Orders, Decorations and Medals

Three: Sergeant James Willam Lowe, Royal Air Force, who was killed in action on 3 May 1943

1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45, unnamed as issued, the medal mounted in a wooden glass-fronted case with Commemorative Scroll named to ‘Sergeant J. W. Lowe, Royal Air Force’, extremely fine (lot)
£600-800

James William Lowe was the son of Captain George Lowe and Harriet Lowe and the husband of Mary Patricia Lowe of Emsworth, Hampshire. Entering the Royal Air Force, he completed his training in Tiger Moths in November 1941. In April 1942, with No. 37 SFTS he was passed as a pilot flying Oxfords; and in September he completed his training on Ansons and Venturas at 34 O.T.U. Posted to No. 487 New Zealand Squadron in January 1943 he was a pilot on Ventura I’s, based at Feltwell and Methwold. His first operation was to Caen on 4 April 1943. On his second operation on 3 May 1943, as a pilot of Ventura AF798, on ‘Circus Operation on Amsterdam’, his aircraft went missing and death in action was later presumed.

On 3 May 1943, twelve Ventura light bombers of No. 487 (New Zealand) Squadron were detailed to attack a power station to the north of Amsterdam. Of the twelve, one aircraft returned early, the remainder made for the target with an escort of three squadrons of spitfires. Unfortunately, an earlier spitfire sweep had alerted the German defences while the Ventura force was still flying at low level over the North Sea. Adding to this, an exceptional number of experienced German fighter pilots were present at Schiphol airfield for a conference, which meant that 69 German fighters were in the air when the Venturas arrived. Whilst some German fighters attacked the spitfires, others concentrated on the Venturas and nine of the eleven were shot down before reaching their target. A tenth was badly damaged but managed to make it back to England. The remaining Ventura, flown by Squadron Leader L. H. Trent pressed on to the target and bombed it. His Ventura was then shot down and he and his navigator managed to bale out and were made prisoners of war. For his cool and unflinching courage in the face of overwhelming odds, Squadron Leader Trent was awarded the Victoria Cross (London Gazette 1 March 1946.

Sergeant James William Lowe, R.A.F. was pilot of one of the nine Venturas shot down as they made their way to the target. Shot down over the sea, his body was not recovered. His name is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

With recipient’s log book (some pages removed); Air Ministry letter to accompany the log book addressed to Mrs M. P. Lowe at ‘ ”Ostenburg”, Havant Road, Emsworth, Hants’; also with envelope for the Memorial Scroll to Mrs Lowe at the same address and some copied research.