Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Flight Lieutenant H. M. Gray, Royal Air Force, who completed a tour of operations as a Navigator in Lancasters of No. 103 Squadron in 1944: he was slightly wounded when his aircraft was hit by predicted flak over Le Culot on 15 August but pilot and crew made it back home on three engines

1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; War Medal 1939-45, in their original addressed card forwarding box, together with named and numbered issuance slips, extremely fine (3) £150-200

Herbert Gray commenced his operational career as a Sergeant and Navigator in No. 103 Squadron, a Lancaster unit operating out of R.A.F. Elsham Wolds, in May 1944. He was allocated to Squadron Leader F. V. P. Van Rolleghem’s crew, a well-known Belgian pilot who would end the War with 70 sorties to his name, in addition to the D.S.O. and D.F.C.

Three sorties were flown in May, including a strike on Dortmund on the 22nd during which his aircraft was attacked by a brace of FW. 190s - but Van Rolleghem’s skills were to the fore and the enemy departed the scene empty handed.

Thereafter 103’s operational agenda largely comprised targets of a French nature, thus a spate of daylight strikes on V-weapon sites, in addition to more regular targets by night. The daylight raids were to prove especially hazardous and Gray’s Lancaster was damaged by flak on sorties to Minoyecques on 22 June and Le Culot on 15 August. On the latter occasion, his 22nd operational sortie, he was slightly wounded in the left leg and his pilot was compelled to bring their Lancaster home on three engines.

Gray, who quickly returned to duty, completed his operational tour in October, with a strike on Saarbrucken on the 5th.

Sold with the recipient’s original pocket diaries for 1942 and 1944, the latter an R.A.F. edition with gilt ‘Wings’ to front, together with two drawings, signed ‘H. M. Gray’, one of a sailing boat and the other of topless lady, in blue crayon, this last also dated ‘1933’; and a letter written by the recipient as a child, addressed to his father and dated 28 January 1918.