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Auction: 23111 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 851

Four: Flight Sergeant S. French, Royal Air Force,

1939-1945 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence Medal; War Medal 1939-1945 good very fine (Lot)

Stanley French was born on 21 August 1923, he started training as an Air Gunner on the 6 March 1944 at 10 A.G.S Barrow-In-Furness aboard Ansons, he completed the course on the 8 April becoming a qualified Air Gunner on the 14 April 1944. He then went to No.19 O.T.U. for a "B" Flight Conversion flying aboard Whitleys. On the 10 October 1944 he goes to 1658 Conversion Unit at R.A.F. Riccall where he is a Mid-Upper Gunner on Halifax III. He is then posted to No.51 Squadron at R.A.F.Snaith at the end of November 1944. His first Op is to Essen on the 29 November, his logbook notes "Shaky Do" and they land at Manston in Kent on their return. Two days later he goes to Duisberg and encounters "light flak". On the 6 December his Op was to Osnabruck and again he lands at Manston due to severe icing. On the 12th he returns to Essen and he notes "never again". After a month's break he has an Op to Saarbrucken on the 13 January 1945 and notes it as a "nice quiet trip", the following day he is sent to Dulmen and notes "1 gun 1 searchlight". His last Op for January is on the 28th to Stuttgart and notes "bags of fighters". He has one Op for February 1945 on the 1st to Mainz, he notes a "wizard prang" and they land at Horham where they seem to remain for 8 days and fly back to base on the 9th. He begins a conversion course on the 21 February 1945 with the Pathfinder Training Unit at R.A.F. Warboys on Lancaster III. On completion of his course he goes to 635 Squadron Pathfinder Force at Downham Market with his first Op on the 18 March 1945 to Witten dropping 10,000lbs of bombs, he notes "Shook Em Rotten". He has two daylight Ops on the 21 and 22 March to Bremen and Dorsten respectively followed by one on Hamburg on the 31st "helped the army out". After a brief return in early April to R.A.F. Warboys for a small course with the P.N.T.U. he has an Op to Nuremberg on the 11 April and his final Op on the 14th to Berlin "coned by searchlights attacked by ME410". He moved to 51 Squadron at the end of April and that completed his wartime flying with total hours of 276 Hrs and 55 minutes. He was discharged on the 25 June 1946.

The lot includes:

(i) Navigator's, Air Bomber's and Air Gunner's Flying Log Book.

(ii) Royal Air Force Service and Release Book.

(iii) R.A.F. Form 2788 for notification of final payment of pay and allowances and amount due for war gratuity and post war credit.

(iii) Box for WW2 medals which were issued in late 1969/ early 1970, to his address in Stockport.

(iv) Letter from the RAF Record and Pay Office dated 8 September 1969 confirming the return of his logbook and confirming his WW2 medals and that he was not entitled to an Air Crew Europe Star.

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Sold for
£210

Starting price
£140