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Some other related items available from this site. | ||||
  Normandy Sunrise by Gerald Coulson. |   A Friend in Need by Ivan Berryman. |   Sledgehammer by Ivan Berryman. |   Bug Killer 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 |
| Derek Tapson *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Limited edition of 30 giclee prints. Limited edition of 20 artist proofs. Large Size Limited edition of 5 artist proofs. Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. Limited edition of 30 giclee prints. | Tapson, Derek (Derek Tapson) Flying Typhoons with 197 Sqn against the advance of German tank forces on D-Day, he served throughout the Normandy invasions. He was shot down in February 1945 and spent the last weeks of the war as a PoW. |
 Flying Officer Frank Wheeler DFC (deceased) Died : 2013 *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Large Size Limited edition of 5 artist proofs. Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Wheeler, Frank (Flying Officer Frank Wheeler DFC (deceased)) Frank Wheeler joined the RAF in 1941, training in England as a pilot after which he completed a period of instructing. In January 1944 he was posted to join 174 Typhoon Fighter Squadron at Westhampnett, his first operation being as an escort to the Mosquitos taking part in Operation Jericho, the Amiens Jailbreak. He stayed with 174 Squadron for the remainder of the War, serving throughout occupied Europe, and in 1945, at the end of his tour of operations, he was awarded the DFC. We have learned that Frank Wheeler sadly passed away in early 2013. |
| Pilot Officer Rusty Townsend *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Large Size Limited edition of 5 artist proofs. | Townsend, Rusty (Pilot Officer Rusty Townsend) Australian Rusty Townsend joined the RAF in 1941, trained in the USA, before returning to join 175 Squadron on rocket firing Typhoons at Warmwell. Being in the thick of the action over France against retreating German Forces, he was shot down and taken prisoner of war. |
 Warrant Officer Jack Hodges DFC *Signature Value : £40 Editions signed : Large Size Limited edition of 5 artist proofs. Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Hodges, Jack (Warrant Officer Jack Hodges DFC) Jack Hodges joined the RAF in late 1940, and after completing his pilot training in Canada he returned to England and was then briefly sent to a Photo Reconnaissance Unit flying Spitfires. He moved to a OTU in Annan, Scotland on Hurricanes before finally moving to a holding unit in Redhill, flying Typhoons. In 1944 he was posted to join 175 Squadron. Shortly after this he moved to 174 Squadron at Westhampnett. He served on operations throughout occupied Europe until the end of the war, being awarded the DFC in 1945 for successfully leading a group of Typhoons against a German Armoured Division. |
 S/Ldr. Ronnie Sheward *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Sheward, Ronnie (S/Ldr. Ronnie Sheward) Flying Officer Ronnie 'Pablo' Sheward was an Argentine pilot that flew with Firmes Volamos. He was born in Temperley, Argentina in 1913 and was sent to England to finish his studies, returning to Argentina in 1930 to Cinco Saltos in the Argentine Patagonia. When World War Two began he moved to England in July 1940, joining his first operational unit, 164 Squadron where he flew Spitfires and Hurricanes. He moved from 137 Sqn to 263 and 266 Sqn, and took part in the first attack ever by rocket armed Hurricanes on September 2nd 1943 against the doors at the Hansweert Canal in Holland. During the raid his Hurricane FJ-B was damaged. F/O Sheward and 164 Sqn flew night raider attacks to Abbeville on September 15th 1943 in FJ-B which had been repaired. In December, Sheward was promoted to Flight Commander and transferred to 137 Sqn, finishing the war as Squadron Leader with a DFC. After leaving the RAF after the war he stayed in the UK. |
  Flt. Lt. George Wood *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Wood, George (Flt. Lt. George Wood) Whilst with 263 Sqn flying a twin-engined Whirlwind he was shot down over Morlaix airfield on 30th October 1943 and successfully evaded capture and made it back to the UK with the help of the Résistance. He rejoined 197 Sqn flying Typhoons for the rest of the war. |
 Flt. Lt. John Shellard *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Shellard, John (Flt. Lt. John Shellard) John Shellard, a Typhoon pilot with 263 Sqn shared in the destruction of an Me262 on the 26thApril 1944 while on a mission to attack a train in Niebull station on the German/Danish border. |
 F/O Tony (Titch) Hallett DFC *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Hallett, Tony (F/O Tony (Titch) Hallett DFC) F/O Tony (Titch) Hallett DFC a member of 198 Rocket Firing Typhoon Squadron operated from bases in Southern England (Manston to Hurn). Operating from Thorney Island on D-Day and then from several landing strips on The Beachhead, France and Belgium between January and November 1944. After Fighter Pilot training in the USA in 1941/42 he returned to the UK for conversion to Hurricanes and was then posted to an Army Co-operation Unit in Northern Ireland where he gained valuable experience flying various types of aircraft, i.e. Defiant, Lysander, Hurricane, Martinet and Twin Engine Oxford. His operational flying from Southern England consisted mainly of attacking the many strongly defended Radar Stations from Ostend to Cherbourg and on two occasions changed from rockets to bombs for attacks on Noball Targets (flying bomb sites). Operations from the landing strips consisted, with close Army Support, taking out Gun Positions, attacking Tanks and destroying anything that moved in enemy territory all against very heavy enemy Flak. He completed in excess of 100 sorties and since 1984 has revisited Normandy on many occasions. He attended the official funerals of two 198 Squadron Pilots whose aircraft wreckage had been discovered as many as 41 and 49 years after the events. |
  Flt. Lt. David Ince DFC (deceased) Died : 2017 *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Ince, David (Flt. Lt. David Ince DFC (deceased)) Flt. Lt. David Ince DFC was born in Glasgow and was educated at Aysgarth School and Cheltenham College. Failing to meet the eyesight standards for aircrew he became a gunner officer in 1940 and managed to pass a wartime RAF medical board at his third attempt. Seconded for Army Cooperation duties, he trained in Canada at 35 EFTS and 37 SFTS before returning to the UK to fly Hurricanes and Mustangs at 41 OTU. Subsequently converting to Typhoons he flew with 193 and 257 Squadrons, from Normandy until the end of hostilities in Europe, completing almost 150 sorties and being awarded an immediate DFC. He took a leading part in trials, demonstrations and the early operational use of Napalm. Almost shot down on one reconnaissance flight, he later devised and proved a camera installation for low level close up target photography, which was an immediate success. In the closing stages of the war he was leading 193 Squadron on shipping strikes in the Baltic. After attending the first post war course at The Empire Test Pilots School he returned to University to complete an engineering degree. He died in Winchester, Hampshire aged 96 on 2nd August 2017. |
  Flight Lieutenant James Kyle DFM *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Kyle, James (Flight Lieutenant James Kyle DFM) James Kyle joined the RAF in 1941 and trained as a pilot in Dallas, Texas, before returning home to become a member of 197 Typhoon Fighter Squadron at Drem upon its formation. In March 1943 the Squadron moved to Tangmere, and he became one of a precious few survivors of a full tour of operations, being awarded the DFM in 1944. He was demobilised in 1947 as a flight commander with 80 Tempest Fighter Squadron in Germany. He spent some years away from the service but the urge to fly never left and he rejoined the RAF in 1951 and became a Qualified Flying Instructor. He retired in 1974 after 30 years service. |
  Flight Lieutenant Roy Crane (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Crane, Roy (Flight Lieutenant Roy Crane (deceased)) Joining the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1940, Roy Crane was the deferred for nine months before call-up and flying training in the UK and Canada, receiving his Wings and Commission in December 1942. After operational training on Hurricanes, he joined 182 Typhoon Squadron in August 1943. Sorties included dive bombing and fighter escort duties. Transferred to 181 Squadron in April 1944 where worties with cannon and rockets included V1 and V2 sites as well as gun positions, petrol dumps, trains and marshalling yards, etc, in preparation for the invasion. In May this intensified with attacks on heavily defended radar sites along the French coast and shipping strikes. With the invasion a success, 181 Squadron was in the forefront of the Typhoons squadrons attacks on the German ground forces in Normandy, operating from forward airfields in France. On 2nd August 1944 his aircraft was hit by flak at low level and he became a POW. He had completed 71 operational sorties -- Whilst attacking tanks and motorised transport with rockets and cannon in the area of Falaise on 2nd August 1944, my aircraft was twice hit by 40mm flak at low level. I baled out and landed in a very hostile Waffen SS camp, lucky to be quickly rescued by two of the nearby German Air Force gun crew that had shot me down. Later that evening I was taken in an open German staff car by the Oberfeldwebel from the gun crew, a driver and an armed motorcycle escort in the direction of Falaise. We had only travelled a short distance, when about to pass a column of German tanks, they were attacked by six Typhoons firing rockets and cannon. They came round again and again, leaving terrible carnage. This was an ordeal that has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. They finally got me out of the Falaise pocket to Alencon, after which I was eventually taken after intensive interrogation at Oberursal, to Stalag Luft III at Sagan. |
 Warrant Officer Douglas Oram *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Oram, Douglas (Warrant Officer Douglas Oram) Doug Oram joined the RAF in 1942 and went out to America to train as a pilot. In 1944 he joined 174 Typhoon Fighter Squadron at Westhampnett, and spent a year on operations serving throughout occupied Europe. In 1945 he became a Flying Instructor and left the RAF in 1946. However he rejoined in 1947 and stayed in the service until retirement in 1967. |
  Flight Lieutenant Derek Lovell (deceased) Died : 2019 *Signature Value : £40 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Lovell, Derek (Flight Lieutenant Derek Lovell (deceased)) Volunteered for the RAFVR in January 1941. He trained in Canada on Tiger Moths and Oxfords. He received his wings in April 1942 and was posted to Central Flying School. Following graduation, he taught Fleet Air Arm trainees on Harvards. He returned to the UK in March 1943 and flew Masters at AFU and Hurricanes at OTU. He taught Lancaster crews fighter evasion prior to posting to 84 GSU to fly Typhoons. He joined 197 Squadron at Needs Oar Point in the New Forest in June 1944 and was involved in close support operations and tactical dive bombing and low level bombing throughout the Normandy campaign and on through to VE-Day. He completed 135 operations and in August 1945 was posted to an OTU to instruct on Typhoons and Tempest Vs. He was demobbed in June 1946 and flew weekends in the VR on Tiger Moths and later Chipmunks. He was called up on the G Reserve in July 1951 and flew Harvards, Spitfire XXIIs and then Vampire Vs. He stood down in September as the Korea situation eased. He passed away on March 1st, 2019. |
 Flying Officer Kenneth Junior Kneen *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Kneen, Kenneth (Flying Officer Kenneth Junior Kneen) Training overseas, on arriving back in the UK Ken was posted to Holland joining 175 Squadron flying Typhoons. The squadron at the time being heavily engaged in low level bombing strikes against rail and armoured targets along the Dutch German border region. He remained with the squadron until the end of the war, then joined the RAFVR. |
 W/O Bill Macia *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Macia, Bill (W/O Bill Macia) Flew Typhoons and Tempests with 3 Squadron and took part flying to intercept V1 rockets and the advance through Europe. |
 Flt/Lt L.S. Pip Phillips *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Phillips, Pip (Flt/Lt L.S. Pip Phillips) 182 Sqn |
 Flt. Lt. Harry Pears D.F.C. (deceased) Died : 2016 *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Pilot Presentation edition of 2 prints. | Pears, Harry (Flt. Lt. Harry Pears D.F.C. (deceased)) Thank you to Mike Pears, the son of Harry who provided us with the obituary shown below, which he wrote for his father drawing on content in Harry's draft memoirs and other sources, after the death of his father in 2016: Squadron Leader Harry Pears, who died two months short of his 93rd birthday, was a former World War 2 and post-War Royal Air Force fighter pilot, and long served Air Training Corps (ATC) Civilian Instructor. Born in Durham on 30th May 1923, in the summer of 1941 (at the age of 18) Harry volunteered (after service in the Home Guard) for service as aircrew in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), and was called forward for pilot training on 8th September 1941. After initial training and a grading course on De Havilland (DH) Tiger Moth aircraft at RAF Peterborough, Harry was dispatched by sea to Canada to undertake flying training in the United States, under the Admiral Towers scheme. However, upon arrival in Moncton, in Canada he was given the choice of either training in Canada or at No.1 British Flying Training School (BFTS) based at Terrell, in Texas. Harry chose the latter and in May 1942, he began his formal flying training as part of No.9 Course, No. 1 BFTS on the Boeing PT 17 Stearman and the Vultee BT 13A Valiant basic trainers, and then the North American (NA) AT6 Texan advanced trainer (known as the Harvard in RAF service). After gaining his pilot's wings and having been commissioned as a Pilot Officer, he was one of a number of newly trained RAF pilots retained for a year in the US, to act as flying instructors, in his case at Waco Army Air Field in Texas, training prospective US Army Air Corps and RAF pilots on the Vultee Valiant basic trainer under the 'Arnold (Flying Training) Scheme'. Having completed his time as an instructor, he returned to the UK at the end of 1943, whereupon he volunteered to re-train to fly the rocket-equipped Hawker Typhoon IB fighter-bomber aircraft. Upon completing his operational training, Harry joined the Typhoon-equipped No 175 Squadron, 171 Wing, 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF), flying from a range of Allied advance landing grounds in the Low Countries, and then occupied Germany, during the period September 1944 – May 1945. It was whilst serving with 175 Sqn that Harry was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for having completed over 81 operational sorties, shooting down one enemy aircraft and damaging two others. At the end of the War in Europe, Harry, by now a Flight Lieutenant, was posted to India in late 1945, eventually joining No 5 (Army Cooperation - AC) Squadron, flying the Hawker Tempest Mk II fighter bomber aircraft, until the squadron was disbanded in 1947. Having returned to the UK from India, Harry (who had in May 1946 been granted a permanent commission in the RAF), was appointed as a weapons instructor – flying a wide range of aircraft including the DH Mosquito, Hornet and Vampire, also the Supermarine Spitfire and Gloster Meteor - serving initially at RAF Acklington, then with the Central Fighter Establishment and Air Fighting Development Squadron (AFDS) based at RAF West Raynham. During his time with CFE/AFDS Harry was one of the RAF team who undertook the pre-RAF service assessment of the NA F86N Sabre aircraft. At the end of 1951, Harry was promoted to Squadron Leader and posted to HQ RAF Cyprus, at RAF Nicosia, as Officer-in-Charge of No. 2 Armament Practice School. In 1953, he returned to the UK to reform and command 111 (Fighter) Squadron at North Weald, with the squadron been re-born on 2 December 1953, flying the Gloster Meteor Mk 8 fighter aircraft. Having completed his task of reforming 111 Squadron, in January 1955, Harry was posted to the Air Ministry as Officer-in-Charge Air Weapons Ranges. After two years at the Air Ministry, he was then posted to Head Quarters RAF Bomber Command where again he was concerned with air weapons policy. Part of his new role was to oversee the introduction of new weapons systems into service. One of the new systems Harry was involved with was the Douglas Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic (Nuclear) Missile (IRBM), with him having been part of the Thor missile 'Project Emily' team who led on the survey, and then the development of the 20 identified deployment sites for the RAF's four Thor missile squadrons. Whilst with Bomber Command, Harry also undertook an English Electric Canberra conversion course at RAF Bassingborne, and in late 1960, having completed his Canberra conversion course he was posted as Squadron Leader Bomber Operations to 224 Group RAF, based at RAF Changi, in Singapore. In this new role Harry took on responsibility for the provision of live weapons training for the three Canberra bomber squadrons (one each from the RAF, RAAF and RNZAF) based in that Theatre. He was also required to provide similar facilities and opportunities for the two fighter squadrons in the area – i.e. 1x Hawker Hunter Squadron (RAF) and 1x NA F-86 Sabre Squadron (RAAF). Unfortunately, early on in his tour with 224 Group, Harry attended a Full Medical Board at HQ RAF Changi. Sadly, the result of this Board was the loss of his flying category due to the deterioration of his eye-sight. With this he was given the option of continuing to serve in a ground role or to retire from (RAF) service on medical grounds. Luckily, Harry was given the opportunity by his Air Officer Commanding to continue as Squadron Leader Bomber Operations even though he was now deemed a non-flyer. During the remainder of his tour, Harry led on the conversion of the High-level Bombing Role of the Canberra to that of High-level (Target Area) Approach / Low-level Weapons Release – this technique being better suited for the weapons systems then being developed and introduced for the Canberra. In May 1963, Harry returned to the UK to start his last tour before his retirement from RAF service. As he wanted to be based post-retirement in the North of England the RAF arranged for him to be posted to HQ No.23 Group, which was then based at RAF Dishforth, North Yorkshire. Finally, on 30th May 1965, (aged 42 years) Harry retired from the RAF as a Squadron Leader. Squadron Leader Harry Pears DFC, born 30th May 1923, died 11th March 2016. |
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Signature(s) value alone : £45
Signature(s) value alone : £45
