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

A South Russia M.B.E. group of nine awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel P. W. Leycester, Army Service Corps and Royal Air Force

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, M.B.E. (Military) Member’s 1st type breast badge; 1914-15 Star (Lieut., A.S.C.); British War and Victory Medals (Lieut., R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Defence and War Medals; Russia, Order of St Stanislas, 3rd class neck badge with swords, bronze-gilt and enamels, the reverse with Russian marks, together with R.F.C. bronze officer’s cap badge, A.S.C. collar badge, and 1918 bullion observer’s half-wing, generally good very fine (12) £700-900

M.B.E. London Gazette 3 February 1920 : ‘... on the recommendation of the General Officer commanding, British Military Mission, in recognition of valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in South Russia.’

Colonel Philip Wrey Leycester served in the Great War, firstly in the Army Service Corps with the 1st Cavalry Division and later in the Royal Flying Corps with No. 10 Squadron. After the Armistice he was with the British Military Mission in South Russia on the Staff.


In the 1939-45 War he was again with the R.A.S.C. as advisor to the British Military Mission to Egypt, 1941-46, and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1941. He was appointed J.P. for County Devon in 1950, and died on 30 April 1962.

In November 1917, Leycester played a leading role in the shooting down of a leading German ace, Leutnant Erwin Böhme, whilst on a reconnaissance flight with 10 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. Böhme was one of the unluckiest pilots in taht, on 28 October 1916, he had collided with his friend and Staffelführer, the great Oswald Boelcke, which resulted in the latter’s death. Despite this, Böhme had himself become a high scoring fighter pilot, and by November 1917 was himself a Staffel leader, of Jasta 2, had scored more than 20 victories and been awarded the Pour le Mérite on the 24th of that month. Five days later he was killed.

His 24th and final victory fell to him around mid-day on the day of his death, a Sopwith Camel over Zonnebeke. Later that afternoon he was in the air again. So too was a 10 Squadron AWFK8 ‘Big Ack’ B324, crewed by Second Lieutenants J. A. Pattern and P. W. Leycester, having taken off at 14.45 to take panoramic photographs of Polderhoek Chat and Becelaere. They had exposed 14 photographic plates but were then interrupted by the arrival of three German fighters that swooped down on them from clouds at 14,000 feet above Zonnebeke. Leycester immediately grabbed his Lewis gun and began firing. After just a short burst the leading Albatros erupted into flames, dived earthwards and crashed. The other two fighters sheered off and followed the burning machine down but they could only watch as their leader dived into the ground.