Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant

‘It was Geoff Howitt and his operator who won the Squadron’s first victory on Havocs. A waxing moon near to full and the air as clear as crystal made for better sighting - not only for the night fighter, but for the enemy upper and lower rear gunners on the look-out. After the G.C.I. - call sign Cranford - had guided Geoff for some time out to sea, a good blip came up on Reed’s cathode tube, and at 9,000 feet he guided his pilot in from astern, when Geoff had a good ‘visual’ of a Heinkel 111, its crew evidently unaware of their impending fate. An excellent pilot, cool and matter-of-fact, Geoff sent a deadly stream of fire into the bomber; he could see flashes of his De Wilde bullets as they struck home, tearing off bits of metal which flashed past dangerously close to the Havoc. The Heinkel dived steeply and crashed into the sea. One enemy aircraft destroyed.’ Peter Townsend’s Duel in the Dark, refers.


The exceptional Second World War night fighter ace’s D.F.C. and Bar group of six awarded to Wing Commander G. L. Howitt, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who, having honed his skills in Hurricanes of No. 245 Squadron and No. 615 Squadron over Dunkirk and in the Battle of Britain, established himself as a successful night fighter pilot in No. 85 Squadron under Peter Townsend and “Cat’s Eyes” Cunningham - gaining the unit’s first “kill’ in Havocs in April 1941, his subsequent victims included the first Me. 410 “Hornet” to be downed over England and an He. 177 “Griffin” long range bomber, in addition to a brace of V. 1s for good measure, the latter claimed in Mosquitos of No. 456 (R.A.A.F.) Squadron, prior to his taking command of No. 125 Squadron at Coltishall in late 1944 and raising his operational sorties to around 300: and his post-war career was no less distinguished, encompassing as it did much work as a test-pilot for the Air Registration Board and the award of the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air.

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., with Second Award Bar, the reverse of the Cross officially dated ‘1941’ and the reverse of the Bar ‘1943’; 1939-45 Star, clasp, Battle of Britain; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France and Germany; War Medal 1939-45; Air Efficiency Award, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Flt. Lt. G. L. Howitt, R.A.F.V.R.); Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air, pair of silver badges, the reverses inscribed ‘R.D. 847363’, in Central Chancery fitted case, mounted as worn where applicable, good very fine (7) £18000-22000

D.F.C. London Gazette 30 September 1941. The original recommendation states:
’This officer has been engaged on night flying duties since November 1940, and has proved himself to be a relentless and skilful night fighter pilot. Since 7 April 1941, when the Squadron became operational on Havocs, Pilot Officer Howitt had destroyed two and damaged one enemy aircraft.
On the night of 9-10 April he attacked and destroyed an He. 111 which crashed in the sea east of Southwold.
On the night of 11-12 June he damaged a Ju. 88, the starboard engine of the E./A. being well on fire when he had to break off the combat owing to stoppages in his guns, and on the night of 13-14 July, he destroyed an H.E. 111 east of Clacton.
Pilot Officer Howitt has set a splendid example of keenness and devotion to duty.’

Bar to D.F.C. London Gazette 26 October 1943. The original recommendation states:
‘Flight Lieutenant Howitt returned to this Squadron for his second tour of operations in April 1942, since when he has flown a large number of operational sorties, and has destroyed a further four E./A. at night.
On the night of 14-15 April 1943, Flight Lieutenant Howitt shot down a Do. 217 after a long chase in which the E./A. took violent evasive action. The Do. 217 crashed near Clacton, one of the crew being killed and the remainder taken prisoner.
On the night of 16-17 May 1943, he shot down an Fw. 190 fighter bomber in flames, into the sea south of Hastings.
Flight Lieutenant Howitt was promoted to the rank of Acting Squadron Leader in June 1943, on being appointed to command ‘B’ Flight.
On the night of 22-23 August 1943, Acting Squadron Leader Howitt shot down an Me. 410 in flames, which crashed near Harwich. The Observer baled out and was taken prisoner but the pilot was killed. This was the first Me. 410 to be brought down on land over this country.
On the night of 6-7 September 1943, he shot down an Fw. 190 fighter bomber in flames off Clacton.
Altogether Acting Squadron leader Howitt has now destroyed six E./A. at night and damaged one.’
Remarks of Squadron Commander, Wing Commander J. Cunningham: ‘Over a long period this officer has proved himself to be a relentless and skilful night fighter pilot. He has set a splendid example to the pilots in his Flight by his calm and unflurried outlook and grim determination to destroy the enemy. I strongly recommend the immediate award of a Bar to the D.F.C.’

Geoffrey Leonard Howitt, who was born in Wallington, Surrey, in January 1914, obtained a private pilot’s ‘A’ licence in 1933, while attending the College of Aeronautical Engineering in Chelsea and, having been a Class ‘F’ Reservist, transferred to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in October 1937.

Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain

Called up in September 1939, Howitt attended No. 10 Fighting School and was posted to No. 245 Squadron, a Blenheim unit based at Leconfield, in November. Converting to Hurricanes in the new year, 245 went operational at Hawkinge in May, the recently commissioned Howitt participating in several scrambles and at least six sorties to Dunkirk; so, too, in early June, when he returned to the beleaguered French town on four further occasions.

Moved to Aldergrove in late July, 245 carried out extensive convoy patrol work, in addition to working up all manner of recruits and, in common with the latter, its pilots were gradually posted to frontline service as casualties mounted - in Howitt’s case to No. 615 (County of Surrey “Churchill’s Own”) Squadron on 9 October 1940, the day before it flew south to Northolt. Thus a flurry of scrambles and sorties over the coming month, many of them over the Thames and Croydon areas and at least one close-call on the 20th - ‘Patrol. 25,000 feet. Shot up by 109 in port wing. Landed O.K. at Northolt’ (Howitt’s flying log book refers). More relaxing was a visit paid by Churchill to see ‘his boys’ on 1 November.

No. 85 Squadron under Peter Townsend - emerging night fighter ace - D.F.C.

Posted to No. 85 Squadron at Debden in mid-November 1940, a pioneering night fighter unit under the redoubtable Peter Townsend, Howitt teamed up with Sergeant Reed as his Navigator and flew several sorties before the year’s end.

In early 1941, the Squadron converted to Havocs and moved to Hunsdon in Hertfordshire. The arrival of the American Havoc - a night fighter variant of the Boston - was greeted with some optimism, though as described by Peter Townsend in Duel in the Dark, it did not live up to expectations, the replacement of the nose compartment with heavy radar equipment and a dozen machine-guns causing the aircraft to be slow and tricky to handle, while the later Turbinlite version with a searchlight fitted in place of the nose compartment made an excellent target for enemy gunners. Moreover, as Townsend wrote: ‘The tips of the propeller blades whirled round within a few inches of the pilot’s ears. Climbing into an aeroplane cockpit was one thing; getting out - in a hurry - was quite another problem. I did not fancy the prospect of baling out of a Havoc.’

An early casualty was the popular ace “Sammy” Allard, who was killed while delivering the second Havoc to Hunsdon, when the gun inspection panel became detached and struck the aircraft’s tail plane.

Notwithstanding the perilous nature of operating in Havocs, Howitt and Reed quickly made their mark, claiming their first - and 85‘s first Havoc victory - an He. 111, 15 miles east of Dunwich, on the night of 9-10 April 1941, in addition to damaging a Ju. 88 east of Foulness on the night of 11-12 June - this latter last being seen with its starboard engine ablaze. Then on the night of 13-14 July, over Shoeburyness, they claimed their second confirmed victory after firing 1650 rounds into an He. 111.

Howitt was awarded the D.F.C. and rested as an instructor at No. 51 O.T.U.

No. 85 Squadron under “Cat’s Eyes” Cunningham - fully fledged ace - Bar to D.F.C.

In April 1942, he returned to No. 85 Squadron for a second tour of operations, this time under the command of Wing Commander Raphael, D.S.O., D.F.C. But it was not until the Squadron had converted to Mosquitos that he, and his new Navigator, Flight Lieutenant George “Red” Irving, notched up their first victory - a Do. 217 which crash landed in a field five miles west of Clacton on the night of 14-15 April 1943.

Meanwhile, in January 1943, Wing Commander John “Cat’s Eyes” Cunningham had taken command of No. 85, a period of command described at length by his Navigator Jimmy Rawnsley in Night Fighter - thus early mention of Howitt as ‘a solid and imperturbable individual’ and of the above Do. 217 - ‘a strange thing about that episode was that the pilot crashed with his aircraft and lived whereas the rest of his crew, who had baled out, were all killed.’

In late April 1943, the Luftwaffe introduced a new form of attack, using fast Fw. 190 fighters carrying a bomb beneath the fuselage and drop tanks beneath the wings - a new challenge for the pilots and navigators of No. 85, for once free of its bomb load and tanks, the Fw. 190 was, according to Rawnsley, ‘quite a fair match even for a Spitfire’ and ‘it could easily run away from us if it chose to do so, or make rings around us if we caught it.’

To be in a better position to catch the Fw. 190s, No. 85 moved to West Malling, and on the night of 16-17 May the Squadron was responsible for one of the most noteworthy night-fighter successes of the War, when it claimed five Fw. 190s between Beachy Head and the Forland - Howitt and Irving downing one of them over the sea off Hastings. According to Jimmy Rawnsley:

‘Their customer was a little more wily, and was diving for home at high speed, taking evasive action as he did so. But they chased on out across the Channel after him. Before he could reach the safety of the French coast they shot him down. He crashed into the sea, and they pulled up only just clear of the waves.’

Having then damaged another Fw. 190 in June 1943, Howitt and Irving were lucky to survive a sortie in July, when they, and one other 85 crew, were ‘scrambled to meet a wave of sneak raiders coming in under cover of bad weather’. According to Jimmy Rawnsley, in the Mess, ‘we looked out of the windows and then at each other. The cloud seemed to be almost down to the ground, and none of us envied those crew their job.’ Their fears were well-placed, for although Howitt just managed to creep back in from the sea under the weather to land at Bradwell Bay, the other 85 Mosquito crew crashed into the ground and were killed.

Soon after this incident, Howitt and his fellow pilots were introduced to the Luftwaffe’s latest development - the Me. 410 “Hornet”. Mosquito, by Sharp and Bowyer, takes up the story:

‘Although the summer raids did not mount to the expected degree, interest amongst the Mosquito crews rapidly increased with the June appearance of the Me. 410 over Britain. Powerful and fast - it had a top speed of 388 m.p.h. at 21,980 feet - the 410 had a 13mm. M.G. 131 gun on each side of the rear fuselage mounted in a remotely controlled barbette. In addition to two forward-firing 20mm. cannon and two 7.9mm. machine-guns it carried a bomb load of 500kg.’

Notwithstanding the strengths of the new Me. 410, on the night of 22-23 August, Howitt, on this occasion with Pilot Officer J. C. O. Medworth, one of 85 Squadron’s most skilfull and experienced Night Interception Operators (see following lot), shot one down over Chelmondiston, near Norwich, after it had crossed the coast at Clacton, the first of its type to be brought down in England. The Men Who Flew the Mosquito, by Martin Bowman, takes up the story:

‘On 22-23 August, Geoff Howitt of 85 Squadron, now Squadron Leader, D.F.C., and Pilot Officer J. C. O. Medworth, took off from West Malling at 23.30 hours in their NFXII and went on patrol. Off Harwich they zeroed in on Feldwebel Walter Hartmann and Obergefreiter Michael Meurer’s Me. 410 A-1 of 15/K.G. 2. Howitt got a visual on the Messerschmitt’s bright yellow exhaust emissions and closed in for the kill. It was difficult to get a sight of the silhouette and at first Howitt thought his prey was a 210. Almost at once a stray searchlight illuminated the aircraft and he could quite easily see that it was a 410. With the German crosses easily visible, Howitt gave the Messerschmitt a short burst, and it immediately burst into flames with a brilliant flash. Showers of burning pieces flew past the Mosquito in all directions. The Me. 410 A-1 fell away, its entire starboard wing on fire, and crashed at Chelmondiston. Meurer baled out and came down at Stratton Hall, while Hartmann’s body was later found in a field, his parachute unopened.’

And for good measure, Howitt, back with George Irving as his Navigator, downed another Fw. 190 in a combat on the night of 7-8 September - the enemy aircraft coming down three miles east of Clacton.

Awarded a Bar to his D.F.C., and the Air Efficiency Award in November 1943, Howitt was rested as an instructor at No. 63 O.T.U.

No. 456 (R.A.A.F.) Squadron - further victories - command of No. 125 Squadron

However, in April 1944, he commenced his third tour of operations, this time in Mosquitos of No. 456 (R.A.A.F.) Squadron, and on the night of 10-11 June, operating out of Ford in Sussex, he claimed a convincing probable off Brighton - an He. 177 “Griffin”, the largest German aircraft to operate over Britain in the Second World War but not, as it transpired, an example of vorsprung durch technik:

‘The e./a. was identified by the pilot and navigator using night binoculars as a He. 177 (no bombs) and was flying straight and level due East. Pilot at 600 feet gave two short bursts of about 1.5 seconds, dead astern, and strikes were seen on the port wing, fuselage and port engine; the latter streamed smoke immediately and the e./a. dived steeply and pulled out at about 3,000 feet below.

Fighter followed it down, the target gaining. Closing to 600 feet pilot again opened fire from dead astern (height 5,000 feet) with three second burst, observing a number of strikes concentrated in a bunch on the fuselage and starboard engine nacelle; many sparks and pieces were seen to fly off, and e./a. flew steadily for a very short time and then, turning very slightly to starboard, its nose dropped vertically. Fighter followed down and pulled out sharply at 2,500 feet when the visual was lost. The heavy trail of smoke from the e./a’s engine was seen coming out the whole of this time. Navigator followed target throughout on AI. After the second burst the range increased rapidly to 4,000 feet 10-15 degrees below when it vanished suddenly dead ahead.’

Otherwise engaged on “anti-buzz” operations, Howitt downed a brace of V.1s in early August, one of them, taken out at 700 yards range on the night of 12th-13th, causing bomb fragment damage to his Mosquito - see accompanying souvenir.

Appointed C.O. of No. 125 Squadron at Coltishall at the year’s end, he was similarly employed at the War’s end, and raised his tally of operational sorties to the 230 mark.

Post-war test pilot - Queen’s Commendation

Released from the Royal Air Force in the rank of Wing Commander in October 1945, Howitt joined the Air Registration Board, work which required him to fly many types of aircraft - in fact he raised his types flown score to well-over the 300 mark, and undertook some test flying at Shoreham in the late 1940s. Invariably such work involved considerable risk, for his work was largely testing aircraft for Certificates of Airworthiness, a case in point being an outing in a Vickers Viscount on 22 August 1956, the airframe suffering serious damage as a result of the Viscount going into a spin.

Awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air in 1958, Howitt remained similarly employed until 1965, but continued to fly occasionally to keep his licence up until 1972, when he joined a Hovercraft business. Finally retiring in 1976, he settled on the Sussex coast.

to be sold with the following artefacts and original documentation:

(i) The recipient’s R.A.F. Pilot’s Flying Log Books (2), Form 414 types, covering the periods September 1936 to July 1943, and August 1943 to May 1955, the entries from November 1945 in a civilian capacity; and his Civil Aviation Flying Log Books (3), covering the periods June 1932 to the outbreak of hostilities, and thereafter active service until May 1940, the inside back cover with around 10 images of early types flown; May 1955 to March 1972, and February 1966 to July 1975.

(ii) Buckingham Palace letter in respect of the investiture for his D.F.C., dated 30 January 1942, together with investiture admission tickets for the Bar to his D.F.C., dated 20 July 1945.

(iii) A stamped wartime signal to Howitt from Major Pearce, 32 Search Light Regiment, dated 24 August 1943: ‘Congratulations on your kill. It was a grand show and the lads are very thrilled. Will try to get some pieces for you’; together with a piece of V. 1 shrapnel retrieved from the leading edge of the recipient’s Mosquito in April 1944.

(iv) A large format photograph album (approximately 150 images, some loose), covering early training days through to work on the Hovercraft in the 1960s, via active service in No. 245 and No. 85 Squadrons, the latter including Townsend and Cunningham pictures, aircraft, and numerous newspaper cuttings, together with occasional inserts (e.g. a pair of No. 85 Christmas cards); together with a dozen or so separate images from test pilot days, including pictures of damage to the Viscount aircraft he piloted in August 1956, and of his Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air investiture in November 1958.

(v) A fine run of aviation passes, certificates and licences, comprising Federation Aeronautique Internationale, British Empire, Aviator’s Certificate (No. 11125, issued 29 May 1933); Great Britain, Air Ministry Private Pilot’s Certificate and Licence, dated 21 June 1933; Air Ministry Ground Engineer’s Licence (No. 2744, issued on 1 March 1935); The College of Aeronautical Engineering, Diploma, dated 17 May 1935; Federation Aeronautique Internationale, British Empire, Gliding Certificate, dated 10 November 1949; Flight Radio Operator, Certificate of Competency in Radiotelephony, dated 27 February 1952; U.K. Ministry of Aviation Private Pilot’s Licences (2), dated 20 March 1962 and 24 March 1971, and Air Registration Board passes (2).

(vi) The recipient’s night acclimatization goggles, as used on active service in No. 85 Squadron, and an ‘evader’s compass’.

(vii) The recipient’s R.A.F officer’s cap, by Bates of Jermyn Street, the inner leather band marked ‘Howitt’, and a set of wartime medal ribands and “Wings”, as cut from his uniform.

(viii) A tankard inscribed ‘Presented to Wing Commander G. L. Howitt, D.F.C., by the Members of 125 (Newfoundland) Squadron, 4th Oct. 1945’.

(ix) Battle of Britain, “The Few”, presentation album with dedication certificate in the recipient’s name, as compiled by Flight Lieutenant J. H. Holloway, M.B.E., in 1969.