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Some other related items available from this site. | ||||
  Eye of the Storm - The Dambusters by Philip West. |   Breaking the Silence by Keith Aspinall. |   On Course for the Möhne Dam by Richard Taylor. |   Dambusters - Breaching the Eder Dam by Robert Taylor. | |
| 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 |
  Sergeant Raymond E. Grayston (deceased) Died : 2010 *Signature Value : £65 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Limited edition of 75 publisher proofs. Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Grayston, Raymond E (Sergeant Raymond E. Grayston (deceased)) Ray Grayston had been serving in 50 Squadron when he was posted to 617 Squadron in March 1943. The flight engineer of Les Knights Lancaster AJ-N, they attacked and successfully breached the Eder Dam, Ray was shot down on 16th September 1943, and was taken to Stalag Luft III as a POW. Sadly, we have learned that Ray Grayston passed away on 15th April 2010. |
  Flight Lieutenant George Chalmers DFC DFM (deceased) Died : 2002 *Signature Value : £65 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Limited edition of 75 publisher proofs. Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Chalmers, George (Flight Lieutenant George Chalmers DFC DFM (deceased)) George Alexander Chalmers was born on February 12 1921 at Peterhead in Scotland. He was educated at Aberdeen Academy before working briefly at a local Crosse & Blackwell factory and joining the RAF as a boy entrant. After boy's service and qualifying as a wireless operator and air-gunner, Chalmer joined the RAF in 1938. Geogre Chalmers was posted to No 10, a two-engine Whitley bomber squadron at Dishforth, Yorkshire, from where he took part in leaflet-dropping operations over Germany after the outbreak of war. In August 1940 Chalmers transferred to No 7, the RAF's first four-engine Stirling bomber squadron which was operating from Leeming. There followed a spell with No 35, a four-engine Halifax bomber squadron, with which Chalmers was fortunate to survive an attack on the battle cruiser Scharnhorst at La Rochelle - his captain managed to make base despite being severely wounded and piloting a badly-damaged aircraft. When he joined 617 Squadron he was a Flight Sergeant and served as wireless operator on Lancaster AJ-O during the Dambusters raid which was piloted by Bill Townsend. Awarded the DFM for his part in the attack on the Ennepe Dam he was commissioned a few months later and awarded the DFC after 65 operations. In 1946 Chalmers was granted an extended service commission, and served in No 617 and No 12 Squadrons until 1950, when he was posted to No 38, a Lancaster squadron in the Middle East. He was released as a flight lieutenant in 1954, and served in the Reserve until 1961. Meanwhile, he had joined the civil service at Harrogate, where he worked for the Ministry of Defence dealing with the RAF's technical requirements. In this period his advice was much valued in the sphere of flight refuelling. On his retirement from the MoD in 1984, the company Flight Refuelling hosted a farewell party for him at which he was hailed as an expert in specialised spares procurement, especially in relation to a refuelling system of outstanding value used by the RAF in the Falklands conflict. Sadly, George Chalmers passed away in August 2002 aged 81. |
  Flight Lieutenant Edward Johnson (deceased) Died : 2002 *Signature Value : £65 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Limited edition of 75 publisher proofs. Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Johnson, Edward (Flight Lieutenant Edward Johnson (deceased)) He joined the RAFVR early in the war, serving with 50 and 106 Squadrons. When he joined 617 Squadron in 1943 he was the bomb aimer on Lancaster AJ-N piloted by Les Knight on the Dambusters raid. During that raid they first attacked the Mohne Dam and then went on to attack and actually breach the Eder Dam, for which he was awarded the DFC. Later in 1943 he was shot down but evaded capture and during a two month journey returned to England via Holland, France, Spain and Gibraltar. Sadly, Edward Johnson died 1st October 2002. |
 Sergeant Douglas E Webb (deceased) Died : 2002 *Signature Value : £65 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Limited edition of 75 publisher proofs. Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Webb, Douglas E (Sergeant Douglas E Webb (deceased)) Mr Webb flew 27 missions as a gunner on Lancaster bombers before being selected in March 1943 for the 617 Squadron, which attacked the Mohne, Sorpe, and Eder dams - flooding the German war industry. He passed away in 2002. |
 Sergeant Dudley P Heal Died : 1999 *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Heal, Dudley P (Sergeant Dudley P Heal) Sergeant Dudley Heal Navigator AJ-F, born 1916 Hampshire. RAF 1940 Uxbridge 29.3.1940 Reserve 30.3.1940 Uxbridge 8.5.1940 4 RC 14.5.1940 Wyton 1.6.1940 Southampton 20.6.1940 53 OTU 10.3.1941 1 RW 10.5.1941 8 ITW 17.5.1941 PTC,Toronto,Canada 19.7.1941 31 PD 18.11.1941 Moncton 31 PD 9.5.1942 3 PDC 18.5.1942 3 (O) AFU 20.6.1942 19 OTU 18.8.1942 434 Squadron 22.12.1942 44 Squadron 4.2.1943 (6 ops) 617 Squadron 25.3.1943 navigator award DFM (28.5.1943) (Dams) 29 OTU 26.3.1944 214 Squadron 8.2.1945 2 Embarkation Unit,Southampton 11.9.1945 released 11.3.1946 worked at Southampton Docks in the 1970's. Is thought to have passed away in Southampton around February 1999. |
 Flight Lieutenant Joe C McCarthy (deceased) Died : 1998 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | McCarthy, Joe C (Flight Lieutenant Joe C McCarthy (deceased)) In March 1943, a special Royal Air Force (RAF) unit, 617 Squadron, was created to try a new tactic--low altitude bombing using deep penetration bombs that weighed from 9,500 to 22,000 pounds. Their first targets were three dams in the Ruhr industrial area of western Germany: the Mohne, the Eder, and the Sorpe. These dams supplied water for Ruhr steel mills and hydroelectric power. Twenty Avro Lancaster bombers were specially modified for this mission to carry a new, rotating skip bomb that would bounce across the lake, sink, and then explode at the base of the dam. So secret was the dambusting mission, that the pilots and navigators were briefed only the day before as to the actual targets. The three dams were struck, and two were breached, on the night of 16 May 1943. 'Joe' McCarthy, from Long Island, New York, was an original member of 617 Squadron. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1941 and soon transferred with his crew to RAF Bomber Command. From 1941 until late 1944, he flew the Hampden, Manchester, Lancaster, and Mosquito bombers and compiled a total of 80 combat missions. As Officer Commanding, German Aircraft Flight, he tested and flew over 20 different German aircraft, which had been taken from captured German airfields back to Farnborough for extensive engineering evaluation. During this period, McCarthy flew the first British operational jet, the Meteor, and the experimental Windsor bomber. Upon returning to Edmonton, Canada, he continued flight testing a variety of aircraft for cold weather operations as well as the experimental Canadian flying wing. During 28 years in the RCAF, he flew 64 different British, American, German, and Canadian aircraft. Later assignments included base executive officer for an F-86 NATO installation in France; Commander, Flying Training School, RCAF Station Penhold, Canada; and Commanding Officer of the 407 Maritime Squadron, flying the P2V Neptune. From 1961 to 1962, he was Chief of Air Operations for the United Nations' forces in the Congo, and from 1963 to 1966, worked in plans and policy for CINCLANT/CINCLANTFLT. Wing Commander McCarthy's final assignment was as base operations officer for two maritime squadrons flying the Argus antisubmarine warfare aircraft in Nova Scotia. He retired from the RCAF in 1969 and, after a second career in real estate, fully retired in 1986. Passed away 6th September 1998. |
| Wing Commander Danny R Walker *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Walker, Danny R (Wing Commander Danny R Walker) |
  Squadron Leader Ken Brown CGM RCAF (deceased) Died : 2002 *Signature Value : £85 Editions signed : Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Brown, Ken (Squadron Leader Ken Brown CGM RCAF (deceased)) Born 20th August 1920. Joined the Canadian Air Force in 1941, and joined No.617 Sqn in 1943. Pilot and Captain of Lancaster AJ-F, he attacked the Sorpe Dam. Ken Brown died 23rd December 2002. |
  Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF (deceased) Died : 2012 *Signature Value : £45 Editions signed : Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | McDonald, Grant S (Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF (deceased)) Grant McDonald was the rear gunner on Lancaster AJ-F flown by Ken Brown. On the way to the Ruhr, the gunners shot up and damaged three trains in an eventful trip before reaching the Sorpe Dam. Sadly, we have learned that Grant S McDonald passed away in May 2012. |
 Sergeant Stefan Oancia DFM (deceased) Died : 1999 *Signature Value : £60 Editions signed : Portfolio edition of 10 artist proofs. | Oancia, Stefan (Sergeant Stefan Oancia DFM (deceased)) Born in Stonehenge, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1923, Sgt. Stefan Oancia enlisted in the RCAF on the 1st ofAugust 1941. Trained at No.2 ITS (graduated 4 December 1941), No.3 AOS (graduated 13 March 1942), No.2 BGS (graduated 25 April 1942) and No.1 ANS (graduated 25 May 1942) and was the bomb aimer on F/Sgt. Kenneth W Brown's Lancaster ( AJ-F Freddie). He survived the raid and the war and was awarded the DFM, presented at Buckingham Palace on 22nd June 1943. Sadly he passed away on the 15th of May 1999. |
| Squadrons Related to This Print |
| No.617 Sqn |
| Aircraft Related to This Print |
| Lancaster |
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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 : £260
Signature(s) value alone : £260
