Orders, Decorations and Medals

Victory Medal 1914-19, M.I.D. oak leaf (Lieut. W. R. Collins, R.A.F.) edge nicks otherwise good very fine £60-80

William Robert Collins was born in November 1898 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in late 1917, on gaining his “Wings” in the Royal Flying Corps. Hospitalised as a result of a flying accident in March 1918, he does not appear to have returned to duty until 1919, when, that July, he joined the strength of the R.A.F’s mission in North Russia. Initially employed on ground duties, he was cleared as fit for service as a pilot in September, and was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 22 December 1919), and awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class, with swords. Collins, who was demobilised in November 1919, is believed to have been awarded the O.B.E. in later life.