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Some other related items available from this site. | ||||
  White-out at Breighton - Tribute to No.78 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. |   No.76 Squadron Halifax by Ivan Berryman. |   Churchills Few by David Pritchard |   Victory Over Gold by Nicolas Trudgian. | |
| 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 |
 Warrant Officer Harry Irons DFC (deceased) Died : 2020 *Signature Value : £40 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Irons, Harry (Warrant Officer Harry Irons DFC (deceased)) Joining the RAF at the age of 16 in 1940, he did 2 full tours as a Rear Gunner with 9 Squadron and took part in nearly all the famous raids of Bomber Command. He finished in 1945 at 158 Squadron flying Halifaxes. 'I had just turned 18 when we went on a gunnery school course. After that six-week training, we usually went for a further three months training to an Operational Training Unit. It so happened that 9 Squadron had just converted from Wellingtons to Lancasters and they were 14 air gunners short on the squadron, so they posted us from gunnery school after six weeks' training straight to the squadron. 'When I got there, I was approached by a Flt Lt Stubbs, who said to me: 'You're my new gunner. We've got a gunner already but he's been flying Wellingtons and he doesn't want to be a rear gunner. He wants to go in the mid-upper turret. You'll be the rear gunner.' But, he said, on my first raid, the best thing for me to do would be to go on the mid-upper turret. 'That way you can see exactly what's going on,' he said. 'My first raid in Lancasters with 9 Squadron was to Dusseldorf on September 10th, 1942. Every time we went on a bombing raid, we had to do an air test first. We would test our guns, test the bomb sight, test the hydraulics, test the engines, and when you landed, if everything was OK, you told the engineers that everything was fine for the raid. As we landed, the armourers arrived with the bomb load. I still remember now, it was one 4,000 pounder - one huge, fat bomb - and 1,200 incendiaries. 'Our bomb aimer was an 'old sweat'. We used to call him 'The Old Boy'. He was 26. He said that with that bomb load we had, we were definitely going to the Happy Valley. When we returned to the mess, we got ready to go to the briefing. We were briefed and the curtain came down off the target and there it was - Dusseldorf. 'That's right,' said the bomb aimer to me, 'that's where we are going, Dusseldorf.' Most of our raids were on the Ruhr Valley and the reason why I am alive now is because - I don't know why - but I never went to Berlin. I wouldn't be talking to you now if I had been to Berlin. I can assure you. 'We put all our gear on. It took about half an hour for the air gunner to get dressed with all the clothing. I clambered into the mid-upper turret and off we went. As we crossed the Dutch coast, I could see we were about 1,400 or 1,500 feet over the coast. I could see a huge number of lights coming up. Far below us there was light flak, in beautiful colours, but it never touched us because we were a little too high. 'We crossed over Holland and the bomb aimer said: 'We are approaching the target, Skipper,' so I decided to swing my turret around and have a look. I was absolutely shocked by what I saw. I could not believe my eyes seeing what was in front of me. The flak, the guns, the lights, the search lights. It was incredible and I was really, really, really frightened. The plane was bouncing about. Then the bomb aimer said: 'Bomb doors open' and in we go straight and level. 'On my left I could see an aircraft on fire going down, and one below us I could see exploding. And I thought to myself: 'We're in for something here!'. I could not believe that we were going to fly through this huge explosion. But we went through it. Then the pilot was talking to the bomb aimer, and the bomb aimer said: 'We have missed the target, Skipper. We're going to have to go round again.' And I thought: 'Dear, oh dear, we've got to go all the way round, come back and go through all that again.' Which we did. And on the second run, we dropped our bombs. 'Bomb doors closed. On the way home. Flying back, there were problems with the oxygen, so the skipper – he was 21 and on his second tour, and old hand – took us down lower. We had to drop below 10,000 feet, and as we crossed the Dutch coast, the light flak opened up. It was absolutely hair-raising. There were hundreds and hundreds of these lights flashing past us but, strangely enough, not one of them hit us. 'When we got back, we landed and had a look at our aircraft. There were about 10 or 15 holes, two or three inches wide, across the fuselage, flak holes caused by shrapnel from the shells. We must have caught them on the Dutch coast. We were lucky but I've seen much worse. We went in for a briefing, had a coffee and went to bed. That was my first raid. Later, I found out, that our skipper, who had finished his tour, unfortunately got killed during training a couple of weeks later.' Harry Irons died on 10th November 2020. |
| Warrant Officer Laurie Godfrey *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Godfrey, Laurie (Warrant Officer Laurie Godfrey) As a WOP/Air Gunner he joining 408 Sqn, only the second RCAF squadron formed overseas, serving on first Halifaxes and Lancasters completing 32 operations. |
 Warrant Officer Eric Carter (deceased) Died : 2021 *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Carter, Eric (Warrant Officer Eric Carter (deceased)) At the age of 19 Eric joined the RAF in 1939, Initially posted to 615 Squadron in 1940 flying Hurricanes and stationed at Valley in North Wales, with air duties of defending Liverpool and Manchester, and also escorting ships from Liverpool down to South Wales., during the late stages of the Battle of Britain and due to the shortage of Pilots Eric would fly Defiants with 456 Squadron which was a night-fighter squadron so sometimes he would Hurricanes with his squadron during the day and due to Pilot shortages would fly Deviant's at night for 456 sqd night-fighting over the Manchester and Liverpool area. Eric was then posted to 81 Squadron, again on Hurricanes. In the autumn of 1941 he accompanied the squadron on HMS Argus to Russia as part of Force Benedict, a clandestine operation to defend the strategically important Russian port of Murmansk. As well as operational patrols the squadron escorted Russian bomber missions. Eric would on occasions be in combat with Messerschmitt Bf 109s but had no confirmed victories, On his return from Russia Eric continued to fly Hurricanes. Then converting to the Spitfire, when he was then transferred to Burma, where he flew missions escorting transport aircraft delivering supplies to the 14th Army as they advanced towards Rangoon. After the war Eric Carter left the RAF in 1946. In 2013 along with other surviving pilots who flew in Russia, they were presented with the Arctic Start by the Prime minister David Cameron and in 2014 at the Russian Embassy at a ceremony he was presented with the Russian Ushakov Medal . Sadly Eric passed away on 26 July 2021 aged 101. |
 Lt Stanislaw Nawarski DFC KM (deceased) Died : 2017 *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Nawarski, Stanislaw (Lt Stanislaw Nawarski DFC KM (deceased)) Polish pilot Stanislaw Nawwarski flew with the French Air Force, but escaped to England after the fall of France in 1940 and joined the RAF. Just prior to the Battle of Britain he was injured after being shot down whilst ferrying an unarmed Hurricane. In 1941, back in action, he was posted to 302 Polish Squadron flying Spitfires. He flew Spitfires om D-Day and throughout the subsequent Allied advance through Normandy, scoring four victories, all Me109s. He died on 8th January 2017. |
| Flying Officer Tom Sayer DFM *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Sayer, Tom (Flying Officer Tom Sayer DFM) Tom was originally part of the RAFVR and was first posted to 10 Squadron as a pilot on Whitleys. He then transferred to fly Halifaxes with 102 Squadron at RAF Driffield and flew operationally from May to October 1943. He completed 35 operations in total. After a rest period he went to train new aircrew flying Stirlings who were involved in the towing of gliders for airborne operations during 1944 - 45. |
| Sqd Ldr Frank Williamson AFC *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Williamson, Frank (Sqd Ldr Frank Williamson AFC) Was at 10 Sqn and 102 Sqn at the same time as Tom Sawyer, he flew Whiltleys and Halifaxes and he completed 26 Operations. |
| Flt Lt Bluey Mottershead DFC *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Mottershead, Bluey (Flt Lt Bluey Mottershead DFC) Completed a full tour of Operations in 1943 flying Halifaxes for 158 Sqn at Lissett. |
| Warrant Officer John Morrison (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Morrison, John (Warrant Officer John Morrison (deceased)) With 35 Sqn he flew as a WOP/Air Gunner on Halifaxes taking part in 24 'Ops' but was shot down on the attack on the Tirpitz in April 1942. After being captured he spent the rest of the War as a PoW in several camps including Stalag Luft III. We have learned that John Morrison has now sadly passed away. |
| Flying Officer Frank Walker *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Walker, Frank (Flying Officer Frank Walker) Frank Walker joined the RAF in 1943, and did his original training in Glasgow. He was posted to 466 Squadron which was formed at RAF Driffield in Yorkshire on 10th October 1942, and changed over from Wellingtons to Halifaxes in September 1943. As a Rear Gunner on Halifaxes, Frank completed 36 operations before the end of the war. |
| Flt Lt Len MacNamara DFC *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | MacNamara, Len (Flt Lt Len MacNamara DFC) A Rear Gunner with 10 Squadron at Melbourne, before being transferred to 158 Squadron at Lissett. He completed 36 Operations, then after a spell at OTU, completed 10 more Operations with 75 New Zealand Squadron. |
| Warrant Officer Fred Maltas *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Maltas, Fred (Warrant Officer Fred Maltas) Fred joined the RAF as a Flight Engineer and was originally sent to 51 Squadron at RAF Snaith on Halifaxes. He then joined 35 Squadron as they undertook their Pathfinder duties. On his 2nd operation to Krefeld on 21st June 1943 his Halifax HR799 was shot down, and Fred ended up as a PoW in Stalag Luft VI. |
| Warrant Officer Harry Gough *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Gough, Harry (Warrant Officer Harry Gough) Harry joined the RAF in 1943 as a Rear Gunner in 10 Squadron affectionately known as Shiny 10 at RAF Melbourne, part of 4 Group. At the beginning of the war they were equipped with Whitleys, upgrading to the Halifax in December 1941. On 8th July 1940, they moved to RAF Leeming, Yorkshire and again on 19th August 1942 to RAF Melbourne, Yorkshire. Harry completed 33 operations. |
| Flying Officer John Evans *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Evans, John (Flying Officer John Evans) John joined the RAF in late 1942. He qualified as a pilot and was posted to 158 Squadron at RAF Lissett. His 12th operation on 12th May 1944 was to Hasselt, where his Halifax was shot down by a night fighter. He evaded capture with the help of the Resistance in the Freteval Forest, and got back to England in September 1944. |
| Warrant Officer Sam Thompson *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Thompson, Sam (Warrant Officer Sam Thompson) As a Mid Upper Gunner he was posted to 103 Sqn on Halifaxes before transferring to 9 Sqn where he completed 3 raids on the Tirpitz and also Berchtesgaden, completing 50 Ops in total. |
| Flt Lt Matt Holiday DFC *Signature Value : £10 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Holiday, Matt (Flt Lt Matt Holiday DFC) Matt joined the RAF in March 1939 and was originally posted to 10 Squadron and later to 77 Squadron. He completed 52 operations as a Mid Upper Gunner on Halifaxes. On a raid to Dusseldorf they were attacked by fighters and broke away from the bomber stream, but after evasive action they followed on later and bombed Dusseldorf on their own, resulting in the whole crew receiving instant awards. |
| Warrant Officer William Bell *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Bell, William (Warrant Officer William Bell) Bill joined the RAF in 1941 and was posted to 103 Squadron at RAF Elsham Wolds as a Navigator on Halifaxes. He was later transferred to 166 Squadron, and was on his 20th operation, flying to Berlin in November 1943 when he was shot down and ended up as a PoW in Stalag Luft IVb. He escaped on three separate occasions but was recaptured every time - the war finished just before his fourth attempt! |
  Flying Officer Kurt Taussig (deceased) Died : 2019 *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Taussig, Kurt (Flying Officer Kurt Taussig (deceased)) Czech Kurt was sent, age 15, by his parents on the Kindertrnsport to England from Czechoslovakia in June 1939 to escape the Nazi persecution of the Jews. Determined to fight the Germans he joined the RAF at eighteen in late 1942, and after training was posted to the Middle East to join 225 Squadron flying Spitfires on photo-reconnaissance duties in Tunisia, the Sicily landings, and in Italy. He died on 19th September 2019. |
  Wing Commander John Elkington (deceased) Died : 2019 *Signature Value : £40 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Elkington, John (Wing Commander John Elkington (deceased)) John (Tim) Elkington was born in 1920 and joined the RAF in September 1939. Commissioned as a Pilot Officer in July 1940 he was immediately posted to join 1 Squadron flying Hurricanes atTangmere. On 15 August he shot down an Me109 over the Channel, but the following day he was himself shot down over Thorney Island. He baled out injured and was admitted to hospital, his Hurricane crashing at Chidham. He died on 1st February 2019. |
  Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC (deceased) Died : 2018 *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Neil, Tom (Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC (deceased)) Tom Neil was born on 14th July 1920 in Bootle, Lancashire. Tom Neil (also to become known in the RAF as 'Ginger') joined the RAFVR in October 1938 and began his flying training at 17 E and RFTS, Barton, Manchester. Tom Neil was called up on the 2nd os September 1939 being sent to 4 ITW, Bexhill in early November. On 1st December 1939, he was posted to 8 FTS and on completion of the course he was commissioned and posted to 249 Squadron in May 1940 flying Hurricanes just before the start of the Battle of Britain flying from North Weald. On 7th September 1940, Tom Neil encountered and claimed a Bf109 destroyed. On the 11th an He111, on the 15th two Bf109s and a Do17 destroyed and another Do17 shared, on the 18th an He111 damaged and on the 27th a Bf110 and a Ju88 destroyed, a Bf110 probably destroyed and a Ju88 shared. On 6th October Tom Neil shared a Do17, on the 25th claimed a Bf109 destroyed, on the 27th a Do17 probably destroyed, on the 28th a Ju88 shared and on 7th November a Ju87 and two Bf109s destroyed. He was awarded a DFC on 8 October, but on 7 November, after claiming 3 victories over the North Sea off the Essex coast, he collided in mid-air with Wing Commander Francis Beamish and his aircraft lost its tail. He baled out of his Hurricane unhurt, Beamish force-landing unscathed. Tom received a Bar to his DFC on 26 November, and on 13 December was promoted flight Commander. The squadron was posted to Malta in May 1941, flying off HMS Ark Royal on the 21st. During a summer of frequent scrambles, he claimed one further victory in June, while on 7th October he led a fighter-bomber attack on Gela station, Sicily. He departed the island in December 1941, returning to the UK via the Middle East, South and West Africa, and Canada, finally arriving in March 1942, when he became tactics officer with 81 Group. A spell as an instructor at 56 OTU, before being posted as a flying liaison officer with the 100th Fighter Wing of the US 9th Air Force in January 1944. He managed to get some flying in over France with this unit, claiming a share in 6 aircraft destroyed on the ground before D-Day, and a dozen or so more later, plus a number of other ground targets. In January 1945 he was sent to the school of Land/Air Warfare as an instructor. In March 1945 he was posted out to Burma, where he undertook some operations with 1 Wing, Indian Air Force, to gain experience of the operations in this area. Returning to the UK in April, he resumed instructing at the school until the end of the year. In January 1946 he attended the Empire Test Pilots School, undertaking No.4 short course and No.5 course, a total of 18 months. Posted briefly to Farnborough, he sought a move to Boscombe Down, where he stayed for some 3 years. In 1948 in went to Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, to take part in the first high altitude pressure suit experiments, as a precursor to the aerospace programme. 1950-51 he was a staff officer at HQ, Fighter Command, while in 1952 he attended the staff college at Bracknell. He was then given command of 208 Squadron in Egypt, which he led until 1956, leaving just before the Suez operation. He returned to the UK to become W/Cdr Operations, Metropolitan sector, until 1958, when he attended the flying college at Manby. He went to the British Embassy in Washington for 3 years from 1959, returning to the Ministry of Defence but retiring from the service as a Wing Commander in 1964. Meanwhile he had added the US Bronze Star to his decorations in august 1947, and an AFC in January 1956. Tom Neil died on 11th July 2018. |
| Pilot Officer Stefan Ryll *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. | Ryll, Stefan (Pilot Officer Stefan Ryll) Stefan Ryll went into operations with 306 Squadron flying both Hurricanes and Spitfires, and took part in the last raid of the war flying a P-51 Mustang on escort for the bombers flying to Berchtesgaden. |
| Warrant Officer Reg Cleaver (deceased) *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Collectors edition of 25 artist proofs. RCAF edition of 25 artist proofs. | Cleaver, Reg (Warrant Officer Reg Cleaver (deceased)) Served with 419 (Moose) Squadron RCAF. Reg Cleaver was a Flight Engineer and Co-pilot on Halifaxes until On his 17th operation on 24 June 1943, on a raid to Wuppertal, his aircraft was shot down by German Fw190 nightfighters. After initially evading capture he was eventually captured in Holland where he was beaten by the Gestapo and taken as a PoW to Stalag Luft 6 until the end of the war. He died aged 89 when his car hit a tree in Brandon, he was given a funeral with full military honours at St. John the Baptist Church in Brinklow. |
 Wing Commander J F Stocky Edwards DFC* DFM (deceased) Died : 2022 *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : RCAF edition of 25 artist proofs. | Edwards, J F Stocky (Wing Commander J F Stocky Edwards DFC* DFM (deceased)) Stocky Edwards became a P40 Ace with 260 Sqn. 94 Sqn RAF, Flight Commander 260 Sqn RAF, 417 Sqn RCAF, Flight Commander 92 Sqn RAF, Squadron Commander 274 Sqn RAF, Wing Leader 127 Wing RCAF. His victory total was 15 with 3 shared. He died on 14th May 2022. |
 Lt Col Douglas Duke Warren DFC CD (deceased) Died : 2011 *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : RCAF edition of 25 artist proofs. | Warren, Douglas (Lt Col Douglas Duke Warren DFC CD (deceased)) Douglas Duke Warren was Born in Nanton, Alta., in 1922, along with his twin brother Bruce joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) at the age of 18. After advanced training, the Warren twins flew two tours of operations with Royal Air Force Spitfire squadrons. After joining 403 Squadron, Duke Warren flew as part of 165 Squadron in the air battles over Dieppe. He fought over Falaise, and also served with 66 Sqn and 11 Group at Biggin Hill. In 1945, they were both awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses by King George VI at Buckingham Palace. He returned to Canada in May 1945, and along with Bruce joined the permanent RCAF in October 1946. Douglas became a Flight Commander with 421 Squadron flying DH Vampire jet aircraft at Chatham, New Brunswick. On April 5th, 1951, his brother Bruce was killed as a test pilot at AV Roe aircraft company in Toronto flying the prototype CF100 jet fighter. Duke became Commanding Officer of the F-86 Sabre-equipped 410 Squadron in 1952. The following year, he was attached to the United States Air Force and flew Sabres in Korea. Duke Warren flew 253 combat missions, including flying the F-86 Sabre in Korea. Sadly Duke Warren passed away Saturday August 27th 2011 in Comox at the age of 89. |
| Flying Officer Edward Bowles *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : RCAF edition of 25 artist proofs. | Bowles, Edward (Flying Officer Edward Bowles) Joining 429 Squadron RCAF based at East Moor in Yorkshire in late 1942, Edward Bowles was a Bombardier on Halifaxes. He flew 33 combat missions, his aircraft shooting down two Me109s on one mission. |
| Warrant Officer Richard Curnock *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : RCAF edition of 25 artist proofs. | Curnock, Richard (Warrant Officer Richard Curnock) Richard Curnock was posted to 425 Squadron RCAF where he served as a Rear Gunner. He was only on his second operation on 25th February 1944 to Augsburg when his aircraft was shot down and he ended up as a PoW in Stalag Luft VI until the end of the war. |
| Squadron Leader Ian Hewitt DFC* *Signature Value : £20 Editions signed : RCAF edition of 25 artist proofs. | Hewitt, Ian (Squadron Leader Ian Hewitt DFC*) Ian was originally a Navigator on Whitleys with 58 Squadron, before joining 35 Squadron. Shot down attacking the Tirpitz in Halifax S for Sugar, he managed to crash land and escape into Sweden. Through a successful PoW exchange Ian was flown back to England in a Mosquito and went back to operations with 405 Squadron RCAF. |
| Flt Lt Henry Oakeby *Signature Value : £15 Editions signed : RCAF edition of 25 artist proofs. | Oakeby, Henry (Flt Lt Henry Oakeby) Posted to 432 Sqn RCAF, Henry Oakeby served as a Navigator. |
| Squadrons Related to This Print |
| No.405 Sqn RCAF |
| Aircraft Related to This Print |
| Halifax |
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Signature(s) value alone : £540
Signature(s) value alone : £160