Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A well-documented Second World War Air Gunner’s group of three awarded to Sergeant S. Beech, Royal Air Force, who completed over 30 sorties in Liberators on the Italian front, including numerous supply drops to partisans

1939-45 Star; Italy Star; War Medal 1939-45, extremely fine (3) £200-250

Stanley Beech commenced training as an Air Gunner at No. 12 A.G.S. Bishops Court in May 1944 and, having qualified in July of that year, was posted to No. 31 (S.A.A.F.) Squadron, a Liberator unit operating out of Celone, Italy. He subsequently completed a dozen operational sorties with No. 31, most of them supply drops to partisans in Yugoslavia, but with the occasional bombing run against enemy troop concentrations and marshalling yards in the same region, or in northern Italy. Nor were these outings without incident, his flying log book often noting considerable flak, not least over Opicina on the night of 15-16 October 1944 - ‘Light and heavy flak, predicted flak, engine and wing shot away.’

Transferring to No. 37 Squadron, another Liberator unit, operating out of Torterella, Italy, in January 1945, he went on to complete another 21 sorties in Warrant Officer (afterwards P./O.) Marjason’s crew, initially with further partisan supply drops but afterwards on more regular bombing missions - thus strikes against the marshalling yards at Verona and the dock installations at Trieste in early February, with an encounter with a Me. 110 during a supply drop to Yugoslavia in between. March witnessed Beech and his crew carrying out another nine sorties, marshalling yards, enemy communications and harbour installations being high on the list of chosen targets, and rarely without strong defences, his flying log book frequently referring to the heavy flak and night fighters encountered. April, the final month of his tour of operations, featured a similar agenda of seven further sorties, his final trip being a ‘wizard prang’ against marshalling yards at Freilassing in southern Germany, his only operational visit to the fatherland.

Beech remained in No. 37 Squadron until early in 1946, latterly serving in Egypt.

Sold with a quantity of original documentation, comprising the recipient’s Flying Log Book, covering the period to June 1944 to March 1946, his National Registration I.D. card and an R.A.F. ‘Permanent Pass’, together with two crew photographs and a superb range of individually identified target photographs (18), these latter more or less covering each of his sorties with No. 37 Squadron, January to April 1945, and often with spectacular images.