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Some other related items available from this site. | ||||
  The Hard Way Home by Robert Taylor. |   White-out at Breighton - Tribute to No.78 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. |   SOE Drop by Ivan Berryman. |   Unseen and Deadly 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 |
 Private Alf Whitbread (deceased) Died : 2011 *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 300 prints. D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Whitbread, Alf (Private Alf Whitbread (deceased)) Alf Whitbread, known in the war as 'Lucky Jim' was born in Twickenham, London and when his father got a job in the Building Research Station in Garston the family moved to Watford. Alf Whitbread left school to become a machine engineer, but was encouraged to volunteer for the army after hearing a patriotic speech on the radio. On June 19th, 1940, Alf Whitbread went to the Edgeware recruiting office and joined the Royal West Kent Youth Battalion at the age of 18 and in 1942 in Ireland, Alf heard rumours about a newly formed airborne unit and volunteered. Alf said : 'We thought we were going to be in the paratroopers, who were mad, but we finished up in the gliders and the paratroopers thought we were mad.' Alf Served with 17 Platoon of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He landed as part of the Coup de Main operation on Glider No.6 into Pegasus bridge in the early hours of D-Day. Alf was part of the second group of gliders which landed first at Horsa Bridge, before taking part in the battle for Pegasus Bridge, (the subject of the film 'The Longest Day'.) They sent the message 'ham and jam', a code confirming they had captured both bridges. The men held off many counter attacks by German troops and tanks until midday on June 6th. Alf would later say 'Two of our gliders were sent to secure Horsa bridge and frankly, it was a walk over. Our platoon never lost a man. We secured the bridge and then, when another platoon relieved us, we went and joined John Howard on Pegasus Bridge.' Alf Whitbread was later to take part in Operation Varsity, the last major battle of the war in Europe. On March 24th 1945 Operation Varsity was launched. The aim was to take a bridge over the Rhine again by gliderborne troops. Almost 1,500 men of the Ox and Bucks died during the operation, and Lucky Jim lived up to his reputation before his glider even landed. Alf would say: 'They say dont volunteer for anything, but I did and it worked out to my benefit. I remember when we were set to get on a glider on the way for the Rhine crossing and it was too full. I was detailed to another glider. They both crash landed. All the troops in the first glider were killed. Only three of us got out of the other glider alive, after it broke in half.' After the war Alf Whitbread joined London Transport as an engineer for 40 years and in all that time Alf never took a day off due to illness. With great sadness we have been told that Alf has passed away peacefully on 19th March 2011 at the age of 88. Cranston Fine Arts feel very honoured to have had Alf sign some of our art prints. |
| Private Billy Gray *Signature Value : £25 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 300 prints. D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Gray, Billy (Private Billy Gray) The first man out of Glider No. 1 into Pegasus Bridge as part of the Coup de Main operation in the early hours of D-Day. He served with 25 Platoon of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. |
| Craftsman Roy Bishop *Signature Value : £25 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Bishop, Roy (Craftsman Roy Bishop) Landing at Gold beach on D-Day + 3, he served in a Light Aid Detachment of the 49th Division (Polar Bear) as part of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. These Light Aid Detachments provided dedicated logistical support to Armour and Infantry units handling the repair of all weapons, optics and vehicles including tanks and armoured cars. |
| Private Frank Bourlet *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Bourlet, Frank (Private Frank Bourlet) Fought at the Pegasus Bridge action with 25 Platoon, D Company, 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 6th Armoured Division. |
| Sergeant Peter Rocky Bright *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Bright, Peter Rocky (Sergeant Peter Rocky Bright) Peter Bright, serving with 23 Platoon, 2nd Battalion, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, flew in Horsa Glider No.5 during the coup de main operation against Pegasus Bridge on 6th June 1944. In August he was wounded by shrapnel, posted back to England and promoted to Sergeant. |
| Private Stan Watson *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Watson, Stan (Private Stan Watson) Landing at Pegasus Bridge in Horsa Glide No.1, Stan Watson served with 25 Platoon, 2nd Battalion, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. |
| Gunner Ernie Brewer L d Hon *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Brewer, Ernie (Gunner Ernie Brewer L d Hon) Ernie Brewer landed on Gold Beach on D-Day with the 5th Battalion, Royal Horse Artillery, part of the 7th Armoured Division - the Desert Rats - equipped with Sexton 25pdr self-propelled guns. |
| Lance Corporal Harry Hopkins *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Hopkins, Harry (Lance Corporal Harry Hopkins) Fighting with the 1st Battalion, Rifle Brigade, also part of the 7th Armoured Division, Desert Rats, Harry Hopkins landed on Gold Beach on D-Day + 9, June 1944. |
| Private Frank Sankey *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Sankey, Frank (Private Frank Sankey) Frank Sankey landed on Juno Beach with the 5th/7th Gordon Highlanders, part of the 51st Highland Division. |
| Squadron Leader John Fisher DFC *Signature Value : £25 Editions signed : D-Day edition of 25 artist proofs D-Day edition of 200 prints | Fisher, John (Squadron Leader John Fisher DFC) John Fisher served with 644 Squadron flying Special Duties Halifaxes on supply drops to resistance movements throughout North West Europe, and dropping personnel for SOE duties. On the night of 5th June, he flew Halifax LL219 towing a Horsa glider as part of the assault on Pegasus Bridge. In two operations on D-Day + 1 he towed two further gliders into the Normandy area. He later flew two more glider operations over Arnhem, and another on the Rhine crossing. He received the DFC (USA) which was presented to him by General Jimmy Doolittle. |
| Aircraft Related to This Print |
| Halifax |
| Horsa |
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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 |
Signature(s) value alone : £60
Signature(s) value alone : £180