Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Four: Warrant Officer A. V. Smith, Royal Air Force, who flew operationally in Beaufighters of No. 27 Squadron on the Burma front

1939-45 Star; Burma Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, good very fine or better (4) £180-220

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals to the R.F.C. and R.A.F. from the Collection Formed by the Late Squadron Leader David Haller.

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Arthur Victor Smith enlisted in the Royal Air Force in early 1942, when he was selected for pilot training and embarked for Canada. Duly qualified, he returned to the U.K. at the end of 1943 and, having then attended an O.T.U. in Nicosia, Cyprus, where he converted to Beaufighters, was posted to No. 27 Squadron at Chiringa, south of Chittagong, in late 1944.

Going operational in January 1945, he completed a dozen ground attack sorties against Japanese road, rail and sea transport and, after No. 27 had converted to a jungle search and rescue unit, another 17 sorties, some of them as far afield as Sumatra. Having then served in an Air Sea Rescue unit at Pegu in early 1946, and attended A.H.Q. Burma Communication Flight, he was demobilised back in the U.K. in July 1946.

Sold with the recipient’s original Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Book, covering the period August 1942 until May 1946, and a wartime photograph.