Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The outstanding Second War ‘V.C. Action’ immediate D.F.M. group of five awarded to Stirling rear gunner, Warrant Officer H. W. ‘Pete’ Gough, 149 (East India) Squadron, Royal Air Force - awarded for his gallantry during the raid on the Fiat Works, Turin, 28 November 1942 - when all the crew were valiant, and his pilot Flight Sergeant R. H. Middleton was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

Gough had already flown 32 operational sorties prior to Turin, completing his 30 operation quota, but had decided along with another crew member in a similar position to remain with their pilot until his tour of duty was completed. What followed were two epic flights over, or in their case through, the Alps in an already faulty aircraft that subsequently became riddled with flak and piloted by two gravely wounded men. Gough along with the remainder of his crew baled out over England, thanks to the heroics of Middleton.

Gough was unflappable, and no stranger to adversity - his first two operational sorties having been the first Thousand Bomber Raids to Cologne and Essen, earlier in the year. Perhaps it is no surprise then that after the death of his skipper and two other members of the crew, he volunteered to serve with 161 Squadron - a ‘Secret Squadron.’ He flew as an air gunner in Hudsons on at least 24 operational sorties with the Squadron, dropping agents and supplies all over occupied Europe. Gough was forced to bale out again, when on his last operational sortie of the war, 11 April 1945. Returning from a Special Operation to Germany - his Log Book records the incident thus - ‘(Baled - Out). All In The Days Work’

Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1130087. Sgt. H. W. Gough. R.A.F.) suspension claw re-pinned, and slack; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, 1 clasp, France and Germany; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, mounted on card for display, otherwise generally very fine or better (5) £6,000-£8,000

D.F.M. London Gazette 12 February 1943 (jointly listed with the surviving members of the crew: Flight Sergeant L. A. Hyder [D.F.M.]; Flight Sergeant D. Cameron [D.F.M.]; Flying Officer G. R. Royde [D.F.C.] and Pilot Officer N. E. Skinner [D.F.C.]):

‘On 28th November 1942, these members of an aircraft crew took part in an attack on a target in Turin. Whilst over the target area, their bomber was repeatedly hit by anti-aircraft fire and sustained much damage. A shell, which burst in the cockpit, rendered the captain, the late Flight Sergeant Middleton, VC unconscious and wounded the second pilot Flight Sergeant Hyder in the face and legs. Pilot Officer Skinner was also wounded in the leg. Despite his injuries Flight Sergeant Hyder took over the controls and succeeded in regaining control of the aircraft, which had dived from 2,000 to 800 feet. Later the bomb load was released. Shortly afterwards the captain regained consciousness, but Flight Sergeant Hyder, after receiving first aid, insisted on remaining beside him in case of emergency. On the return flight when crossing the Alps, Flight Sergeant Cameron and Sergeant Gough greatly assisted the pilot to maintain height by jettisoning all moveable equipment. Skilful navigation by Flying Officer Royde enabled the aircraft to be flown back to this country. Shortly after crossing the coast the aircraft had to be abandoned owing to lack of petrol. In the face of almost insuperable odds, these members of the aircraft crew displayed courage, fortitude, and determination of a high order.’

Middleton’s V.C. citation London Gazette 15 January 1943, adds further context:
‘Flight Sergeant Middleton was captain and first pilot of a Stirling aircraft detailed to attack the Fiat Works at Turin one night in November, 1942. Great difficulty was experienced in climbing to 12,000 feet to cross the Alps, which led to excessive consumption of fuel. So dark was the night that the mountain peaks were almost invisible.

During the crossing Flight Sergeant Middleton had to decide whether to proceed or turn back, there being barley sufficient fuel for the return journey. Flares were sighted ahead and he continued the mission and even dived to 2,000 feet to identify the target, despite the difficulty of regaining height. Three flights were made over Turin at this low altitude before the target was identified. The aircraft was then subjected to fire from light anti-aircraft guns.

A large hole appeared in the port main plane which made it difficult to maintain lateral control. A shell then burst in the cockpit, shattering the windscreen and wounding both pilots. Apiece of shell splinter tore into the side of Flight Sergeant Middleton´s face, destroying his right eye and exposing the bone over his eye. He was probably wounded also in the body or legs. The second pilot received wounds in the head and both legs bled profusely. The wireless operator was also wounded in the leg.

Flight Sergeant Middleton became unconscious and the aircraft dived to 800 feet before control was regained by the second pilot, who took the aircraft up to 1500 feet and released the bombs. There was still light flak, some very intense, and the aircraft was hit many times. The three gunners replied continuously until the rear turret was put out of action.

Flight Sergeant Middleton had now recovered consciousness and, when clear of the target, ordered the second pilot back to receive first aid. Before this was completed the latter insisted on returning to the cockpit, as the captain could see very little and could only speak with loss of blood and great pain.

Course was set for base and the crew now faced an Alpine crossing and a homeward flight in a damaged aircraft, with insufficient fuel. The possibilities of abandoning the air-craft or landing in Northern France were discussed but Flight Sergeant Middleton expressed the intention of trying to make the English coast, so that his crew could leave the aircraft by parachute. Owing to his wounds and diminishing strength, he knew that, by then, he would have little or no chance of saving himself. After four hours, the French coast was reached and here the aircraft, flying at 6,000 feet, was once more engaged and hit by intense light anti-aircraft fire. Flight Sergeant Middleton was still at the controls and mustered sufficient strength to take evasive action.

After crossing the Channel there was only sufficient fuel for 5 minutes flying. Flight Sergeant Middleton ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft while he flew parallel with the coast for a few miles, after which he intended to head out to sea. Five of the crew left the aircraft safely, while two remained to assist Flight Sergeant Middleton. The aircraft crashed in the sea and the bodies of the front gunner and flight engineer were recovered the following day. Their gallant captain was apparently unable to leave the aircraft and his body has not been traced.

Flight Sergeant Middleton was determined to attack the target regardless of the consequences and not to allow his crew to fall into enemy hands. While all the crew displayed heroism of a high order, the urge to do so came from Flight Sergeant Middleton, whose fortitude and strength of will made possible the completion of the mission. His devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds is unsurpassed in the annals of the Royal Air Force.’

Gough’s original recommendation states: ‘Sergeant Gough has completed 32 sorties with this squadron as a rear gunner. These include no less than ten sorties against targets in the Ruhr district and four against Italian targets in Genoa and Turin. On his last trip with this squadron, he was detailed with his crew to carry out a low-level attack against the Fiat works to the South of Turin. The aircraft was heavily engaged by light flak when flying low over the target area. Sergeant Gough returned this fire against any light flak battery which came within his range. He maintained this fire until the rear turret received a direct hit from a light flak projectile which bent the starboard gun mountings and twisted the barrel of one of the guns at right angles to the normal. At the same time, another hit put the servo feed belt to the rear of the turret out of action. Finding that his turret was of no further use, Sergeant Gough rendered valuable assistance to the remainder of the crew in jettisoning all movable equipment to enable the damaged aircraft to make the return climb over the Alps. For the remainder of the trip, Sergeant Gough sat in his turret keeping a lookout. On the return over this country, the aircraft unfortunately had to be abandoned over the South coast. On reaching the ground, Sergeant Gough immediately got in touch with the nearest R.A.F. unit and his parent unit in an attempt to get assistance for three members of his crew who had crashed into the sea with the aircraft just off the coast. Sergeant Gough has left this squadron with the highest reputation for courage and devotion to duty and his example has been an inspiration to the remainder of the Air Gunners. He is strongly recommended for the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.

Remarks by Station Commander: Strongly recommended. This N.C.O. has at all times shown the utmost courage and devotion to duty under most trying and perilous conditions.’

Harold Wray ‘Pete’ Gough was from Scarborough, he joined the Royal Air Force, and carried out his initial training as an Air Gunner at Evanton and No. 60 O.T.U. East Fortune. After a posting to 256 (Night Fighter) Squadron (Defiants) in September 1941, Gough was posted for operational service with 149 (East India) Squadron (Stirlings) at Lakenheath in May 1942. He was initially crewed with Flying Officer Ballauff as his pilot, and served as a mid upper gunner. Gough flew in at least 33 operational sorties (one of which was on attachment to 7 Squadron) with the Squadron with a mixture of pilots from Ballauff, Wing Commander Charlton-Jones, and Squadron Leader Watt until he ultimately settled with Middleton as his skipper and his duties as a rear gunner.

Gough’s first operational sorties were the Thousand Bomber Raids to Cologne, 30 May 1942, and to Essen, 1 June 1942. After that baptism of fire, other sorties included: Essen (3), including 5 June 1942, ‘Severe Flak. Attacked By Me.110 Hits on Port Inner and Aileron . 5 Runs Over 4 Photo’s Taken’ (Log Book refers); St. Nazaire; Bremen; Duisburg (5); Lubeck; Brussels; Hamburg; Dusseldorf (first operational sortie with Middleton), 1 August 1942; Osnabruck; Frankfurt; Nuremburg, 28 August 1942.

Pathfinders - not for us, the importance of ‘crew’ above all else
The raid on Nuremburg was eventful, and the crew’s only sortie with 7 Squadron:
‘It is not clear whether or not Middleton and his crew were selected at the time by the well-known ‘poacher’ of crews, Wg Cdr ‘Hamish’ Mahaddie, but, on 25 August, they were posted to 7 Squadron, still at Oakington and still flying the Stirling, although 7 Squadron had now become one of the founding squadrons of the fledgling 8 Group, aka the Pathfinders, along with 35, 83 and 156 Squadrons. 7 Squadron had only participated in its second Pathfinder Force (PFF) operation the night before Middleton and his crew arrived, destined to make their debut three nights later in a raid on Nuremburg. Taking off from Oakington at 2038 hrs in Stirling MK I, R9158 ‘MG-E’, the raid did not go well for Middleton’s crew, who found themselves, through poor navigation, more than 90 miles SSE of the target, over Munich. On his return, Middleton was forced to divert to Manston because of a lack of fuel. The four Hercules engines stopped as the bomber touched down and, with no power available for the brakes, it careered into a line of Spitfires before settling next to the station armoury, minus its wings.

Mahaddie was unimpressed and, after they arrived back at Oakington, the 7 Squadron CO gave Middleton an ultimatum; have your navigator replaced or leave the PFF. Without hesitation, he refused and, as a result, Middleton and his crew found themselves back at 149 Squadron on 2 September.’ (Bomber Command - The Victoria Cross Raids, by M. Chorlton refers)

Gough’s tour continued with 149 Squadron: Wilhelmshaven; Munich; Vegesack; Kiel, multiple minelaying; Genoa (2) and Turin (2).

Turin - Tour up, but sticking with the Skipper
Gough records his second trip to Turin with Middleton, 28 November 1942, in his Log Book thus, ‘Turin - Baled Out. Hit By Flak. Skipper Awarded V.C. (Posthumous).’ Further detail of what became an epic sortie is given in Bomber Command - The Victoria Cross Raids:
‘By now, Middleton’s crew was highly experienced, including his air gunners, two of whom had already completed their 30 operation quota but had decided to remain with their pilot until his tour of duty was completed. The front air gunner, Sgt John W Mackie from Clackmannanshire, was on his 31st operation, the midd upper air gunner, ex-gamekeeper Sgt Douglas Cameron was highly experienced, and the rear gunner, Sgt Harold Gough from Scarborough, was about to embark on his 33rd operation. Second pilot was Flt Sgt Leslie A Hyder, the navigator was FO George R Royde, wireless operator was Plt Off Norman E Skinner and the flight engineer was 19 year old Sgt James E Jeffrey. For this operation, a return to Turin, Middleton had been allocated Stirling MK I, BF372 ‘OJ-H’, not the best example of the breed as it had quite a reputation for making the ground crews’ lives a bit of a misery.

With an 8,000lb bomb load and full fuel tanks, Middleton knew from the outset that this would be one of the most challenging operations of his career. At 1814 hrs, Middleton lifted BF372 off Lakenheath’s long runway, setting a course SSE towards the target which was 600 miles away. Altitude was always an issue with the Stirling, thanks to that short wing, by BF372 would not even reach the average operating height of 16,500 ft, as the bomber refused to climb above 12,000 ft. At the lower height, fuel consumption was higher and, on top of that, the auto-pilot, forever nicknamed ‘George’, decided that it was not taking part in that night’s operation. It was already decision time for Middleton and, after a discussion with Jeffrey, they worked out that the operation could continue, but there would be very little fuel in hand for the return trip. The lack of altitude would also mean that the aircraft would need to be navigated, by Royde, through the Alps rather than over them. The range averaged 15,000 ft in height.

Without a hint of moonlight to help them through the treacherous mountains, Middleton steered the Stirling between the peaks, which were just visible by the snow on their summits. The fuel situation had also deteriorated because of a headwind, although by then, Middleton was more concerned about not flying into a mountain than running out of fuel. Mackie, with a grandstand view from the front turret, provided Middleton with a running commentary as peaks approached and passed. Stress levels were particularly high during this stage of the operation, although the tension was relieved when Mackie calmly said to Gough in the rear turret, “I hope I see the next mountain before you.”

“Mountain dead ahead,” shouted Mackie which suddenly focussed the crew again, and immediately Middleton was convinced the bomber had flown into a dead end. The bomb doors were opened and just as Middleton was about to give the order to jettison, Mackie shouted again, “It’s there. Look. To Starboard.” So it was, Turin in its full glory, already being illuminated by the PFF ahead, although 5 Group arrived over the target first before the Pathfinders had chance to mark the target.

After a quick fuel check with Jeffrey, Middleton calmly announced, “Right, we’re going down.” Only moments after they cleared the Alps, the Italian defences opened fire, initially striking the Stirling in the port wing which not only made a large hole but also sent shrapnel pinging around the fuselage. Middleton’s concentration was not disrupted as he continued his weaving descent, levelling out at 2,000 ft with the help of Hyder.

The high level of accuracy of the Italian guns continued when BF372 was hit again, this time in the cockpit between Middleton and Hyder’s seats. The windscreen was shattered and shrapnel hit Hyder in both legs. Skinner, located further behind, was also wounded in the leg. An icy wind entered the cockpit through the broken windscreen while Middleton sat motionless in his seat. All the Australian could say was, “I’m hit,” before slumping over the controls. He was seriously injured; a piece of shrapnel had hit him on the right side of his face, removing the eye and exposing the bone of his cheek and temple. With Middleton seemingly a goner, Hyder, in considerable pain, managed to pull back on the control column before the bomber entered a final dive, recovering the Stirling at just 800 ft above the ground.

As Hyder began to gain altitude, Middleton suddenly came round, helping his second pilot to climb to 1,500 ft before dropping the bomb load onto the city. Middleton then ordered Hyder to move to the rest bunk area to get his wounds dressed while Skinner remained at his station, not mentioning a word about his own injuries. Mackie left his turret to support his pilot, standing alongside him and guiding him onto a course in an effort to get the bomber away from flak. In the meantime, Cameron left his turret to attend to Hyder who insisted on returning to the cockpit despite suffering great pain and losing a large amount of blood.

There was nothing that could be done to prevent the fierce slipstream from entering the cockpit and Middleton simply hunkered down and prepared for the journey home as he had done many times before. Several options were on the table at this point, including setting course across the Mediterranean towards North Africa to avoid the Alps, or making for neutral Switzerland, just a short distance away, where they would be interned but looked after very quickly. However, Middleton chose the most daunting option of all, the four hour flight back to England.

Royde gave Middleton a course for home and then ordered his crew to start throwing out all non-essential pieces of equipment from the bomber which ranged from oxygen bottles to the sextant; even the aircraft’s guns were sent falling to earth. Middleton managed to guide the Stirling back through the Alps, supported by Mackie every inch of the way, while Hyder had returned to his seat, dipping in and out of consciousness as his damaged body battled the pain. What agony Middleton must have been going through is unimaginable but, against the odds, he managed to fly the bomber safely back through the Alps and continued, mile by mile, across French countryside towards his goal.

Not long after clearing the mountains, the Stirling was coned by a number of searchlights. Instinctively, and remarkably, Middleton summoned the strength to throw the bomber into the required manoeuvres needed to shake them off without a shot being fired. Remaining silent throughout, it was obvious to Mackie that the pain was taking its toll on his pilot and the effects of shock were taking hold. As the bomber crossed the French coast, it came under fire yet again as a few coastal guns tried their luck but this was one aircraft that was not going to be finished off that easily. Finally, the English coast began to loom ahead as Middleton asked Jeffrey for the last time what the fuel situation was like. He replied, “No more than five minutes flying, skipper,” at which point the crew prepared for a ditching in the Channel.

Middleton had other ideas though, pulling the Sterling up to 2,500 ft, he was adamant that he was going to give his crew every chance of survival. Crossing the coast at Dymchurch at just before 0300 hrs, Middleton flew towards the small village of Newchurch and then turned south-west, parallel with the coast, before ordering his crew to bail out. Their odds of survival were dramatically improved over land rather than in the cold of the Channel.

By this point, Hyder was rapidly succumbing to his own wounds but Mackie helped the second pilot to reach the escape hatch before pushing him out, placing his hand on the ‘D’ ring of his ripcord. Cameron, Gough and Royde all vacated safely followed by Skinner who left his wireless station for the first and last time despite two wounds to his leg. As Skinner left the aircraft, the Stirling turned south back over the sea, moments before the wireless operator smashed through the roof of an old hut close to a cottage.

The loyal Mackie and Jeffrey did manage to leave the bomber but whether they were too late or succumbed to the cold of the Channel is not clear. Both their bodies were recovered by a naval rescue launch later that day. Of Middleton and his aircraft there was no sign. The brave Australian had saved the lives of five of his crew by sticking to his word and bringing them home.... It was not until 1 February 1943 that the sea gave up the body of Ron Middleton as his remains were washed up on Shakespeare Beach, Dover. His body was transported to Mildenhall on 4 February where the coffin was laid upon a catafalque inside the airfield’s small chapel. His coffin was surrounded by aircrew SNCOs all-night and, the following morning, on 5 February, Plt Off Rawdon Hume Middleton VC, RAAF was laid to rest with full military honours in St. John’s church cemetery.’

Gough’s Log Book records that he was up in a Tiger Moth, ‘Search for crew’, within hours of parachuting to earth. All the crew were valiant, and the surviving members were either awarded the D.F.C. or the D.F.M.

161 Squadron - Special Operations
With the dramatic conclusion of Gough’s tour, he was posted for a rest to No. 1 A.G.S., Manby. He was then posted to 29 O.T.U. in August 1943, before returning to operational flying with 161 Squadron (Hudsons) in August 1944. The latter was based at Tempsford, and engaged in dropping supplies and agents over occupied Europe. As one of the ‘secret squadrons’ it also took over the landing and pick-up operations, with no more than six aircraft available at the flight’s disposal and a flying strength of about thirty men. Gough flew in at least 24 operational sorties with the squadron between August 1944 - April 1945, with his Log Book listing multiple trips to Belgium, France and Germany.

His pilot for the majority of these operations was Flight Lieutenant ‘Buster’ Webb, and their first foray into Germany together, 26 November 1944, is recorded in Flight Most Secret, Air Missions for SOE and SIS by G. McCall:
‘Some time late in the summer of 1944 Wing Commander Boxer was alerted to prepare his crews for sorties into Germany. Exploratory missions were flown and by November, with one successful operation marked down to Reg Wilkinson, four Hudsons were ready to make the run into Germany on the 26th.

Bob Ferris and his Canadians dropped one agent from N-for-Nan; ‘Buster’ Webb went out in H-for-How with a new crew of Flying Officer Watson-Smyth, Flying Officer Smith and Warrant Officer Gough, to drop two agents; Harold Ibbott dropped another two from P-for-Peter.

When Wilkinson took off on that bitterly cold evening, his target for the night was Arnstadt, a small town in the foothills of the Thuringian woods just south of Erfurt. The rendezvous was reached and correctly identified and his passenger - an agent of Polish-German extraction - parachuted out safely.

L-for-Love turned for home after covering 200 miles in what was then the deepest penetration ever made by No. 161 Squadron’s Hudsons into Germany. Wilkinson and his crew must have felt the worst was over when they flew across the Belgian frontier just north of Luxembourg. They had about two hours flying time left when a nightfighter found them.... They were buried in the cemetery at Evere, an airfield near Brussels.’

Gough nearly met with a similar fate on his last operational sortie of the war to Germany, 11 April 1945:
‘Bust Webb had an engine failure on his way back from one operation in P-for-Peter. His crew of Watson-Smyth, Smith and Gough all bailed out and landed safely. Webb stayed at the controls and crash-landed at Dorking, receiving only a slight injury.’

Gough’s unflappable nature is more than adequately displayed by his entry in his Log Book for this incident:
‘Operations - Germany. (Baled - Out). All In The Days Work.’

Sold with Royal Air Force Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book () this ‘recycled’ with original name on cover crossed out, and inside annotated ‘Flying Times brought forward from old Log Book (Lost)’ and several photographic images of recipient in uniform.