My Collection of RAF Gallantry Awards

[douglynn]

truly outstanding as a by the by i live about 2000 yards away from the raf museum at hendon,should you ever need any info from there please just ask,next time i visit there is a hall of fame going up the stairs,i will look to see if any of your guys are there cheers doug

[peter monahan]

Fantastic groups, thanks for sharing! Interesting that Lale had the India General Service Medal - could you tell me which bars as they are obscured by flash? Does anyone know the numbers of RAF who qualified for this medal? Can't have been awfully many, I suspect...

Gilbert

Gilbert

The Afghanistan bar went to about 850 RAF blokes of 52nd Wing (20,31,48 & 114 Sqs.); Mahsud bar quite rare: 175 to RAf, and its always won with the first one; last one went to about 600 RAF of 5,20,27,28,31,97 & 99 Sqs. (source: Gordon's ) Some infantry support, I believe but also a lot of leaflet dropping and some bombing of hostile villages and tribal war parties. Hazardous work, with lots of ground fire at "stringbag" aircraft and the possibility of a really nasty end if one made a forced landing in the wrong spot!

Peter

[ksg]

Impressive collection and very professionally displayed (many museums could learn something here). Well don !!!

Kjell

[jonightflyer]

Some bombing of hostile villages and tribal war parties. Hazardous work, with lots of ground fire at "stringbag" aircraft and the possibility of a really nasty end if one made a forced landing in the wrong spot!

Very true... Lale won a DSO and a Bar to his WW1 DFC during these operations in India.

I have copies of the official documents that recommended Lale for the Waziristan decorations... they make amazing reading and are highly detailed, including if I remember rightly, details of how he returned from one bombing raid on the NWF and made an emergency landing in a badly shot up Bristol Fighter on a polo ground!

[jonightflyer]

truly outstanding, as a by the by i live about 2000 yards away from the raf museum at hendon, should you ever need any info from there, please just ask.

Very kind of you Doug... thanks for the offer

[Jef]

Thank you, Jonightflyer and Douglyn.

Doug, I'm dying to see a photograph of Lancaster JB 455, 7th squadron.

Merry Christmas,

Jef

[douglynn]

Thank you, Jonightflyer and Douglyn.

Doug, I'm dying to see a photograph of Lancaster JB 455, 7th squadron.

Merry Christmas,

Jef

after the new year i will take a few pics over at the museum

[Jef]

after the new year i will take a few pics over at the museum

Thank you so much, Doug.

Jef

[jonightflyer]

Some bombing of hostile villages and tribal war parties. Hazardous work, with lots of ground fire at "stringbag" aircraft and the possibility of a really nasty end if one made a forced landing in the wrong spot!

Herewith the document that recommended Lale for the award of a Bar to the DFC. Look to bottom right for the mention of his forced landing on a polo field!

[jonightflyer]

Next up is the AFC, DFC (US) and Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters (US) grouping to Capt. Wessel Badenhorst, South African Air Force, who was shot down and killed in January 1951 whilst strafing the Chinese front lines in his Mustang. He was one of the original volunteers and a flight commander in the famous Flying Cheetah Squadron which South Africa sent to join the UN forces at the start of the Korean War.

Capt. Badenhorst's widow receiving his two US decorations (which she is wearing) from the United States Ambassador to South Africa.

Below is the eyewitness account of Capt. Badenhorst's last flight from his wingman.

Capt. Badenhorst and his wife and the letter of condolence to her from the Commanding Officer of No.2 Squadron SAAF, the famous Flying Cheetahs.

[notned]

An excellent collection of awards....and they are in NZ? thats wonderful!

Thanks for sharing!

Also for helping to re-unite medals to the original recipient...thats just super!

KR

Paul

Aoteroa, Land of the long white cloud.

[VtwinVince]

A really stunning group of awards, congratulations. Regarding copy log books, a friend has a copy log which belonged to SL Peter Duggan-Smith DFC, a Blenheim pilot. It was described as a "fair copy" and was almost identical to the actual log book, with entries etc.

[jonightflyer]

Wow, the story gets better and better, and you showed yourself a 'gent' in arranging the return of the medals to their rightful owner. Xmas has obviously come early to F/L trotman!

Wonderful group too!!

And much better did you have pictures of this handover??

I like such stories, they're just like fairytales

This story had a happy ending... I can report that I recently received a surprise visit from F/L Trotman and his charming wife at my home downunder in which he conveyed to me his relief and gratitude at having managed to find again and be reunited a year ago with his medals. We spent a terrific day together visiting amongst other things New Zealand's beautifully preserved Lancaster bomber.

Below a few pictures from that day.

F/L Trotman at the rear of the Lancaster.

F/L Trotman and his wife.

The New Zealand Lancaster.

Another view.

The Bomb bay.

[deejay]

Lovely collection thanks for sharing!

Regards,

Dirk J.