Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part I)

Five: Sergeant L. B. Williams, Royal Air Force, a veteran of 46 operational sorties, most of them of a clandestine nature with No. 624 Squadron

1939-45 Star; Africa Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals, good very fine (5) £400-500

Williams qualified as a Wireless Operator while serving as an A.C. 2 in March 1941, a qualification that he would improve on with a ‘Grade 1’ rating in June 1943. He also passed an Air Gunner’s course in May 1942, but only ever flew operationally as a Wireless man.

Somewhat unusually his first experience of operational flying was on the night of 28-29 July 1942, when he joined a hastily mustered Whitley crew from No. 24 O.T.U. In the event, due to poor weather conditions, all participating O.T.U. aircraft were recalled, Williams’ Whitley crashing on its return to base.

It was at this stage that he teamed up with a “Kiwi” pilot, Sergeant (afterwards Flight Lieutenant) E. W. Garnett, and the pair of them would remain together for their respective operational careers. In January 1943, they were posted to a Coastal Command unit at St. Eval, and, over the next three weeks, flew in Whitleys on half a dozen operational sweeps before being transferred to a conversion unit at Marston Moor - due to the short duration of the former posting, however, they did not qualify for the Atlantic Star.

In May 1943 Williams and Garnett joined No. 158 Squadron, a Halifax unit operating out of Lissett, and completed their first operational sortie with the squadron on the night of 11-12 June, in a strike against Dusseldorf. Over the next three weeks they went on to complete a further seven sorties together, their targets including Bochum, Le Creusot and Cologne. Once again, however, due to a new posting after only a short period of time, they failed to qualify for the Air Crew Europe Star.

Pilot and Wireless Operator arrived at newly formed No. 624 Squadron in September 1943, a clandestine Halifax unit based at Blida in North Africa. The squadron had been created from No. 1575 Special Duties Flight, and was charged with delivering agents and supplies over a wide theatre of operations, DZs in France, Italy and Yugoslavia being chief among them. As it transpired, their first sortie was to Yugoslavia on the night of 5-6 October 1943, which country they returned to on three more occasions that month, twice coming home on three engines - Williams also notes in his flying log book that Garnett ordered the crew to standby to bale out on the night of 19-20 October, but does not offer any further details.

November saw them return to Yugoslavia on two more occasions, and carry out a mission to Bulgaria at the end of the month, while in December Williams visited Greece with Flight Lieutenant Ruttledge as his pilot, but was back with Garnett for a trip to Albania on the 19th. The new year of 1944 witnessed another trip to Yugoslavia, and one to Italy, after which there was a lull in operations until a busy agenda of sorties to France commenced in June. That month Williams and Garnett completed half a dozen trips in support of the Resistance, while in the period July to August they flew on another 10 sorties of a similar nature, by now having converted to Stirlings. Their final mission was flown in daylight to France on 4 September, after which the squadron was disbanded.

Surprisingly in the circumstances, the only award to come out this latter activity for Williams was his France and Germany Star, even though his operational tally had risen to 46 sorties, many of them, as described, of a clandestine nature. It is interesting to note, however, that his equally long-served “Kiwi” pilot, Flight Lieutenant E. W. Garnett, was awarded the D.F.C. (London Gazette 11 August 1944).

Sold with the recipient’s original Flying Log Book, covering the period February 1941 to July 1945, the latter entries in Dakotas of Transport Command out in Germany.