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Some other related items available from this site. | ||||
  Devastating Strike by Robert Taylor. |  The Rail Strike by Robin Smith. |   Strike and Strike Again by Robert Taylor |   Breakout. Amiens Raid by Mosquitos 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 |
| Squadron Leader Leonard C. Jacobe DFC RAAF *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : RAAF limited edition of 100 prints, with 2 signatures. | Jacobe, Leonard C (Squadron Leader Leonard C. Jacobe DFC RAAF) Joined the RAAF in February 1941 and after training and instructing, was posted to fly Mosquitos with 109 Sqn PFF in June 1943. During his time with 109, Len completed 96 sorties, flew LR503 on two occasions, and attacked every main target with the squadron, including ground marking of German coastal batteries on the eve of the Normandy landings on June 6th 1944. |
| Flying Officer Malcolm Mac B. Skinner RAAF *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : RAAF limited edition of 100 prints, with 2 signatures. | Skinner, Malcolm B (Flying Officer Malcolm Mac B. Skinner RAAF) Joined the RAAF in June 1943 and after training was posted to 105 Sqn PFF at Bourne, where he joined pilot David Young (NZ). On 13th April 1945 attacked Reisa in GBF. At 02.26 on 21st April 1945, in Mosquito 'A', he released 4 times 500 MC bombs on Berlin using OBOE – the last bombs dropped on Berlin in world War II, then took past in the last RAF raid of the European war on 2/3 May. |
  Squadron Leader TJ Tommy Broom DFC (deceased) Died : 2010 *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : RAF limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with 5 signatures. RAF limited edition of 500 prints, with 5 signatures. Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Broom, T J Tommy (Squadron Leader TJ Tommy Broom DFC (deceased)) Thomas John Broom was born on January 22 1914 at Portishead, Bristol, and educated at Slade Road School, leaving when he was 14 to work as a garage hand. As soon as he reached his 18th birthday he enlisted in the RAF and trained as an armourer. He served in the Middle East, initially in Sudan, and in 1937 was sent to Palestine to join No 6 Squadron. With the threat of war in Europe, however, there was an urgent need for more air observers; Broom volunteered and returned to Britain for training. In February 1939 he joined No 105 Squadron at Harwell, which was equipped with the Fairey Battle. On the day the Second World War broke out No 105 flew to Reims in northern France to support the British Expeditionary Force, and within three weeks Broom had flown his first reconnaissance over Germany. During a raid on Cologne in November 1940 his aircraft was severely damaged by anti-aircraft fire, but the crew managed to struggle back to England where they were forced to bail out as they ran out of fuel. For the next 12 months Broom served as an instructor. He returned to his squadron in January 1942, just as the Mosquito entered service, and on August 25 was sent to attack a power station near Cologne. As the aircraft flew at treetop height across Belgium, the crew spotted an electricity pylon. The pilot tried to avoid it but the starboard engine struck the top of the pylon and the aircraft ploughed into pine trees. Both men survived the crash, and were picked up by members of the Belgian Resistance. They were escorted to St Jean de Luz by the Belgian-run 'Comet' escape line, and Broom crossed the mountains under the aegis of a Spanish Basque guide on September 8; his pilot followed him two weeks later. Twenty-five years after the event Broom returned to St Jean de Luz to meet the woman who had sheltered him from the Germans. After the German advance into the Low Countries on May 10 1940, the Battle squadrons were thrown against Panzers and attacked the crucial bridges across the main rivers, suffering terrible losses. After the fall of France, Broom and some of his comrades managed to reach Cherbourg to board a ship for England. No 105 Squadron was re-equipped with the Blenheim, and during the Battle of Britain Broom attacked the German barges assembling at the Channel ports in preparation for an invasion of England. After spending a period as an instructor at 13 OTU he rejoined 105 Squadron on Mosquitoes, they were in fact the first squadron in the RAF to receive them. Through early 1942 he was navigator on many of the daylight raids carried out by 105 Squadron. In August 1943 Tommy Broom was the chief ground instructor at the Mosquito Training Unit when he first met his namesake Flight Lieutenant Ivor Broom (later Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom), an experienced low-level bomber pilot. They immediately teamed up and flew together for the remainder of the war, in 163 Squadron as part of the Light Night Strike Force forming a formidable on Mosquitoes including the low level attack on the Dortmund - Ems Canal and completing 58 operations together, including 22 to Berlin. Known as The Flying Brooms Initially they joined No 571 Squadron as part of Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennetts Pathfinder Force, and on May 26 1944 they flew their first operation, an attack on Ludswigshafen. On August 9 they took part in a spectacular night-time mission to drop mines in the Dortmund-Ems Canal. They descended rapidly from 25,000ft to fly along the canal at 150ft, releasing their mines under heavy anti-aircraft fire. The force of eight Mosquitos closed the canal for a number of weeks. Tommy Brooms brilliant navigation had helped ensure the success of the raid, and he was awarded a DFC. The Brooms took part in another daring attack on New Years Day 1945. In order to stem the flow of German reinforcements to the Ardennes, the RAF mounted operations to sever the rail links leading to the area, and the Brooms were sent to block the tunnel at Kaiserslauten. They were approaching the tunnel at low level just as a train was entering it. They dropped their 4,000lb bomb, with a time delay fuse, in the entrance and 11 seconds later it exploded, completely blocking the tunnel – the train did not emerge. Tommy Broom received a Bar to his DFC and his pilot was awarded a DSO. When Ivor Broom was given command of No 163 Squadron, Tommy went with him as the squadrons navigation leader and they flew together until the end of the war. Their last five operations were to Berlin, where searchlights posed a perpetual problem. On one occasion they were coned for as long as a quarter of an hour. After twisting, turning and diving to escape the glare, Ivor Broom asked his disoriented navigator for a course to base. Tommy replied: 'Fly north with a dash of west, while I sort myself out.' A few weeks later Tommy Broom was awarded a second Bar to his DFC – an extremely rare honour for a bomber navigator. Tommy Broom left the RAF in September 1945, but he and his pilot remained close friends until Sir Ivors death in 2003. Sadly Tommy Broom passed away on 18th May 2010 |
  Flight Lieutenant Ray Harrington *Signature Value : £40 Editions signed : RAF limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with 5 signatures. RAF limited edition of 500 prints, with 5 signatures. Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Harrington, Ray (Flight Lieutenant Ray Harrington) Ray joined the RAF in 1941, completing his training in South Africa. In January 1944 he was posted to 603 Squadron flying Beaufighters in North Africa. Here he teamed up with navigator, Warrant Officer A.E. 'Bert' Winwood, and from where they launched attacks across the Mediterranean into Crete, Greece and the Aegean Islands against shipping, harbour installations and enemy aircraft with much success. In December 1944 they were posted to 235 Squadron Coastal Command, part of the Banff Strike Wing, converting to Mosquitos. In April 1945 they were shot down following a strike in the Kattegat, but avoided capture and with the help of the Danish resistance made it home, where they continued to fly again from Banff. |
  Wing Commander Robert Bray (deceased) Died : 2014 *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : RAF limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with 5 signatures. RAF limited edition of 500 prints, with 5 signatures. Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Bray, Robert (Wing Commander Robert Bray (deceased)) Robert flew his first tour of 32 ops in 75 (NZ) Squadron on Wellingtons. After a period instructing he joined 105 Squadron PFF on Mosquitos, flying Oboe operations, completing 87 ops by June 1944. In March 1945 he was posted to command 571 Squadron PFF, then commanded 128 Squadron PFF until Feb 1946. He died on 15th August 2014. Robert Walter Bray was born on May 5 1921 in Sheffield and educated at King Edward VII Grammar School in the city. He joined the RAF in June 1940 and trained as a pilot. In June 1941 he joined No 75 (NZ) Squadron to fly the Wellington, and over the next six months bombed many targets in Germany . In September he attacked La Spezia in Italy . On December 23 he took part in a raid on Düsseldorf, his 32nd and final operation with No 75 Squadron. He was later awarded his first DFC. During a rest period as an instructor, Bray flew a Wellington in the first '1,000 Bomber' raid, on Cologne. Two nights later he flew on the second raid, in which Essen was the target. After he had completed his tour with the Pathfinder Force Equipped with the new Oboe radar , the squadron's Mosquitos illuminated and marked targets with flares and target indicators for the main bomber force. Bray was in constant action from August 1943 during the Battle of the Ruhr, when industrial targets were attacked. On the night of March 26 1944 he was flying one of six Mosquitos which dropped target indicators on the Krupps works in Essen to provide an aiming point for a force of 705 bombers. Despite complete cloud cover, Bray dropped his markers using Oboe, and proof of their accuracy came in the form of a large red glow through the cloud followed by large explosions; the glow could be seen from as far away as the Dutch coast. On the night of May 4/5 Bray dropped a 4,000lb bomb on the IG Farbenindustrie AG chemical works at Leverkusen. Over the target, flak smashed into the starboard engine and his Mosquito lost height rapidly. Bray wrestled with the controls and managed to reach Kent flying at very low level. With one engine on fire and the other malfunctioning, he managed to land on the crash strip at Manston, near Ramsgate. In the lead-up to the Allied landings in Normandy, Bray marked railways, marshalling yards, night fighter airfields and oil installations, mostly in France. On D-Day, he took off before dawn and dropped his markers on the huge gun battery at Longines near Cherbourg, which posed a great threat to the invading naval forces. The main force of bombers destroyed it. After attacking airfields and the docks at Le Havre, he marked the V-1 site at Reneserve on June 16. It was his final sortie with No 105 after 15 months of continuous operations. Bray was rested until April 1945 when, at the age of 23, he was promoted to wing commander and given command of No 571 Squadron. Piloting the high-flying Mosquito, he attacked Berlin eight times in two weeks. On his eighth operation his aircraft was hit by flak but he managed to get back to base. On April 26 he bombed a seaplane base in Schleswig-Holstein. It was his 94th and final operation. |
 Squadron Leader Ron Curtis DSO DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : RAF limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with 5 signatures. RAF limited edition of 500 prints, with 5 signatures. Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Curtis, Ron (Squadron Leader Ron Curtis DSO DFC (deceased)) Qualifying as an Observer in 1941, Ron joined 144 Squadron on Hampdens before transferring to 44 Squadron at Waddington as a Navigator on Lancasters to replace the Lancaster crews lost on the Augsburg Raid and was awarded his first DFC at the end of the tour. At the end of the 1942 he moved to Marham, converting to Mosquitos, and in 1943 was posted to 109 Squadron equipped with Oboe as part of the Pathfinder Force. He flew 104 Oboe operations and 139 ops in total, and was widely credited with helping advance development of the Oboe system. |
  Warrant Officer Bert Winwood (deceased) Died : 2012 *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : RAF limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with 5 signatures. RAF limited edition of 500 prints, with 5 signatures. Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Winwood, Bert (Warrant Officer Bert Winwood (deceased)) WO A.E. 'Bert' Winwood was a Navigator on Mosquitoes and Beaufighters, flew only with pilot Ray Harrington attached to 603 sqn in the Greek Campaign. Bert did his Navigator training in Canada and in January 1944 was posted to 603 Squadron on Beaufighters, based at Gambut, near Tobruk. From here they launched attacks right across the Mediterranean into Crete, Greece and the Aegean Islands against shipping, harbour installations and enemy aircraft with much success. In December 1944 he was posted to 235 Squadron at RAF Banff flying as navigator on Mosquito's flying in the Banff Strike Wing. In April 1945 he was shot down when returning from a strike in the Kattegat, he and his pilot Ray Harrington avoided capture, and with the help of the Danish resistance made it home to England. After a short rest he continued to fly again from RAF Banff, he left the RAF in 1946. Bert Winwood passed away in 2012. |
  Group Captain John Cunningham CBE DSO DFC AE DL FRAeS (deceased) Died : 2002 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Cunningham, John (Group Captain John Cunningham CBE DSO DFC AE DL FRAeS (deceased)) John Cunningham joined the RAF in 1935 with 604 Squadron. At the outbreak of World War Two he was based at North Weald flying Blenheims on day escort and night fighter operations. In September 1940 he converted onto Beaufighters equipped with radar, the first aircraft that made night fighting really possible. In November he had the Squadrons first successful night combat. He took command of 604 Squadron in August 1941. After a period at HQ81 Group, he was posted on his second tour to command 85 Squadron equipped with Mosquitoes. In March 1944 with 19 night and 1 day victory he was posted to HQ11 Group to look after night operations. The most famous Allied night fighter Ace of WWII - 20 victories. He died 21st July 2002. Born in 1917, Group Captain John Cunningham was the top-scoring night fighter ace of the Royal Air Force. Cunningham joined the RAF in 1935 as a Pilot Officer. He learned to fly in the Avro 504N and was awarded his wings in 1936. While assigned to the Middlesex Squadron Auxiliary based at Hendon, Cunningham received instruction in the Hawker Hart prior to moving on the Hawker Demon. The Demon was a two-seat day and night fighter. Cunningharns squadron was mobilized in 1938 following the Czechoslovak crisis. His No. 604 unit was moved to North Weald. Later in 1938 his unit returned to Hendon and was reequipped with the more modern Blenheim 1 fighter. In August of 1939 the unit was again mobilized and returned to North Weald. The Squadron was primarily utilized to provide daylight air cover for convoys. Lacking radar the Blenheim was relatively useless as a night fighter. In September of 1940 the unit was moved to Middle Wallop and the first Bristol Beaufighters arrived. The Beatifighter had a modestly effective, although often unreliable radar. It was an excellent aircraft with reliable air-cooled engines and four 20mm cannons. Cunningham attained the units first night victory in the Beaufighter, and his tally rose steadily. He was promoted to Wing Commander of 604 Squadron in August of 1941. Cunningham completed his first combat tour of duty in mid-1942 with a total of 15 victories. He was then posted to H.Q. 81 Group, which was an operational training group under the Fighter Command. In January of 1943 Cunningham was transferred to command of No. 85 Squadron which was equipped with the Mosquito. With the higher speed of the Mosquito, Cunningham was successful at downing Fw-190s, something impossible in the slower Beaufighter. Cunningham completed his second tour in 1944 with a total of nineteen victories at night and one by day. He was promoted to Group Captain at that time, and was assigned to H.Q. 11 Group. Cunninghams radar operator Sqd. Ldr. Jimmy Rawnsley participated in most of Cunninghams victories. The 604 Squadron was disbanded in 1945, but in 1946 Cunningham was given the honor of reforming the Squadron at Hendon - flying the Spitfire. Cunningham left the RAF in 1946 and joined the De Havilland Aircraft Co. at Hatfield as its Chief Test Pilot. Cunningham had a long and distinguished career in the British aviation industry, retiring from British Aerospace in 1980. Cunningham was appointed OBE in 1951 and CBE in 1963. He was awarded the DSO in 1941 and Bars in 1942 and 1944; the DFC and Bar in 1941, also the Air Efficiency Award (AE). He also held the Soviet Order of Patriotic War 1st Class and the US Silver Star. Group Capt John Cunningham died at the age of 84 on the 21st July 2002. |
  Wing Commander Branse Burbridge DSO* DFC* (deceased) Died : 2016 *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Burbridge, Branse (Wing Commander Branse Burbridge DSO* DFC* (deceased)) Posted to 85 Squadron on night-fighters in October 1941, Branse Burbridge flew Havocs on his first tour, scoring just a single claim, but when he returned to 85 Squadron for a second tour - this time on Mosquitos, he was far more successful. His first enemy kill was in Febraury 1944 when he shot down a Messerschmitt 410 fighter plane off the Sussex coast. On the night of March 24, 1944 he became embroiled in a life-or-death dogfight with a Dornier 217 bomber over the Channel. His Mosquito chased the aircraft from 19,000ft to just 3,000ft before it crashed into the sea, with Wg Cmdr Burbridge pulling up with just 1,000ft to spare. During the period of the build up to the invasion of Normandy, and after, together with his radar navigator, Bill Skelton, They flew 30 sorties over Germany to provide escort cover to RAF bombers. His greatest achievement came on November 4, 1944 during a bombing raid over Bonn. He shot down three Junkers 88 bombers and a Me 110, firing just 200 rounds in the process. In total they claimed 21 victories in a ten month spell. In the days after D-Day, he shot down a Junkers 88 bomber on the France/Belgium border that was piloted by Major Herget, who was credited with 72 aerial victories. In June 1944 he also shot down three V-1s. With his final air victory, in January 1945, he passed the total set by John Cats Eyes Cunningham to become the highest scoring RAF night fighter Ace of the war. Following the war Wg Cmdr Burbridge studied theology at Oxford before becoming a lay preacher for the Scripture Union. He now lives in care in Chorleywood, Herts. |
  Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO** DFC* (deceased) Died : 1992 *Signature Value : £75 Editions signed : Limited edition of 50 Memorials proofs, with 8 signatures. | Cheshire, Leonard (Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC OM DSO** DFC* (deceased)) One of the most courageous and determined bomber leaders of World War II, Leonard Cheshire flew four operational tours, starting in June 1940 with 102 Squadron on Whitley bombers at RAF Driffield. In November 1940, he was awarded the DSO for getting his badly damaged aircraft back to base. He completed his first tour in January 1941, but immediately volunteered for a second tour, this time flying Halifaxes with 35 Squadron. He became Squadron Leader in 1942, and was appointed commanding officer of 76 Squadron later that year. Leonard Cheshire ordered that non-essential weight be removed from the Halifax bombers in a bid to increase speed and altitude, hoping to reduce the high casualty rates for this squadron. Mid-upper and nose turrets were removed, and exhaust covers taken off, successfully reducing the loss rate. In July 1943 he took command of 617 Squadron. During this time he led the squadron personally on every occasion. In September he was awarded the Victoria Cross for four and a half years of sustained bravery during a total of 102 operations, leading his crews with careful planning, brilliant execution and contempt for danger, which gained him a reputation second to none in Bomber Command. Sadly, Leonard Cheshire died of motor neuron disease on 31st July 1992, aged 74. |
| Squadrons Related to This Print |
| No.105 Sqn |
| No.109 Sqn |
| Aircraft Related to This Print |
| Mosquito |
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Signature(s) value alone : £90
Signature(s) value alone : £230
