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Auction: 5019 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 140

The Interesting and Unusual Army Film & Photographic Unit M.B.E. Group of Five to Captain P.T. Handford, Royal Artillery and Royal Army Ordnance Corps, a Veteran of the Fall of France, the D-Day Landings, the Liberation of Paris, and the Allied Advance through the Low Countries (a) Order of the British Empire, 2nd type, Military Division, Member´s (M.B.E.) breast Badge, silver, in case of issue (b) 1939-1945 Star (c) France and Germany Star (d) Defence and War Medals, with MID Oak Leaf, nearly extremely fine (e) Items of uniform, including Battle Blouse with unit insignia, medal ribands, scarce shoulder insignia of the AFPU, cap badges, dog tag, and buttons &c (f) A most comprehensive collection of over 100 letters from Handford to his Mother covering the Second World War period, including Evacuation from France and D-Day "I can´t tell you how glad I was to land again in England...our voyage was somewhat adventurous...twice attacked by low flying planes on the way over..." (22.6.1940); "...the weather was very bad...just avoided being seasick...almost a relief to land in spite of the unfriendliness of the Germans..." (14.6.1944), many with their original stamped and postmarked envelopes (g) Four comprehensive interesting and graphic Personal Diaries covering the same period, including D-Day and the Liberation of Paris "...there is a ghastly bedlam of noise...confusion...exploding mines, general inferno, machine gun fire..." (6.6.1944); "...never will I forget the scene as we entered [Paris]...their joy at seeing us is overwhelming...never have we been kissed so much and by so many lovely women..." (25.8.1944) (h) Certificates for M.B.E. and Mention in Despatches, Soldier´s and Officer´s Service books, and Officer´s Release book, together with an extensive documentary and photographic archive, the majority of photographs taken by Handford himself to great acclaim (lot) Estimate £ 400-500M.B.E. London Gazette 24.1.1946 Mentioned in Despatches London Gazette 10.5.1945 Captain Peter Thomas Handford, M.B.E., born in London 21.3.1919 and educated at Christ´s Hospital. After leaving school he worked as a sound recordist for London Film Productions 1936-1939, before he enlisted with the Territorial Army 16.10.1939 on the outbreak of the Second World War; he was subsequently transferred to the Royal Artillery and was sent to France to guard Airfields near the Maginot Line. Following the French surrender, Handford was evacuated from Cherbourg June 1940. Once back in Britain he enlisted in the newly created Army Film and Photographic Unit as Sergeant; two years later he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant 30.3.1942, and promoted Lieutenant 1.10.1942. He returned to France and took part in the Operations on D-Day, and landed with the Commandos 6.6.1944; in the following months, he was present for a while in Caen before advancing to Paris, and was one of the first Allied Officers to enter the French Capital in the Liberation of Paris, before he continued with the Allied Advance through Holland. Lieutenant Handford was among the 1,400 Allied cameramen filming the war for the official film ´The True Glory´. Of these, 32 were killed in action, 16 were listed as missing, and over 100 were wounded, the highest casualty list, proportionately, in the Army. Filming in Copenhagen on VE Day, he later transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and was Mentioned in Despatches before being promoted to Captain 25.6.1946. After the War he resumed his civilian career, and was responsible for the sound recording on more than 60 films, including ´Room at the Top´, ´Billy Liar´, ´Out of Africa´ (which won him a Bafta and the Academy Award ´Oscar´ for best sound track 1986), and ´Murder on the Orient Express´. He was also a keen railway enthusiast, and noted for his sound recordings of steam trains.

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£3,600