A Second War D.F.M. group of four awarded to Flight Sergeant C. H. Wolstenholme, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who completed 36 operational sorties with 90 and 7 Squadrons, many as part of the Pathfinder Force against some of the heaviest defended targets in Germany, and was killed in action when his Lancaster was shot down by a German nightfighter during a raid on Hannover in September 1943

Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1154508. F/Sgt. C. H. Wolstenholme. R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45, good very fine and better (4) £2,400-£2,800

Provenance: Dix Noonan Webb, April 2020 (Distinguished Flying Medal only)

D.F.M. London Gazette 15 October 1943.
The original Recommendation, dated 17 August 1943, states: ‘This N.C.O. has navigated bomber aircraft on 29 operational sorties; of these, 12 have been with the Pathfinder Force. Flight Sergeant Wolstenholme has achieved a very high standard of navigation. His careful pre-planning and the accuracy maintained throughout the flight have set a fine example. His targets have included many in Germany and Italy and against these, he has directed his Captain with such precision that very successful bombing runs resulted. Throughout his operational tour, Flight Sergeant Wolstenholme has displayed a fine spirit.’

Cyril Hayworth Wolstenholme was born in Cardiff in 1914. Working as a Clerk and living in Ammanford, Carmarth, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1940 and trained as a navigator. Serving with 90 Squadron, flying Stirlings, his first operational sortie was a raid on Lorient on 13 February 1943. During the following two months, he took part in another 17 sorties, including a large number over targets in Germany, including Cologne, Wilhelmshaven, Nuremberg, Berlin, Essen, Kiel, Duisberg, Frankfurt, Stuggart, and Manheim.

Transferring with his crew to 7 Squadron in May 1943, flying Stirlings as part of the Pathfinder Force, his first sortie with this squadron was a raid on Dortmund, followed by raids on Bochum, Dortmund, Wuppertal, Le Creusot, Krefield, Elberfield, Cologne, and Hamburg, before converting to Lancasters for an attack on Nuremberg on 10 August 1943. Continuing in Lancasters, three raids on Italian targets followed - to Turin and twice to Milan - before a series of four raids on Berlin and Nuremberg. On 5 September 1943, during a raid on Mannheim, Wolstenholme’s Lancaster was attacked by an Me210 which was shot down in flames by the rear and mid upper gunner. However, during their next raid, to Hannover on 27 September 1943, Wolstenholme’s Lancaster JA849 MG-F, under the command of Pilot Officer D. A. Routen, D.F.M., was posted as missing. A report noted they were shot down by a nightfighter and crashed at Osteressen. Wolstenholme, who had completed 36 operational sorties, and four other members of his crew were killed; two other members of the crew survived and were taken Prisoners of War. Wolstenholme is buried alongside his fellow crew-members in Rheinbery War Cemetery, Germany.

Sold with quantity of research including copies of Operations Record Books for both 90 and 7 Squadron; Combat Reports; and other research including photographic images of the crew.