Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A North Russia M.C. group of five awarded to Group Captain M. C. W. C. ‘Max’ Flint, Royal Air Force, late 45th Battalion Royal Fusiliers and Indian Army

Military Cross, G.V.R.; British War and Victory Medals (2.Lieut. M. C. W. C. Flint.); General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Iraq (Lieut. M. C. W. Flint.); India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Waziristan 1925 (F/O. M. C. W. C. Flint. R.A.F.) mounted as worn, good very fine (5) £1800-2200

M.C. London Gazette 21 January 1920:

‘Lt. Maxwell Charles William Flint, 45th Bn., R. Fus. For a gallant attack on one of the enemy strong points, which he captured with the support of a very few men, in spite of very heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, and also for the manner in which he handled his platoon during the subsequent counter-attack by the enemy. He set a fine example to his men.’

Maxwell Charles William Craig ‘Max’ Flint, was born in Edinburgh on 29 September 1898, son of Rev. William Craig Flint, M.A. He enlisted into the Royal Scots in March 1917 and was appointed to a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders in June 1917. He first embarked for the French theatre of war in the following year, on attachment to the 7th Battalion, and was afterwards employed in North Russia as a Lieutenant in the 45th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, in which capacity he won his M.C. for gallant deeds in Murmansk Command.

Having then been demobilised in December 1919, he was appointed to a commission on the Indian Army Reserve of Officers, in which role he witnessed further active service in the Iraq operations of December 1919 to November 1920, serving with 10/2 Punjabis and 3/153rd Rifles

Flint then appears to have applied for employment in the Colonial Service but, in June 1922, he was actually appointed to the Royal Air Force in the rank of Pilot Officer. Advanced to Flying Officer & Observer in December 1923, in which latter month he joined No. 5 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at Kohat, a unit of No. 1 Indian Wing, he served in the same capacity during the Waziristan operations of March-May 1925, under Wing Commander R. C. M. Pink, C.B., thereby qualifying for this rare clasp to his India General Service Medal - one of 260 such clasps issued.

Following these operations, Flint was transferred to the aircraft depot at Karachi, but in July 1928 he gained an appointment in No. 6 (Army Co-operation) Squadron in Mosul, Iraq, and was advanced to Flight Lieutenant a year later. Returning to the U.K. in the early 1930s, he was next appointed, in March 1933, to No. 4 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at Farnborough, which unit was commanded by Squadron Leader M. F. ‘Freddie’ West, V.C. And in April 1937, on West being posted to a special assignment in Finland, he himself was appointed to the command of No. 4 Squadron in the rank of Squadron Leader.

Flint was advanced to Wing Commander in the General Duties Branch in March 1940, and to Group Captain in June 1941, and was finally placed on the Retired List in May 1946. He died at Umtali, Rhodesia, on 21 February 1967.