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Auction: 11010 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 23

A Second War 1944 ´Path Finder Force´ D.F.M. Group of Four to Lancaster Engineer, Warrant Officer A.N. Robinson, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, A Veteran of 58 Operational Sorties, Half of Which Were Over Heavily Defended German Targets, Including to Berlin and Back 5 Times; He Also Flew in the Peenemunde Raid, 17.8.1943 a) Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1114181 F/Sgt. A.N. Robinson. R.A.F.) b) 1939-1945 Star c) Air Crew Europe Star, with France and Germany Bar d) War Medal, nearly extremely fine, with the following original items and documents: - Path Finder Force Badge - Engineer´s Brevet - Named Award Enclosure Slip - Path Finder Force Certificate, dated 17.12.1944 - Several newspaper cuttings, photographic images from recipient´s career and a comprehensive file of research (lot) Estimate £ 2,000-2,400 D.F.M. London Gazette 12.12.1944 1114181 Flight Sergeant Allan Newton Robinson, R.A.F.V.R., 582 Sqn The Recommendation, dated 21.9.1944, states: ´Flight Sergeant Robinson is a competent engineer who has completed a long tour of operations, more than half of his 42 sorties have been made against the defences of Nazi Germany. His keeness for operations is undiminished and he at all times sets an example of coolness and confidence. He has shown a high sense of devotion to duty and skill as a Flight Engineer at all times.´ Warrant Officer Allan ´Al´ Newton Robinson, D.F.M., born Todmorden, Lancashire, 1920; educated at Roomfield Council School and joined his father in the grocery business prior to enlisting in the Royal Air Force, 1940; after qualifying as a Flight Engineer he received his first operational posting to 460 Squadron R.A.A.F. (Lancasters), Binbrook, Lincolnshire, June 1943; he was crewed with five Australians and one other R.A.F. aircrew member; coincidentally three of the crew, including Alan, were called Robinson; Skippered by Flight Sergeant Errol Magnus, the entire crew remained together for their tour of 29 operational sorties; the tour included: Cologne (2); Gelsenkirchen; Hamburg; Turin; Mannheim (3); Nuremburg (2); Milan (2); Peenemunde Raid, 17.8.1943; Leverkusen; Berlin (5); Gladbach; Hanover (2) - including 8.10.1943, ´we were on our way home when a JU 88 attacked us from the port quarter above. We dived away to port, but he got a few hits into the port outer. It belched smoke for a short while, but the fire extinguisher which Allan was quick to use was effective, he shut it down, and home we went´ (a series of letters written by Magnus during the 80´s included in lot refers); Bochum; Munich; Leipzig; Dusseldorf and Modane; Robinson seems to have devised his own formula for dealing with the immense strain of having so many sorties to heavily defended German targets, ´He was however very fond of the "Ladies", and from what we could gather spent his leisure time chasing the girls in nearby Grimsby. Indeed he spent such late nights on the tiles, that on two occasions I found him squatting on the floor beside me facing his instrument panel, sound asleep. This led to some harsh words at the time, but we both got over them. I do not mention the foregoing as criticism, but merely to record the fact. That he could fall asleep at 20,000ft over Germany speaks worlds for his nerve, and his 58 ops speak for themselves´ (Ibid); on completion of his first tour Robinson was posted to 1662 Heavy Conversion Unit, Sandtoft, 15.12.1943; he returned to operational flying when he was posted to 582 Squadron (Lancasters), Path Finder Force, No. 8 Group, Little Staughton, Huntingdonshire, July 1944; during his second tour Robinson flew a further 29 operational sorties with the squadron, these including: St. Philibert Ferme Constructional Works (Rocket Site); Vaires Marshalling Yards; Foret de Croc Constructional Works; Stuttgart (2); Frankfurt; Kiel; Boulogne; Neuss; Saarbrucken; Dortmund (2); Essen (2); Cologne; Dusseldorf; Koblenz and Duisburg; Robinson´s final operational sortie of the War was to Essen, 12.12.1944, this brought his total up to 58; his D.F.M. was gazetted 12.12.1944, followed five days later by the permanent award of the PFF badge; Robinson was posted out of the squadron, 29.2.1945.

Sold for
£2,700