Cranston Military Prints .com Home Page
Customer Helpline (UK) : 01436 820269
Subscribe to our Newsletter!

You currently have no items in your basket

Payment Options Display
Buy with confidence and security!
Publishing historical art since 1985

Navigation Menus
Military
Art Index 		Aviation
Art Index 		Naval
Art Index 		Artists
Index
Product Search         
Aviation
History Archive 		Naval
History Archive
HALF PRICE AND FREE PRINT SPECIAL OFFERS
ALWAYS GREAT OFFERS :
20% FURTHER PRICE REDUCTIONS ON HUNDREDS OF LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS
BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE ON THOUSANDS OF PAINTINGS AND PRINTS
FOR MORE OFFERS SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Clipped Signature - Leonard Rochford. - Cranston Military Prints

Clipped Signature - Leonard Rochford.


Clipped Signature - Leonard Rochford.

Flew Sopwith Pups and Sopwith Camels in the First World War with No.3 Naval Squadron which became No.203 Sqn RAF in 1918. He is credited with a total of 29 aerial victories. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Service Cross with Bar. He died in 1986.

Please note that this particular signature has been written in pen - not in pencil like most of our signatures.
Item Code : CLP2895Clipped Signature - Leonard Rochford. - Editions Available
DESCRIPTIONSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSPRICEPURCHASINGPACKS
Clipped Signature.
Great value : Value of signatures exceeds price of item!
Rochford, Leonard

Died : 1986
Squadron Leader Leonard H Rochford DSC* DFC (deceased)
A World War One Ace with 29 aerial victories, he flew with No.3 Royal Navy Air Squadron and No.203 Sqn during the war. He died on 17th December 1986.

The following was written about Rochford by Leslie Hunt soon after his death in 1986 :
During WWII it was my privilege to serve under Air Vice Marshal Raymond Collishaw whose decorations were only exceeded in number by those worn by King George VI. I sometimes flew, at his invitation, in his aircraft on staff visits and but for '
Signature Value : £95
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 

Signature(s) value alone : £95		£30 Off!Now : £65.00

Quantity:
In 1 Pair
View


Some other related items available from this site.

Sopwith Camels of 45 Sqn, Istrana, are shown on an early patrol on a crisp morning in the Winter of 1917-18. B6238 was an aircraft shared by Lts E McN Hand and H M Moody, whilst B6354 was the mount of Lt J C B Firth.

A Hand of Aces by Ivan Berryman.		 Formidable commander of Jasta Boelcke, Karl Bolle, breaks off the attack on a 73 Sqn Sopwith Camel as its fuel tank begins to ignite - another undeniable victory in a career which saw him take an eventual 36 confirmed kills. The yellow band on the fuselage paid homage to his former unit, flanked by the black and white Prussian stripes Bolles Fokker DR.1 also sported an Oigee telescopic gunsight mounted between the guns. he survived two World Wars and died in Berlin in 1955.

Rittmeister Karl Bolle by Ivan Berryman. 		The aerial battle of 21st April 1918 was notable for involving two young novice pilots, each from opposing sides, and their part in the events that followed was as significant as it was tragic. Both William Wop May and Wolfram Ulf von Richthofen had been instructed to stay out of trouble, to remain on the very outskirts should a battle occur and simply get used to being in the sky with so many other aircraft. Delighted to have been assigned to Jasta 11 under the custodianship of his older, eminent cousin, Manfred, Wolfram was eager to cut his teeth and show that he, too, could get the job done. Both he and May kept a watchful vigil over proceedings from a safe distance as battle was joined between the red-nosed Fokker DR.1s of Jasta 11, the green-tailed Albatrosses of Jasta 5 and the RFC Sopwith Camels of 209 Squadron. Somehow, whether through carelessness or the adrenalin rush of the moment, Wolfram flew his Fokker tantalisingly close to Mays Camel who immediately gave chase, sensing that an easy first kill might just be a possibility. May quickly realised that all was not well, however, finding his guns jammed and unable to fire. He quickly broke off the attack and swooped away, but his actions had caught the attention of Manfred von Richthofen who, although engaged in a battle of his own, had been keeping a watchful eye over his young charge. The red Triplane now latched onto the tail of Mays helpless Camel and a lurid chase began along the Somme River, a chase from which the Red Baron would not return. The young Wolfram went on to become an ace, scoring all of his eight victories in the closing months of the war, was awarded the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd and survived to be a major force in Hitlers Luftwaffe in World War Two. He was eventually taken prisoner and spent his last months in an American PoW camp where he died of a brain tumour in 1945.

Leutnant Wolfram von Richthofen by Ivan Berryman. 		In the skies just west of Amiens on 20th April 1918, the celebrated German ace, Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, flying his famous all-red Fokker DR.1 Triplane 425/17 and accompanied by other DR.1s of his notorious Flying Circus, encountered Sopwith Camels of No.3 and No.201 Squadrons and a fierce aerial battle ensued. Two Sopwith Camels were to fall to the Red Baron's guns that day, the first of them being Major Richard Raymond-Barker, shown here flicking his aircraft to the right to avoid the German's fire. Raymond-Barker was almost immediately shot down, his burning aircraft being consumed by fire on impact. Just minutes later, Second Lieutenant David Lewis was caught and despatched, these two British scouts being the last ever victims of Baron von Richthofen.

Last But One 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.
NameInfo




Squadron Leader Leonard H Rochford DSC* DFC (deceased)
Died : 1986
*Signature Value : £95

Editions signed :

Clipped Signature.


Rochford, Leonard
(Squadron Leader Leonard H Rochford DSC* DFC (deceased))

A World War One Ace with 29 aerial victories, he flew with No.3 Royal Navy Air Squadron and No.203 Sqn during the war. He died on 17th December 1986.

The following was written about Rochford by Leslie Hunt soon after his death in 1986 :
During WWII it was my privilege to serve under Air Vice Marshal Raymond Collishaw whose decorations were only exceeded in number by those worn by King George VI. I sometimes flew, at his invitation, in his aircraft on staff visits and but for 'Collie', with whom I corresponded until his passing, I would never have known much about Sqn Ldr Rochford.
Leonard H Rochford - known always as 'Tich' since he stood just over five feet in height - was born in Enfield, Middlesex, on the 10th of November, 1896. During his time at a Sussex preparatory school Bleriot flew the English Channel (25th July 1909) and from that moment Leonard Rochfort wanted to fly. During holidays from Ampleforth College in Yorkshire, he often made his way to Hendon aerodrome where, in early 1914, he paid two guineas to have a circuit of the area in a Boxkite.

At the age of eighteen he tried to enter the Royal Naval Air Service but was told to apply again when nineteen. This did not deter him and he immediately started taking flying lessons at his own expense at Hendon, obtaining his 'ticket' - flying license - in October. He again applied to Admiralty and although selected for training in the RNAS he was not called until May of 1916. Flying training was at Chingford, Essex, then Cranwell, Lincolnshire, Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey and Detling, Kent.

Following a short course at RNAS Dover, 'Tich' was posted to No.3 (Naval) Squadron, a unit about to move from St Pol to Vert Galant, on the Doullens-Amiens road. The aircraft were Sopwith Pups and many of the pilots were Canadians, some of whom had experience of action in the air. Now a Flt/Sub-Lieutenant, 'Tich' was placed in C Flight along with Collishaw and although in the hectic air-fighting which followed, only two enemy machines were credited to 'Tich' out of some eighty claimed by No.3 (Naval) Squadron and Royal Flying Corps units, he was gaining vital experience, which stood him in very good stead later on.

When Collishaw was promoted to command the squadron he made 'Tich' one of his flight-commanders. Now re-equipped with the Bentley-engined Sopwith Camel - regarded by 'Tich' and others as the Allies' outstanding fighter - the squadron's total was increased by thirty enemy machines, of which 'Tich' claied six Fokker D.VIIs.
>br>On 1st April 1918, when the RFC and RNAS merged to form the Royal Air Force, No.3 (Naval) Squadron became No.203 Sqn RAF, and in June 'Tich' was summoned to Buckingham Palace to receive from King George V both Distinguished Service Cross and the Bar to the DSC which had followed. On 21st July, leading his flight of five Camels 'Tich' sighted a like number of Fokker D.VIIs, all of them shot down, two by 'Tich', after his flight had dropped bombs on an enemy aircraft hangar, setting it ablaze. A few days later King George V visited the squadron, making a special point of chatting to 'Tich' and, of course, Major Collishaw.

The Distinguished Flying Cross - an RAF award - was made to 'Tich' who, at the end of WW1 was credited with some thirty victories and many 'probables' and 'damaged', plus the bombing of ground targets. He left the RAF in 1919 and - marrying in 1920 - became an engineer, only to tire of this and take up farming in Sussex. In 1939 he rejoined the RAF and, after a flying refresher course, instructed and commanded a station flight. He again returned to farming after WWII but never lost touch with old comrades, flying to reunions of World War One 'Aces' in Paris and Canada and, in 1982, taking part in the Albert Hall's Festival of Remembrance as part of the small RNAS contingent.

After a fall in his house, a month after his 90th birthday 'Tich' died in December 1986 and, we hope, is chatting about old times with 'Collie' in that officers' mess in the sky. 'A quiet, gentle, unassuming officer, 'Tich' was 'absolute hell on wings' when in the cockpit in pursuit of the enemy.' So said Air Vice Marshal Collishaw in one of his letters.
Squadrons Related to This Print
No.203 Sqn
Aircraft Related to This Print
Camel
Sopwith Pup

Contact Details
Shipping Info
Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy
Privacy Policy

Sign Up To Our Newsletter!

Stay up to date with all our latest offers, deals and events as well as new releases and exclusive subscriber content!

This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts.  Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE

Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269.  Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com

Return to Home Page