Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria. To coincide with the OMRS Convention

An outstanding Second World War S.O.E. agent’s D.S.O., M.C., Fall of France and Battle of Britain D.F.C. group of eight to Squadron Leader Count Manfred Czernin, Royal Air Force, a 15-victory ace who was once downed by Adolf Galland, and later parachuted into German-occupied Italy to lead a group of partisans

Distinguished Service Order, G.VI.R., the reverse of the lower suspension undated; Military Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated 1944 and privately engraved ‘S./Ldr. Count M. B. Czernin’; Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated 1940 and privately engraved ‘F./O. M. B. Czernin’; 1939-45 Star, clasp, Battle of Britain; Air Crew Europe Star; Burma Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, M.I.D. oak leaf, mounted as worn, good very fine or better (8)
£8000-10,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Awards to the Royal Air Force from the estate of the late Eric Campion.

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D.S.O. London Gazette 30 October 1945. The recommendation states:

‘Squadron Leader Czernin was parachuted behind enemy lines in N.W. Italy on 21 March 1945. His task was to co-ordinate the various scattered Partisan units into a unified command and with these forces to carry out the directions of 15 Army Group. In order to reach his area of operation in the Bergamasco district, he had to cross the 9,000 ft. Passo del Diaviolo which was completely covered with snow six feet deep. He made two attempts to cross the pass but without success. At 4 a.m. on 4 April he made a further effort and after marching continuously for 24 hours, suffering severely from cold, frost bite and lack of food, he succeeded in crossing the pass. Squadron Leader Czernin immediately commenced to organise the various Partisan forces and by his energy and personality quickly built up a large aggressive Partisan Command. This force, under his direction, went into action on 28 April 1945. He secured the unconditional surrender of three enemy garrisons whilst other forces under his command eliminated or captured the garrisons of three other places. Later the same day, after the whole area had been cleared of the enemy, he, with the Partisan Leader, drove into Bergamo in a car draped with the Union Jack to demand the unconditional surrender of the German Forces. The Germans opened fire and Squadron Leader Czernin was forced to withdraw. He then ordered the Partisans to attack the city and arranged for the underground elements in Bergamo to rise simultaneously. At 7 a.m. on 28 April 1945, Squadron Leader Czernin obtained an unconditional surrender from the German General. Throughout this period in the field Squadron Leader Czernin displayed the highest qualities of leadership and by his courage and daring made a noteable contribution to the Allied success in North Italy.’

M.C. London Gazette 1 December 1944. The recommendation states:

‘On the night of 12-13 June 1944, Squadron Leader Czernin and his Wireless Operator were to be dropped into enemy-occupied territory, but the reception signals were not satisfactory and they returned to base. On the following night, the reception was again incorrect. Entirely regardless of his own safety, Squadron Leader Czernin decided to jump with a view to making a personal reconnaissance of the situation. This he did without arms of any description and with the full knowledge that the Germans are constantly arranging bogus receptions for the receipt of Allied personnel and stores. On landing, he found the reception committee to be friendly. Thereupon he

flashed a signal to the aircraft which dropped the Wireless Operator and equipment. But for this courageous action, a most vital operation would have had to be postponed at a stage when the time was of the utmost importance to the success of the major plan.’

D.F.C. London Gazette 1 October 1940. The recommendation states:

‘This Officer has displayed great keenness in his desire to engage the enemy and has destroyed nine of their aircraft. In August 1940, he led his section in a head-on attack on large formations of enemy aircraft, destroying three of them.’

Squadron Leader Count Manfred Beckett Czernin (alias Manfred Beckett) was born in Berlin in January 1913, the fourth son of Count Otto Czernin, an Austrian diplomat, and his English wife, daughter of the 2nd Baron Grimthorpe. Several years later his parents were divorced and young Manfred moved to Italy with his mother, but was educated in the U.K. at Oundle School. Afterwards travelling to Rhodesia to work on a tobacco plantation, Czernin returned to the U.K. in April 1935 to take up appointment as an Acting Pilot Officer on a short service commission. Qualifying as a pilot, he was posted to No. 57 Squadron at Upper Heyford, and enjoyed several more squadron postings until placed on the Class A Reserve.

Recalled on the outbreak of hostilities, Czernin passed a fighter pilot assessment course and was posted to No. 504 Squadron at Debden in January 1940. A few days later, however, he was transferred to No. 213 Squadron at Wittering and, in early May, to No. 85 Squadron, a Hurricane unit, out in France. Here his highly successful combat record got off to a quick start, an He. 111 and two Do. 17s falling to his guns on the 19th of the month, followed by an Hs 126 on the following day. He had, however, on the 16th, been compelled to carry out a force-landing after being hit by fire from a Bf. 109 of 3/JG76 - he returned on foot to his unit at Lille-Seclin after three days. Returning to England on the 21st, by boat from Boulogne to Dover, he was posted to No. 17 Squadron at Martlesham Heath on 8 June and flew a Hurricane out to France to join the Squadron’s forward elements at Le Mans on the following day. Another He. 111 fell to his guns on the 12th, prior to his hasty departure back to England.

Still with No. 17 Squadron, Czernin fought with distinction throughout the Battle of Britain, commencing his tally with a share in the destruction of a Do. 17 of II/KG2 on 12 July - his victim succumbed to a series of head-on and quarter-stern attacks, broke formation and crashed into the sea near a convoy off Orfordness. In the following month he shared in a Ju. 88 on the 21st and destroyed two Bf. 110s and shared in another on the 25th, the latter combat featuring in The Battle of Britain by Hough and Richards:

‘One of 17’s most determined and successful pilots, Flying Officer Count Manfred Beckett Czernin, had a field day with the Me. 110s of I/ZG2, being credited with destroying three within less than a minute by a neat combination of head-on and rear attacks.’

Then in September two more Bf. 110s fell to his guns on the 3rd, a Bf. 109 and two shared He. 111s on the 5th, a Bf. 110 on the 11th, a Ju. 88 shared on the 19th, and yet another Bf. 110 on the 27th. His victim on the 5th was a Bf. 109E-4 of 9/JG54, shot down in a combat over the Thames Estuary. It crashed at South Benfleet and the pilot, Fw. Dettler, baled out but his parachute failed to open - his body was found on Pitsea Marshes 12 days later.

Awarded the D.F.C. on 1 October, Czernin shared in the destruction of Do. 17 on the 24th of the same month, but on 17 November, in a combat over Wattisham, he was shot down by Adolf Galland. He baled out, slightly wounded and his Hurricane crashed just west of Bradfield Church.

Rested in May 1941 with a posting to an O.T.U. at Debden, Czernin was advanced to Acting Squadron Leader in mid-December and posted to India in February 1942, where he took command of No. 146 Squadron at Dinjan, a unit he built up to a good operational standard before being appointed to H.Q. 224 Group as a Staff Officer (Operations). Returning to the U.K. to take up a similar appointment at H.Q. 28 Group, Uxbridge, in April 1943, Czernin was officially transferred to an Air Ministry posting that September. He had, in fact, just joined the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.).

Trained over the next eight months in his new role as an S.O.E. agent, Czernin was parachuted into Northern Italy, near to the Austrian frontier, on the night of 12-13 June 1944, winning in the process an immediate M.C. for his gallant decision to go ahead with the drop in spite of dubious ‘reception committee’ ground-signalling. Afterwards showing similar courage and stamena, and operating out of a farmhouse in the Tramonti region, he set up a successful network of Partisans before being picked up by Lysander and flown back to the U.K. at the end of the year. Then, as outlined in the recommendation for his D.S.O., Czernin returned to German-occupied Italy in March 1945 - this time parachuting in to a location just south of the Swiss border - and led the operations that culminated in the surrender of Bergamo.

Released from the Royal Air Force as a Squadron Leader in October 1945, the gallant Czernin found it difficult settling back in to civilian life. He tried a variety of jobs before becoming Sales Manager for Fiat in England, but died suddenly on 6 October 1962.

His portrait was done by Cuthbert Orde in September 1940.

Sold with a quantity of original documentation, including the recipient’s original Flying Log Books (3), covering the periods May 1935 to September 1939, September 1939 to May 1940 (this with water-damaged covers) and June 1940 to February 1943 - the recipient lost a Flying Log Book during the fall of France operations, covering the period from 13 to 27 May 1940; R.A.F. Officer’s Service and Release Book; British Passport, dated 15 February 1961; funeral service card for 12 October 1962; and a copy of Norman Franks’ biography, Double Mission, R.A.F. Fighter Ace and S.O.E. Agent Manfred Czernin.