Auction Catalogue

27 June 2002

Starting at 10:00 AM

.

Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria including the collection to Naval Artificers formed by JH Deacon

Grand Connaught Rooms  61 - 65 Great Queen St  London  WC2B 5DA

Lot

№ 1560

.

27 June 2002

Hammer Price:
£750

A Second World War C.B., C.B.E. group of seven awarded to Air Vice-Marshal C. D. C. Boyce, Royal Air Force, S.A.S.O. to Air Vice-Marshal Bennett of Path Finder Force fame 1943-45

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) neck badge, silver-gilt and enamels, in its Garrard & Co. case of issue; The Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military) 2nd type neck badge, silver-gilt and enamels, in its Garrard & Co. case of issue; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals; Order of Al Rafidain, 3rd class neck badge with swords, silver-gilt and enamels, in its Garrard & Co. case of issue, the last very slightly chipped on one arm, otherwise good very fine and better (7) £500-600

C.B. London Gazette 1 January 1946.

C.B.E.
London Gazette 8 June 1944.

Clayton Descou Clement Boyce, in his capacity as S.A.S.O. to Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett, No. 8 (Pathfinder) Group, was involved in the decision making for a number of important Bomber Command missions. Unlike other senior commanders, however, “Bruin” Boyce liked to hitch the odd lift to further his research, his close interest in selecting a Master Bomber for the famous Peenemunde raid leading to just one such outing with Wing Commander J.H. Searby, D.F.C., on a raid to Turin on the night of 12-13 July 1943. Searby got the job. Indeed such was Boyce’s enthusiam for the Peenemunde operation that he went one step further, without informing Bennett:

‘On the spur of the moment I decided to go on the raid itself; I suppose because it was something special. I told the Squadron Commander that I would like to go along and could he find me a nice reliable pilot to fly with. I had my flying suit in my car and I drew the rest of the equipment there. I didn’t tell the A.O.C., Bennett, but he probably wouldn’t have minded.’

The pilot selected to embark Boyce was Squadron Leader E. E. Rodley of No. 97 Squadron, although his senior passenger does not appear in the crew listing of the relevant entry in the Squadron’s Operations Record Book, this no doubt being a deliberate oversight because of the unofficial nature of his participation.

Sold with original Buckingham Palace ‘Permission to Wear’ document for the Order of Al Rafidain, dated 24 December 1943.