Orders, Decorations and Medals

An extremely rare ‘Crowned Head’ A.F.M. group of six awarded to Flight Sergeant F. N. Paxman, Royal Air Force
Air Force Medal, G.V.R., 2nd issue with crowned head obverse (4490 F/Sgt. (Pilot), R.A.F.); 1914-15 Star (4490 2.A.M., R.F.C.); British War and Victory Medals (Sgt., R.A.F.); Jubilee 1935; Royal Air Force L.S. & G.C., G.V.R. (F/Sgt., R.A.F.), together with the recipient’s 8 original Pilot’s Flying Log Books covering the period November 1921 to September 1937, the group mounted as worn, very fine or better (14)

A.F.M. London Gazette 1 January 1935. Only 20 A.F.M.’s awarded with the crowned head bust of King George V.

Flight Sergeant F. N. Paxman served during the Great War as an Air Mechanic with the Royal Flying Corps and later as a Sergeant in the Royal Air Force. The first record in his Log Book shows him in “C” Flight, 1 F.T.S., in November 1921, his first solo flight being in an Avro on 16 March 1922. He had his first instruction on a Bristol Fighter on 12 June, and flew solo on 5 December. After further instruction on DH9A’s, he was posted, in June 1923, to No. 7 Squadron at Bircham Newton in Norfolk, where he had instruction on the Vickers Vimy. In December 1923 he was posted to No. 216 Squadron at Heliopolis in Egypt, flying Vickers Vimys. He was graded ‘above average’ as a pilot in April 1926, and moved on to fly Vickers Victorias and Virginias. Whilst on No. 22 Instructors Course, Central Flying School, Wittering, in 1927 he flew the Avro Lynx and Bristol Fighters, again being graded as ‘above average’. On 10 May 1927 he rejoined No. 7 Squadron as a fully qualified pilot, and took part in the Air Pageant at Hendon on 1 July 1927. By September 1928 he had flown 1015 hours in the air. In November 1928 he was posted to No. 2 F.T.S. at Digby, remaining there for the next thee years flying Vickers Vimy and Tiger Moth aircraft. He rejoined No. 7 Squadron in January 1931 and requalified as 1st Pilot (Night) the following March at R.A.F. Worthy Down. He reached 2000 hours flying in July 1934. In June 1935 he is shown piloting a Vickers Virginia for an R.A.F. film by Gaumont British Film, and in July 1935 he took part in the Royal Review at Mildenhall. In September 1935 he joined “B” Flight, Performance Testing Section, at the Aircraft & Armaments Experimental Establishment, Martlesham Heath. Here he flew a wide variety of aircraft, including the Heyford, Wildebeest, Hendon, Vincent, Valencia, Bristol Trooper, DH90, Anson, Blenheim, Wellington and Whitley. He was rated ‘exceptional’ as a pilot in 1936 by which time he had reached 2500 hours flying. The last entry in his Log Book was made on 1 September 1937 when he flew a Harrow at Martlesham for 35 minutes.