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Auction: 12003 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 14

A Remarkable Great War ´1916´ D.F.C. Group of Four to Short Seaplane Pilot, Flight Lieutenant, Later Squadron Leader, G.H. Reid, Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force, Who Flying in an Abortive Raid on the Zeppelin Sheds in Schleswig-Holstein, Tried to Effect an Audacious Air to Sea Rescue of a Stranded Sopwith Pilot; Having Landed in the North Sea, Reid Attempted to Fix the Sopwith But to No Avail; He Then Proceeded to Take Off Once More, But This Time With the Sopwith Pilot Strapped On To a Strut! Blinded By a Snowstorm Reid Tried to Navigate His Way Back to the Aircraft Carrier Vindex, From Which He Had Originally Taken Off; Suffering From Engine Trouble He Was Forced to Land, ´Finding It Was Irreparable Most Pilots Would Have Lost Heart, But Not So Flight Lieutenant Reid. He Brought Into Action The Starboard Bank of Cylinders and Proceeded to Taxi the Short at About 4 Knots.´ Reid Set Off Once Again for the Vindex, But ´After Three Hours of Rough-Riding the Waves in the Open Sea, A Motor-Boat Filled With Soldiers Was Seen Approaching Them, and From the Skies Two Seaplanes Suddenly Swooped Down and Landed Alongside... They Were Germans´; Reid´s Refusal to Admit Defeat Carried on into Captivity, During Which He Tried to Escape Several Times Including Jumping From a Fast Moving Train. A Brilliant Inventor He Created Several Flying Aides, Some of Which Were Still in Mainstream Use Nearly 40 Years After Their Inventiona) Distinguished Flying Cross, G.V.R., reverse contemporarily engraved in sans-serif capitals ´Captain George H. Reid. March 1916´b) 1914-15 Star (Flt. S. Lt. G.H. Reid. R.N.A.S.)c) British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. Oak Leaves (Capt. G.H. Reid R.A.F.), nearly extremely fine, mounted as originally worn, with the following original documents:- Telegram from Buckingham Palace requesting recipient´s presence for D.F.C. investiture- Admiralty letter informing Mrs. Reid that the recipient had been taken prisoner of war, dated 16.4.1916- Letter to the recipient from King George V, on Buckingham Palace paper, dated 1918, and signed ´George R.I.´- Notification from Ministry of Pensions, Officers Branch, of award of disability pension, dated 29.8.1928- Letter to the recipient from the Rt. Hon. Winston Churchill on 10, Downing Street, writing paper, undated, signed ´Winston S. Churchill´- Small scrap book filled with newspaper cuttings relating to recipient´s war time service and subsequent post war career- Six photographic images of recipient (lot)

Sold for
£9,500