Miniature Medals

A rare ‘Dambuster casualty’ group of three to Pilot Officer S. L. Whillis, No. 617 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, a crew member of the first Lancaster to take off for the raid

1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal, with original card box of issue addressed to his widow in Newcastle-on-Tyne and named condolence slip; together with an original photograph of recipient in uniform at his wedding; a handwritten list of Whillis’s operations logged at the time by his widow, headed ‘Leslie’s Ops Record’, listing the 23 operations in which her husband participated, and detailing the date, target and number of planes lost on each mission; a small quantity of original correspondence addressed to his widow (9), mostly contained in their original envelopes, comprising letters from the Air Ministry (4); British Red Cross Society (2); Imperial War Graves Commission; and importantly two letters sent from R.A.F. Scampton, one of these being a personal letter signed by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, written 3 days after the raid, on 20 May 1943, which states ‘It is with deep regret that I write to confirm my telegram advising you that your husband, Sergeant S. L. Whillis, is missing as a result of operations on the night of 16/17th May 1943. Your son (sic) was a Flight Engineer of an aircraft detailed to attack the Mohne Damn. Contact with this aircraft was lost after it took off, and nothing further was heard from it. It is possible that the crew were able to abandon the aircraft and land safely in enemy territory, in which case news will reach you direct from the International Red Cross Committee within the next six weeks. The Captain of your husband’s aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Barlow, DFC, was an extremely able and experienced pilot, and would, I am sure, do everything possible to ensure the safety of his crew. Please accept my sincere sympathy during this anxious period of waiting. I have arranged for your husband’s personal effects to be taken care of by the Committee of Adjustment Officer at this Station, and these will be forwarded to you through normal channels in due course. If there is any way in which I can help you please let me know.’ the medals extremely fine and the paperwork generally in good condition (3) £2000-2500

See Colour Plate III

Pilot Officer (Flight Engineer) Samuel Leslie Whillis was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1912. He joined the R.A.F. in 1940 and after training was posted to No. 61 Squadron, transferring to No. 617 Squadron on 31 March 1943.

He was detailed as Flight Engineer of Lieutenant Barlow’s Lancaster ‘E-Easy’ for the Dams Raid on the night of 16/17 May 1943, their target being the Sorpe Dam. The four planes assigned to breach Sorpe were the first to take off for the Dams Raid, and were led by Flight Lieutenant Barlow’s plane, which left the ground at 9:28pm. As events would transpire none of these aircraft would ever reach their intended target.


At around midnight on the night of 16 May whilst flying at low level over the German town of Hedden, Lancaster ‘E-Easy’ struck some high voltage power cables and broke up killing the entire crew of seven instantly. The bouncing bomb carried on this plane did not explode on impact, and German records show that the Luftwaffe were able to recover and conduct researches on this bomb. The entire crew are buried in individually marked graves at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany.