Three: Flying Officer H. B. Cookson, Royal Air Force, a Coastal Command Observer who completed around 65 operational patrols, several of them leading to attacks on U-Boats

1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; War Medal 1939-45, extremely fine (3) £250-300

Cookson commenced his training as an Observer at Penrhos in May 1941 and was posted to No. 612 Squadron, a Whitley unit operating out of Reykjavik, Iceland, in February 1942, in which month he flew his first operational sweep, the first of around 40 such missions between then and his transferral to No. 210 Squadron in January 1943. And in the same period his aircraft encountered U-Boats on two occasions, the second of them, on 4 December 1942, leading to an attack - alas, as stated in his Flying Log Book, the ‘4 D.Cs hung up’. Cookson, meanwhile, had qualified as Squadron Bombing Leader.

Removing to No. 210 Squadron, a Catalina unit operating out of Sullom Voe, in mid-January 1943, he flew on two or three operational sweeps prior to transferring to No. 190 Squadron, another Catalina unit, that March. Thus ensued at least another 20 operational sweeps, two of which led to further attacks on U-Boats, the first of them on 26 March, south-east of Jan Mayen, when his Catalina engaged the enemy boat with machine-gun fire and six depth-charges, and the second of them on 22 April during a parallel search between the Faroes and Iceland, the U-Boat being attacked with another pattern of six depth-charges.

Also during his time with 190 Squadron, Cookson took part in a “Special Flight”, namely a trip to Grasnaya in North Russia ‘with secret freight’ on 30 May, from whence his Catalina returned on 2 June, once more carrying ‘secret freight and service passengers’ (his Flying Log Book refers).

In January 1944, he transferred back to No. 210 Squadron, now, too, equipped with Catalinas, but with the additional assistance of Leigh Lights, and in this capacity he remained employed until the end of the year, notching up another half dozen sorties in the process. His final wartime appointment, commencing New Year 1945, was at H.Q. No. 17 Group.

Sold with the recipient’s original R.A.F. Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book, covering the period May 1941 to January 1945, together with a good selection of wartime photographs (approximately 30), with several impressive air-to-air or air-to-sea images, in addition to other interesting subject matter.