Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Caterpillar Club membership badge, gold, with “ruby” eyes, the reverse officially inscribed, ‘F./O. L. J. Gornall’, extremely fine £350-400

Leonard John Gornall was born in Birkenhead in December 1921 and was by profession an apprentice mechanic prior to enlisting in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in August 1939. Having completed his training as a Flight Engineer, he was posted to No. 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron, a Stirling unit, with whom he completed a tour of operations prior to being re-mustered at Waterbeach. Here he met Squadron Leader K. C. S. Cooke, D.F.C., A.F.C., D.F.M., who offered him the opportunity of teaming-up in his crew for an operational posting to No. 138 (Special Duties) Squadron at Tempsford, an invitation accepted by Gornall, who duly completed his first clandestine mission to France on 4 October 1943.

Between then and early February 1944, he flew on another 10 sorties, three of them to Norway, another three to France, one to Poland and two to Blida, in addition to a trip to Germany, during which an agent was dropped in Nazi uniform. But on the night of 7-8 February, in one of 138’s Halifaxes bound for S.O.E. circuit “Jockey 5” in France, with the famous S.O.E. agent Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Cammaerts aboard, crew and passenger were compelled to bale out over occupied territory due to engine trouble. For his own part, Gornall landed in deep snow in the vicinity of Hauterives, and quickly joned up with Squadron Leader Cooke and Flying Officer A. B. Withecombe. As it transpired, the three of them were about to embark on a successful journey of evasion, for, following several adventures and the occasional assistance of local farmers, they reached the village of Pact on the 11th, where they made contact with the Maquis. Having been informed that their fellow crew were also in good hands, and Cammaerts too, they were “passed down the line”, finally reaching Gibraltar via the Pyrenees, in May 1944 - sold with full details including M.I. 9 “de-brief” report.

Following a rest, Gornall rejoined 138 Squadron with a new crew, and added a D.F.C. to his recently acquired Caterpillar Club Membership Badge:

‘This officer has completed a large number of sorties. He is an extremely keen and enthusiastic Flight Engineer and has at all times displayed the greatest determination. He has imparted much of his technical knowledge to other members of the Squadron with good results’ (London Gazette 15 September 1944 refers).

Sadly, however, on the night of 26-27 February 1945, while bound on another S.O.E. mission to Norway in a Stirling aircraft, carrying four agents of “Crupper 37” circuit, Gornall and all aboard perished when their bomber was brought down into the North Sea by flak. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial; sold with a file of research, including copy crew photographs and log book entries via Squadron Leader Cooke, together with a cassette recording of the latter’s interview with the Imperial War Museum.