Orders, Decorations and Medals

The prisoner of war correspondence, notes and related memorabilia of Flight Lieutenant F. J. Mortimer, Royal Air Force, a Beaufighter navigator who was shot down off the Dutch coast in April 1944 and incarcerated in Stalag Luft III at Sagan, comprising a fine series of letters from his wife (and other family and friends) from June 1944 until April 1945 (approximately 35), several of the later examples having been returned to her by the Swiss Post Office due to ‘the interruption of communications’ in Germany; the recipient’s extensive pencilled notes from his time as a P.O.W., all of which were concealed ‘in a shelf made specially for the purpose, and which was utilised to carry cups, cutlery, etc. They successfully survived a number of searches by the guards, and one by the Gestapo - the shelf was torn down during one of these searches, but the notes remained undetected’, approximately 50 pp., mostly used on both sides, numbered and dated, the earliest entry being 17 May 1944 and the latest December of the same year, a month or so before the camp was evacuated; together with his Y.M.C.A. “Wartime Log”, completed to page 10 with inked entries taken from the aforementioned notes (‘The following is transcribed from pencil-written notes made in Stalag Luft III ... ’), but sadly an exercise never completed, but with three inserted pencil portraits 1944-45; his original hand-made wall calendar, fashioned from cardboard and a decorated folder fashioned from Red Cross parcel packaging, the interior containing further memorabilia, including pencilled notes on numerous folded “Sweet Caporal” cigarette packets, generally in remarkably good condition (Lot) £400-500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Ron Penhall Collection.

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