The rare ‘R. 101 disaster’ M.B.E. awarded to George Darling, a civilian who made a gallant effort to rescue men from the burning wreckage of the airship in October 1930: credited with being the first man on the scene, he was much sought after by the media at large, one resultant - and remarkable - interview today being viewable on youtube.com

Some years later, he displayed courage of a very different kind - as a Captain in S.O.E’s famous “Prosper” and “Physician” circuits: revolver in hand, he was mortally wounded while attempting to escape a Gestapo ambush in June 1943

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Civil Division) Member’s 1st type breast badge, silver, hallmarks for London 1930, together with original Foreign Office letter notifying the recipient of the award, dated 29 May 1931, very fine £200-300

M.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1931:

‘For services on the occasion of the loss of the R.101.’

The following notice appeared in Flight magazine on 16 October 1931:

‘The King has conferred the M.B.E. on Mr. George Darling, a young Englishman connected to the well-known family of racehorse owners, who dragged two members of the crew of R. 101 clear of the burning wreckage and took them to hospital in his car. The decoration was presented to Mr. Darling on 9 October by Lord Tyrell, British Ambassador in Paris.’

George Darling was born near Chantilly, France in June 1899, the son of William Darling, an English horse breeder who was part of the racing community centred around the town, some 60 km. from Paris. On the day of the R. 101 disaster at Beauvais on 4 October 1930, George was out shooting with a friend, when the R. 101 came down in a nearby field. Rushing to the burning wreckage, they were greeted by one of the survivors shouting “My pals are burning to death.” Darling and his friend made strenuous efforts to rescue some of the airship’s crew from the blazing wreckage and, at length, were able to drag two men clear. A remarkable interview with Darling, filmed shortly after these events, may be seen on youtube.com - currently viewed by nearly 50,000: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckfYmmtnTAA

Of subsequent wartime events much has been written; some records state that Darling was with the B.E.F. and made his way to his fiancee Renee Guepin at Trie-Chateau, Gisors, on the fall of Dunkirk. Certainly he was locally recruited by S.O.E’s “Prosper-Physician” circuits under auspices of Major Francis Suttill and, as a section leader, oversaw a number of successful supply drops in early 1943. In common with many members of those circuits, however, he met his end as a consequence of the Gestapo infiltrating both networks.

A large party of SD and S.S. men arrived at Trie-Chateau on 26 June 1943, where, with the assistance of French Gestapo agents posing as members of the Resistance, they were able to trick Darling into revealing one of the hiding places for a recent arms drop. When, at length, it was apparent that he had been duped, Darling sped off on his motorbike under fire from an S.S. ambush. He was hit several times but pushed on along a rutted track until, at length, he could go no further and crawled into the undergrowth. One hour later he was discovered by the S.S. lying in a pool of blood. He died on the following day, without having regained consciousness.

Sold with a file of copied research, including an original Diplomatic Service letter addressed to Mr. D. J. Denham, dated 27 July 1966, confirming that Darling’s M.B.E. was made in respect of the R. 101 disaster; and a copy of Shadows in the Fog - The True Story of Major Suttill and the Prosper French Resistance Network, by Francis J. Suttill, with extensive mention of Darling.