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  Back from Normandy by Nicolas Trudgian. |   In the Playground of the Gods by Ivan Berryman |   Biggin Trio by Ivan Berryman. |   The Longest July by Ivan Berryman. | |
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| *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 |
 Pilot Officer Norman Brown (deceased) Died : 2013 *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Signature edition of 100 prints. | Brown, Norman (Pilot Officer Norman Brown (deceased)) Norman McHardy Brown was born in Edinburgh on 27 July, 1919, and went to South Morningside Primary before George Heriot's School. He volunteered for the Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve (RAFVR) as an airman u/t pilot (under training) a few days after his 20th birthday and was called up on 1st September, 1939 as war loomed. He was posted to 3 ITW (Initial Training Wings) in Hastings, moving in April 1940 to EFTS (Elementary Flying Training School) at RAF Burnaston near Derby. He was commissioned as Pilot Officer on 7 September, 1940 - with the service number 84958 - trained in Spitfires at 7 OTU (Operational Training Unit), RAF Hawarden, Chester, and was posted to 611 Squadron at RAF Digby, Lincolnshire, immediately engaging in the Battle of Britain. Norman Brown was one of 'The Few', those who took part in the Battle of Britain in the autumn of 1940 in the skies above England and the Channel. He was never shot down. On 12 October, 1940, Brown - nicknamed Sneezy by his comrades - was transferred to No.41 Squadron at Hornchurch and continued to hunt down German fighter planes. As the RAF gained the upper hand in the Battle of Britain, Brown's Spitfire was returning to Hornchurch on 1 November, 1940 when, in poor visibility, it overshot the RAF base and strayed into London's Barrage Balloon defence area. He struck a cable.The weather was still quite thick … my starboard wing struck a cable - not a pleasant discovery, he wrote many years later in a an article for the Scottish Saltire Branch of the Aircrew Association (ACA). My first instinct was to bale out, but I couldn't for two reasons; I was fully occupied holding the Spitfire straight as it tried to spin round the cable and secondly I could see I was over houses. If I had tried, I would almost certainly have killed myself. As it was I struggled hard with the controls and literally flew down the cable with the airspeed falling dramatically. Finally, the aircraft stalled and did what I can only describe as a violent flick roll. At this point the cable, I think, broke and tore away part of the wing, and I went into a steep dive. On trying to pull out, the Spit turned over on it's back at about 1,000ft and I thought all was over and I momentarily experienced the most unusual sense of complete tranquillity…He went on to describe how he spotted a small housing development site just beyond a railway line and decided to try and land there. He aimed to hit the fence to reduce the plane's speed, as the site was not very big and there were houses at the far end. I don't recall much about the impact except that it was very much more violent than a normal 'wheels up' forced landing, which I had previously experienced. I was very confused and found myself in almost complete darkness and realised that the Spit was upside down and there was only a little light through the windscreen as it was buried in soil through into which it had ploughed. He recalled the stench of petrol and thought he was about to be barbecued. The canopy had slammed shut but two men who had been working nearby came to his rescue. A hob-nailed boot smashed the canopy. I was never so pleased to see a hob-nailed boot and I was pulled out after I released my straps.Brown was believed to be the last survivor of No.41 Squadron, based at RAF Hornchurch, Essex, which lost 16 pilots in action during the three-month Battle of Britain but claimed more than 100 'kills' of enemy planes. In a separate article for the Scottish Saltire branch of the ACA, Brown wrote: The autumn of 1940, what memories! So very hectic, exhausting and frightening. The dangers, fears, excitement, the sadness and the fun, shared with some of the best people one could ever hope to meet. Waiting! Time is passed dozing, reading, listening to music or playing cards. The telephone rings: '41 Squadron scramble!' A dash for the dispersed Spits. Climbing at maximum rate, oxygen on at about 13,000ft, getting colder - probably about minus 30 degrees Centigrade … a gaggle of Messerschmitt Me109s dive on us out of the sun, their trails concealed by a drift of high cloud … gun button on to 'fire' … violent turns to meet the attack head on …chin pressed down on to chest and vision …darkening as G force increases … orange streaks of cannon fire pass too close … aircraft everywhere … a glimpse of an enemy fighter … a quick burst … more tight turns … a Spitfire dives past on fire and below, an Me109 with a Spitfire on its tail disintegrates … more evasive action, dive and tight turns and then level off. Back on base, we thankfully retire to the local hostelry for the odd pint … there is no mention of absentees. So ends another day. Having left the RAF in 1941, Brown returned to Scotland and forestry. As a result, he volunteered after the war to assist RAF 317 Squadron, on the ground in the western-controlled zone of Germany, in Operation Woodpecker, a reparations scheme to get badly-needed timber to the UK where wood had been rationed for civilians during the war in favour of the military effort. In 1947, the operation also provided timber and peat for heating to Germans civilians, who had survived the war only to face displacement and freezing temperatures. Norman Brown died in the Borders General Hospital in Melrose on the 17th December 2013 aged 94. |
  Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC (deceased) Died : 2010 *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : Duckenfield signature edition of 200 prints. | Duckenfield, Byron (Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC (deceased)) Byron Duckenfield started at Flying Training School on 25th November 1935 in a Blackburn B2 at Brough. As a Sergeant, he joined No.32 Sqn at Biggin Hill on 8th August 1936 and flew Gauntlets and Hurricanes. He joined 74 Squadron at Hornchurch on 11th April 1940, flying Spitfires, and on 5th May was posted to 501 Squadron flying Hurricanes at Tangmere. On the 11th of May at Betheniville, he survived a crash in a passenger transport Bombay aircraft in an aircraft in which he was a passenger, While comin ginto land the aircraft at 200 feet the aircraft stalled and the aircrfat fell backwards just levelly out as it histhe ground. 5 of th epassengers were killed when the centre section collapsed and crushed them. Duckenfield was fortunate as he had moved position during the flight. as the two passengers sitting each side of where he was sitting had died in the crash. (it was found later that the Bombay had beeb loaded with to much weight in the aft sectiion. ) recovering in hospital in Roehampton. On 23rd July 1940, he rejoined No.501 Sqn at Middle Wallop, then moved to to Gravesend two days later, scoring his first victory, a Ju87, on the 29th of July 1940. During August and September he scored three more victories. After a spell as a test pilot from 14th September 1940, he was posted to command 66 Squadron on 20th December 1941, flying Spitfires. On 26th February 1942 he took command of 615 Squadron flying Hurricanes from Fairwood Common, taking the squadron to the Far East. In late December 1942 he was shot down in Burma and captured by the Japanese. He remained a POW until release in May 1945. After a refresher course at the Flying Training School in November 1949, he took command of No.19 Squadron flying Hornets and Meteors from Chruch Fenton. After a series of staff positions, he retired from the RAF as a Group Captain on 28th May 1969. Duckenfield would write later his details : Burma At first light, 12 Hurricanes IIC aircraft of 615 Squadron, myself in the lead, took off from Chittagong for central Burma to attack the Japanese air base at Magwe, 300 miles away on the banks of the River Irrawaddy. Arriving at Yenangyaung, we turned downstream at minimum height for Magwe, 30 miles to the South and jettisoned drop tanks. Just before sighting the enemy base, the squadron climbed to 1200 feet and positioned to attack from up sun. On the ramp at the base, in front of the hangers, were 10 or 12 Nakajima KI - 43 Oscars in a rough line up (not dispersed) perhaps readying for take. These aircraft and the hangars behind them were attacked in a single pass, before withdrawing westward at low level and maximum speed. A few minutes later perhaps 20 miles away form Magwe, I was following the line of a cheung (small creek), height about 250 feet, speed aboput 280 mph, when the aircraft gave a violent shudder, accompanied by a very lound, unusual noise. The cause was instantly apparent: the airscrew has disappeared completely, leaving only the spinning hub. My immediate reaction was to throttle back fully and switch off to stop the violently overspeeding engine. Further action was obvious: I was committed to staying with the aircraft because, with a high initial speed, not enough height to eject could be gained without the help of an airscrew. So I jettisoned the canopy and acknowledged gratefully the fact that I was following a creek; the banks of either side were hillocky ground, hostile to a forced landing aircraft. Flying the course of the creek, I soon found the aircraft to be near the stall (luckily, a lower than normal figure without an airscrew) extended the flaps and touched down wheels-up with minimum impact ( I have done worse landings on a smooth runway!) My luck was holding, if one can talk of luck in such a situation. December is the height of the dry season in that area and the creek had little water, it was shallow and narrow at the point where I came down: shallow enough to support the fusalage and narrow enough to support wing tips. So I released the harness, pushed the IFF Destruct switch, climed out and walked the wing ashore, dryshod. The question may occur -Why did not others in the squadron see their leader go down? - the answer is simple, the usual tatctic of withdrawal from an enemy target was to fly single at high speed and low level on parallel courses until a safe distance from target was attained. Then, the formation would climb to re-assemble. Having left the aircraft, I now faced a formidable escape problem? I was 300 miles from friendly territory: my desired route would be westward but 80% of that 300 miles was covered by steep north-south ridges impenetrably clothed in virgin jungle; these were natural impediments, there was also the enemy to consider. Having thought over my predicament, I decided the best I could do - having heard reports of mean herted plainspeope - was to get as far into the hills as possible and then find a (hopefully sympathetic) village. I suppose I may have covered about 15 miles by nightfall when I came upon this small hill village and walked into the village square. Nobody seemed surprised to see me (I suspect I had been followed for some time) I wa given a quiet welcome, seated at a table in the open and given food. Then exhaustion took over, I fell asleep in the chair and woke later to find myself tied up in it. Next day I was handed over to a Japanese sergeant and escort who took me back to Magwe and, soon after that, 2.5 years captivity in Rangoon jail. Sadly we have learned that Byron Duckenfield passed away on 19th November 2010. |
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Signature(s) value alone : £45
Signature(s) value alone : £50