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  Shining the Way (Mosquito) by Ivan Berryman. |   Aces All - Tribute to the Pilots and Crews of 23 Sqn, Malta, 1943 by Ivan Berryman. |   Double Trouble by Stan Stokes. |   Mosquitos at Dusk 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 |
 Air Chief Marshal Christopher Foxley-Norris (deceased) Died : 2003 *Signature Value : £65 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 850 prints. | Foxley-Norris, Christopher (Air Chief Marshal Christopher Foxley-Norris (deceased)) Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris, (DSO 1945; OBE 1956; CB 1966, KCB 1969, GCB 1973 ) was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire 16 March 1917. Initially wanting to become a barrister, Foxley-Norris read Law at Trinity College, Oxford, but after he had learned to fly with the University Air Squadron his academic career was cut short by the outbreak of the Second World War, and in early 1940 he was piloting Lysanders with 13 Squadron in France. Then, having participated in the Battle of Britian, Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris trained as a flying instructor and applied his newly acquired skills in Canada under the Empire Air Training Scheme. Christopher Foxley-Norris was posted to the Middle East where he first teamed up with Pat Tuhill, initially on Beaufighters. Returning to Europe in 1943, he flew Beaufighters on anti-shipping operations over the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Foxley-Norris took command of 143 Squadron flying Mosquito IIs and VIs as part of the Banff Strike Wing, led by Max Aitken, for attacks on enemy shipping off Norway. Hazardous operations against heavily defended ships, using rockets and cannon, were made even more dangerous by the weather and fjords which the Mosquitos often had to negotiate below cliff height. Christopher Foxley-Norris went on to a distinguished career in the post-war RAF. His experience was now broadened with a variety of staff and command appointments, including a spell on the Directing Staff at Bracknell and command of the Oxford University Air Squadron and in 1953 his staff skills were recognised when he took over the air planning in Singapore at the height of the Malayan Emergency. Back home in 1956, Foxley- Norris found himself commanding a fighter station, Stradishall, at the time of the Sandys cuts in Fighter Command and in 1963 he served in the recently formed Defence Staff under Earl Mountbatten of Burma, where he gained invaluable experience of Nato and Commonwealth affairs. He was thus an excellent choice to return to Singapore to command 224 Group during the confrontation with Indonesia in 1964. There he commanded a miniature air force of some 300 aircraft in a joint-service campaign where air mobility was the key; this highly cost-effective exercise, as he called it, contributed much to the subsequent stability of South East Asia. Director-General, RAF Organisation, Ministry of Defence 1967-68, Chief of Personnel and Logistics 1971-74; Commander-in-Chief, RAF Germany and Commander, Nato 2nd Tactical Air Force 1968-70; Chairman, Cheshire Foundation (later Leonard Cheshire) 1974-82 (Emeritus), President 2001-03; Chairman, Battle of Britain Fighter Association 1978-2003. Sadly Air Chief Marshal Christopher Foxley-Norris passed away on 28th September 2003. |
 Flight Lieutenant Pat Tuhill DFC *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 850 prints. | Tuhill, Pat (Flight Lieutenant Pat Tuhill DFC) Pat Tuhill was navigator to Christopher Foxley Norris on Moquitos. After taking part in the Battle of Britain as a fighter pilot, Christopher Foxley-Norris was posted to the Middle East where he first teamed up with Pat Tuhill, initially on Beaufighters. A return to Britain brought Foxley-Norris command of 143 Squadron flying Mosquito IIs and VIs as part of the Banff Strike Wing, led by Max Aitken, for attacks on enemy shipping off Norway. Hazardous operations against heavily defended ships, using rockets and cannon, were made even more dangerous by the weather and fjords which the Mosquitos often had to negotiate below cliff height. Christopher Foxley-Norris went on to a distinguished career in the post-war RAF. Pat Tuhill was Vice-Chairman of the Aircrew Association. |
  Pat Fillingham FRAeS (deceased) Died : 2003 *Signature Value : £65 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 850 prints. | Fillingham, Pat (Pat Fillingham FRAeS (deceased)) A test pilot with de Havilland from the late 1930s, Pat Fillingham was the sole survivor of the elite group of wartime Mosquito test pilots that once included both John de Havilland and Geoffrey de Havilland, sons of the founder of de Havilland Aircraft. In a test career that took him through virtually every mark of Mosquito produced, Pat Fillingham flew over 2000 different aircraft and was involved in the development of manufacturing facilities in Canada and Australia. Candian Mosquitos presented a special delivery problem and one of Pat Fillingham's tasks was to investigate a spate of Mosquito losses on the Atlantic run. After one trip himself that nearly proved disastrous, and then one that was successful, he concluded that the major reason for the losses was a bravado amongst the crews, born of inexperience. For once, the Mosquito had inspired too much confidence. Pat Fillingham was born in Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, and was eductaed at Worksop College in Nottingham. From school he decided to pursue a career in aviation, and entered the De Havilland Technical School as a student in 1936. He soon wished to fly and joined the RAFVR in 1937. His initial pilot training was on the Tigermoth at Perth. On the outbreak of war he was retained at Hatfield, and working alongside John and Geoffrey de Havilland, he spent that period of his life testing the Mosquito, Hurricane, Oxford and many other types of aircraft. He undertook a large test programme on the Mosquito from 1940, and was seconded firstly to D. H. Canada in 1943, and DH Australia in 1944, to initiate and develop production lines for the Mosquito. Pat returned to Canada in 1946 to fly the prototype Chipmunk. On his return to Hatfield he continued with the test programme for the Comet, Vampire, Dove and Heron aircraft under the C. T. P. John Cunningham. His love of 'fun flying' gave a relief to the more serious aspect of his career in aviation, and he became British Air Racing Champion in 1952, and had the honour of winning the King's Cup in 1953. In 1959, Pat Fillingham made the first flight in the Comet 4c, and then became Chief Production Test Pilot on the Trident programme. During a remarkable career in the pursuit of aircraft development, he flew 120 different types of aircraft, and retired from the company in 1975. Pat Fillingham died on 17th July 2003. |
 Captain Eric Brown CBE DFC AFC RN *Signature Value : £35 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 850 prints. | Brown, Eric (Captain Eric Brown CBE DFC AFC RN) In the autumn of 1943 a decision was made which was to result in the Mosquito becoming the first twin-engined aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier. To test the idea a Mosquito FBVI was semi navalised and an experienced naval test pilot, Captain Eric Brown, invited to take charge of the tests. After a programme of simulated carrier landings at an airfield, it was decided to carry out the first actual landing on HMS Indefatigable on March 25th 1944. Brown crossed the stern of the carrier with 69 knots indicated airspeed, received the cut signal from the batsman and touched down, picking the number two arrester wire. The touchdown speed was well below what had been expected. While the Sea Mosquito, the eventual, fully navalised version of the aircraft, was too late to see combat it proved, once again, the almost limitless flexibility of the basic Mosquito airframe. |
  Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom KCB CBE DSO DFC AFC (deceased) Died : 2003 *Signature Value : £50 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 850 prints. | Broom, Ivor (Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom KCB CBE DSO DFC AFC (deceased)) Entering the RAF in 1940 he joined No 114 Squadron as a sergeant pilot flying Blenheims. After 12 operations he and his crew were allocated to No 105 Squadron and then No 107 Squadron, the last remaining Blenheim Squadron in Malta. The Squadron remained there without relief for five months carrying out low level attacks on the shipping. Very few of the original crews survived the detachment, in fact he was commissioned during this period, when 107 Squadron had lost all their officers and for a short time was the only officer, other than the CO, in the Squadron. At the end of this tour he was awarded the DFC. In early 1943 he became one of the first Mosquito instructors in the Pathfinder Force and later moved to No 571 Squadron with the Light Night Strike Force. He then formed No 163 Squadron as acting Wing Commander. He was awarded a bar to his DFC for a low level moonlight mining attack on the Dormund - Ems Canal from 50ft and then a second bar for getting a 4000lb bomb into the mouth of a railway tunnel during the final German Ardennes offensive. During his time on Mosquitoes his navigator was Tommy Broom, together they formed an inseparable combination. Remaining with the RAF after WWII and in accordance with peacetime rules for a much smaller Air Force he was reduced in rank first to Squadron Leader and then to Flight Lieutenant in 1948. Promoted to Air Marshal in 1974 he became the Head of the UK National Air Traffic Services and was the first serving officer to be appointed to the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority. Retiring from the RAF in 1979 he has been actively engaged in civil aviation since then. He died 24th January 2003. |
  Group Captain John Cunningham CBE DSO DFC AE DL FRAeS (deceased) Died : 2002 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Signed limited edition of 850 prints. | 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. |
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Signature(s) value alone : £320