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

The important Hurricane pilot’s D.F.C. group of five awarded to Squadron Leader E. M. “Imshi” Mason, Royal Air Force, the bearded, saxophone-playing 15-victory ace who gained legendary status in the Desert Air Force prior to his death in action in February 1942: His nickname was Arabic for “Scram”, which word he tended to shout at the local pedlars

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated 1941, with its Royal Mint case of issue; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals nearly extremely fine (5) £1800-2200

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.F.C. London Gazette 11 February 1941. The recommendation states:

‘This Officer has shot down 13 enemy aircraft confirmed and other probables. On 26 January 1941, he shot down 3 enemy aircraft thereby preventing the enemy formation of 9 from attacking forward troops. Flying Officer Mason has pursued the Italian Air Force for months in both the air and on the ground and he was responsible in a large measure for heavy losses caused to enemy aircraft on Aerodromes and retreating M.T. Convoys. He has continually displayed a fine aggressive spirit with outstanding initiative, dash and courage especially during special missions. This immediate award is being held against the Middle East Command allotment for January.’

Ernest Mitchelson “Imshi” Mason was born in Darlington, Co. Durham in July 1913 and was educated at Blackpool Grammar. In addition to his early musical talents, best reflected by his love of the saxophone, young Ernest was also a keen student of all things mechanical, an interest that led to him competing in motorcycle dirt track racing at the tender age of 15 years.

In March 1938, he joined the Royal Air Force on a short service commission, and having completed his flying training at Abu Sueir in Egypt, he was ordered to No. 45 Squadron, a bomber unit, but managed to exchange postings with another pilot and joined No. 80 instead, a fighter unit. When the latter Squadron received its first Hurricanes, Mason was detached to No. 274 Squadron and went into action on the first day of Wavell’s Libyan campaign on 9 December 1940. Indeed “Imshi” quickly established himself as a budding ace, contributing to the destruction of an S-79 and the damaging of another, and a C.R. 42, on that the very day, the whole over Sidi Barrani. By the end of the month he had personally accounted for two more S-79s, a brace of C.R. 42s, and a Ca. 310, in addition to damaging others, mainly in combats fought over the Bardia and Capuzzo areas.

January would reap further successes, when he carried out numerous intruder raids against Italian airfields deep inside enemy territory. These offensive sweeps, above all, would seal his legendary status within the Desert Air Force, resulting as they did in numerous victories. On the 3rd, over Gambut, he brought down a pair of C.R. 42s, and five days later took a half-share of 13 S-79s destroyed or damaged on the ground at Gazala. The following day, over Martuba, he destroyed a C.R. 42, and finished off another on the ground, while on the 10th he forced another S-79 to crash land and damaged a G. 50, both over Derna. But his best day of all was the 26th, when he shot down no less than three C.R. 42s, a magnificent achievement quickly enhanced by the destruction of yet another C.R. 42 over Benina airfield the very next day. In fact, by the end of January 1941, Mason had firmly established himself as the most successful pilots of the campaign, fame which grew with the emergence of his highly un-R.A.F heavy beard and tendency to yell at local traders “Imshi!”

In mid-March 1941, Mason led a flight of the Squadron’s Hurricanes over to Malta to reinforce No. 261 Squadron, but fell victim to an Me. 109 of 7/JG26 in the following month, having to ditch his aircraft in the sea. The impact threw him against the windscreen of his Hurricane, breaking his nose, but he was fished out of the water and evacuated to Egypt to recuperate.

Back on operations by April, on attachment to No. 261 Squadron, he damaged an Me. 109 over Malta, and in July assumed command of the Squadron. After reforming it in Palestine, Mason led No. 261 in operations in support of the occupation of Iran, claiming his final victory, a Hawker Nisr on 26 August.

New Year 1942 witnessed his return to the Western Desert as C.O. of No. 94 Squadron, but on 15 February, in a strike against Martuba airfield, he and three other pilots were shot down and killed, probably by the German ace Obfw. Otto Schulz of 11/JG27, or possibly accurate flak. In his history of, and tribute to, the Desert Air Force, published in 1948, Roderic Owen stated of Mason:

‘ … Three air aces of the period, one English, one German and one Australian, may help to give some idea of the personalities involved in the air conflict over the Western Desert.

Quiet and unassuming, “Imshi” Mason came from Blackpool; his brown beard could hardly help to conceal the unusual personality that lay behind his casual, good-natured smile. Stories told of him include one to the effect that he had been accustomed in the early days of campaigning to bombard the Italians with a beer bottle in which he corked the message, “Come up and fight.” Popular with the men, he was representative of the new “modern” officer, removed from his subordinates by no qualities of rank or income, but in position of responsibility because of his ability as a leader, and because of his technical competence in flying. These qualities had been shown throughout his period of service in the Western Desert, but never more than at the time of his death. He had led his Squadron on a raid against Martuba, where fierce anti-aircraft fire had prevented the attack from being pressed home to the full. Unsatisfied, “Imshi” returned himself to see what could be done, but the anti-aircraft gunners were accurate, and he was brought down.

Great-hearted, efficient, but intensely human, he contrasted not only with Caldwell (Australian), another air ace of the Western Desert, but with his contemporary from the Luftwaffe, Marseille …’

Sold with three superb photograph albums, all of which were compiled by Mason’s mother, who meticuously copied the captions her son had made on the reverses of the photographs he sent home. The first album contains approx. 90 images from Mason’s time out in Egypt between June and August 1938, subject matter varying from from prangs and personnel to local scenery and much besides. The second album , with 30 images, for the period September to December 1938, largely covering a visit to Cairo; and the third, more importantly, with approx. 60 images from Mason’s period of active service between 1939-42, subject matter, like the first, of an interesting and varied nature.

Overall some 30 images are missing, the whole having been extracted for use in the wartime title ‘Imshi, by Alys Myers (W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd., London, 1943) and presumably lost at that time; photocopies of these 30 images have since been pasted down in place of the missing originals, and an original edition of the book, which is inscribed by Mason’s mother, accompanies the Lot, thereby completing a full photographic and biographical record of his extraordinary career.

In addition to the above photograph albums, the Lot is also sold with the recipient’s original memorial scroll; a copy of Poems of the Desert, by ‘various members of the Eighth Army’ (George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., London, May 1944), the inside inscribed by Mason’s mother; and a copy of another wartime publication, Desert Squadron, by G. Netherwood (R. Scindler, Cairo, 1944).