Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Five: Sergeant G. W. Lazenby, Royal Air Force, who flew operationally in Blenheims and Liberators on the Burma front

1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, generally good very fine (5) £200-300

Having commenced his training out in South Africa in the summer of 1941, Lazenby converted to Blenheims at an Operational Training Unit in Kenya and, following a brief posting to No. 454 (R.A.A.F.) Squadron in Iraq, was ordered to North Africa and thence to No. 60 Squadron on the Burma front in early 1943. He subsequently completed 35 operational sorties as an Observer in the period leading up to April 1944, about half of them in No. 60’s Blenheims and the remainder in Liberators of No. 355 Squadron, to which unit he transferred in November 1943, his targets including Akyab, Mandalay, Prome and Rangoon. And as verified by his accompanying Flying Log Book, he and his crew had several encounters with enemy Zeros, a case in point being a strike against Lainggwinshe on 15 March 1943: ‘1 Blenheim shot down. 4 Zeros and 4 Hurrys shot down. Own gunner 1 Zero confirmed. We were shot up and crashed on landing.’

Lazenby returned to the U.K. tour-expired in May 1944, after 35 sorties and 208 hours of operational flying.

Sold with the recipient’s original Air Forces in India Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book (A.F.I. Form 1767), covering the period July 1941 until April 1944. A rare log book.

The entries in this log book do not have squadron counter-stamps and it may therefore be a personal record book kept simultaneously by the recipient