on 24th July that year he scored his 110th victory. His 118th victory came on 2nd September, the same time the 10,000th victory of JG52 was recorded. Erci hHartmann took over 1./JG52 on 1st February 1945 and Borchers was appointed Commander of iii./JG52. He was bitterly disappointed at being replaced by this youngster and carried that resentment to the grave. Borchers flew approximately 800 missions and had 132 victories, including 5 in the west. He was the 53rd ranking ace in Germany. Adolf Borchers died 9th February 1996. |
  Major Erich Rudorffer (deceased) Died : 2016 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Original pencil drawing by Ivan Berryman. | Rudorffer, Erich (Major Erich Rudorffer (deceased)) Erich Rudorffer was born on November 1st 1917 in the town of Zwickau in Saxony. Erich Rudorffer joined the Luftwaffes I./JG2 Richthofen in November 1939, and was soon flying combat patrols in January 1940 and was assigned to I/JG 2 Richthofen with the rank of Oberfeldwebel. He took part in the Battle of France, scoring the first of his many victories over a French Hawk 75 on May 14th, 1940. He went on to score eight additional victories during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. Rudorffer recalled an incident in August 1940 when he escorted a badly damaged Hurricane across the Channel - ditching in the English Channel was greatly feared by pilots on both sides. As fate often does, Rudorffer found the roles reversed two weeks later, when he was escorted by an RAF fighter after receiving battle damage. By May 1st 1941 Rudorffer had achieved 19 victories, which led to the award of the Knights Cross. In June 1941 Rodorffer became an Adjutant of II./JG2. In 1942 Rudorffer participated in Operation Cerberus (known as the Channel Dash) and flew over the Allied landings at Dieppe. Erich Rudorffer along with JG2 was transferred to North Africa in December 1942. It was in North Africa that Rudorffer showed his propensity for multiple-victory sorties. He shot down eight British aircraft in 32 minutes on February 9th 1943 and seven more in 20 minutes six days later. After scoring a total of 26 victories in Tunisia, Rudorffer returned to France in April 1943 and was posted to command II./JG54 in Russia, after Hauptmann Heinrich Jung, its Kommodore, failed to return from a mission on July 30th 1943. On August 24th 1943 he shot down 5 Russian aircraft on the first mission of the day and followed that up with three more victories on the second mission. He scored seven victories in seven minutes on October 11th but his finest achievement occurred on November 6th when in the course of 17 minutes, he shot down thirteen Russian aircraft. Rudorffer became known to Russian pilots as the fighter of Libau. On October 28th 1944 while about to land, Rudorffer spotted a large formation of Il-2 Sturmoviks. He quickly aborted the landing and moved to engage the Russian aircraft. In under ten minutes, nine of the of the II-2 Sturmoviks were shot down causing the rest to disperse. Rudorffer would later that day go on and shoot down a further two Russian aircraft. These victories took his total to 113 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves on April 11th 1944. Rudorffer would on the 26th January 1945 on his 210th victory receive the addition of the Swords. In February 1945 Rudorffer took command of I./JG7 flying the Me262. He was one of the first jet fighter aces of the war, scoring 12 victories in the Me262. He shot down ten 4-engine bombers during the 'Defense of the Reich missions'. He was the master of multiple scoring - achieving more multiple victories than any other pilot. Erich Rudorffer never took leave, was shot down 16 times having to bail out 9 times, and ended the war with 222 victories from over 1000 missions. He was awarded the Knights Cross, with Oak Leaves and Swords. Erich Rudorffer died on 8th April 2016. |
 Wing Commander Roger Morewood (deceased) Died : 2014 *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Original pencil drawing by Ivan Berryman. | Morewood, Roger (Wing Commander Roger Morewood (deceased)) 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. |
| Aircraft Related to This Print |
| Anson |
| Me109 |
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Signature(s) value alone : £45
Signature(s) value alone : £45
