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

A fine Second World War immediate D.F.C. attributed to Acting Flight Lieutenant G. A. J. Frazer-Hollins, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated ‘1943’ and privately engraved, ‘Act. Flt. Lt. G. A. J. Frazer-Hollins, 101 Sqdn, R.A.F.’, nearly extremely fine £600-800

D.F.C. London Gazette 5 October 1943. The original recommendation for an immediate award states:

‘On the night of 6-7 September 1943, this officer was detailed to attack Munich. As he was approaching the target area he was attacked by what appeared to be a four engined aircraft. He sustained hits from both machine-gun and cannon fire and suffered severe damage including the loss of both port engines. During the combat he was forced down to a height of 15,500 feet but he recovered control and went on to bomb the target successfully.

Shortly after leaving the target he was able to restart the port inner engine and returned to this country and made a successful landing without further damage to his aircraft, in spite of the fact that his port tyre and port flap had been shot away.

This is this officer’s fourth encounter with enemy night fighters and on all of these he has proved himself to be a master of the situation, in particular on the night of 14-15 August 1943, when returning from a sortie to Milan, when he was attacked by a Ju. 88 and an Fw. 190 and by skilful manoeuvre he enabled his Rear Gunner to destroy the Fw. 190.

Flight Lieutenant Frazer-Hollins has carried out 17 very successful sorties and has always displayed a fine offensive spirit. He is strongly recommended for an immediate award of the D.F.C.’

George Alfred James Frazer-Hollins, who was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in August 1942, commenced his operational career with No. 101 Squadron, a Lancaster unit, at Holme-on-Spalding, Lincolnshire, in June 1943, when he completed his first sortie on the night of the 11th-12th against Dusseldorf. The following night, during a strike against Bochum, he had his first encounter with enemy night fighters, and trips to Krefeld, Mulheim and Cologne were completed before the month’s end.

By July No. 101 was operating out of Ludford Magna, also in Lincolnshire, and Frazer-Hollins completed another five sorties that month, three of them to Hamburg during the famous “firestorm” raids, while August witnessed a brace of trips to Italy - the one to Milan on the night of the 14th-15th witnessing another encounter with night fighters - in addition to his first run to Berlin. As it transpired, apart from strikes against Bochum, Mannheim and Munich (as per his D.F.C. recommendation) in September, the “Big City” more or less made-up 101’s operational agenda for the coming weeks, Frazer-Collins attacking the same target on at least four more occasions. Tragically, however, he did not return from the last of these trips, nothing been heard from his Lancaster after take-off on the night of 2-3 December 1943. Aged 31 years, he left a widow, Phyllis Lillian, who was resident at Woking, Surrey. His remains were removed to the Rheinberg War Cemetery, Germany, after the War.

Sold with an original copy of the London Gazette for Tuesday 5 October 1943, which includes the announcement of the recipient’s D.F.C.