Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An emotive group of four awarded to Sergeant Pilot M. Cummings, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who flew Spitfires of No. 501 Squadron on Channel sweeps and Hurricanes of No. 238 Squadron over the Western Desert: he was killed in action in June 1942, aged 22 years

1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; War Medal 1939-45 extremely fine (4) £800-1200

Micheal Cummings, who came from Northenden in Lancashire, enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in August 1940 and commenced pilot training before the end of the year. Subsequently posted to the Flight Training School and Moose Jaw, Canada, he qualified for his “Wings” in May 1941 and returned to R.A.F. Heston to gain flying time on Spitfires, making his first solo in that type in July of the same year.

Cummings subsequently joined the operational scene with a posting to No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron at Ibsley in Hampshire that August, a unit commanded by a Battle of Britain ace, Squadron Leader “Bunny” Currant. It was about this time that the pilots of 501 “starred” in the film “First of the Few”, with David Niven and Leslie Howard, the relevant film company visiting the Squadron at Ibsley to take footage of staged scrambles and combats - research included with the Lot would indicate that Cummings was among the pilots whose Spitfire was captured on film.

Less happily, Cummings was involved in a brace of accidents in his working-up period with the Squadron, “Bunny” Currant having to endorse his Flying Log Book with ‘Carelessness - Taxied into a car and bicycle’ on 29 September 1941, and, more seriously, in the following month, on the 10th, with ‘Gross Carelessness - Landed without selecting undercarriage down’: Luckily Cummings was not hurt and his aircraft repairable.

Cummings flew his first sortie, a fighter patrol off Pointe de Barfleur, on 15 November 1941, four more operations being completed by the month’s end, including two “Scrambles”. Another “Scramble” was called on the first day of December, but this proved to be his last with 501, for in the following month Cummings was posted to the Middle East to join No. 238 Squadron, a Hurricane unit operating in the Western Desert. Allotted just 20 minutes flying time in this new aircraft type, he took off on his first sortie, a Sector Recce., two days later. Thereafter, in a punishing agenda of operational flying which included “Scrambles” and numerous Fleet Patrols, he notched up nearly 50 sorties prior to his death in action on 28 June 1942, the whole faithfully recorded in his Flying Log Book, often with additional detail of Squadron casualties and enemy aircraft encountered.

On the day of his demise, Cummings was one of ten 238 pilots scrambled at midday for a patrol over the Sidi Haneish sector, the whole being jumped by three 109s, diving out of the sun: four of the Squadron’s Hurricanes were shot down.

Michael Cummings’ was interred in the El Alamein War Cemetery.

Sold with the recipient’s original Flying Log Book, covering the period November 1940 until his death in action in June 1942, officially stamped “Killed in Action” and with additional ‘Central Depository, Royal Air Force, May 1946’ stamps; together with recent and original letters from 501 and 238 veterans, among them “Bunny” Currant, with attached wartime photograph of himself, and another correspondent’s Desert War photographs of 238 Squadron personnel and aircraft (copies of his original images), which include a number of evocative scenes from Cummings’ time with the unit; together with relevant O.R.B. photocopies, etc.