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Auction: 11010 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals & Militaria
Lot: 24

Family Group: A Rare Second War 1943 South East Asia ´Photo Reconnaissance Unit´ D.F.M. Group of Five to Leading Aircraftmen A. Fox, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, Who Completed At Least 75 Operational Reconnaissance Sorties, in Unarmed Mitchell Aircraft; After the War He Became an Oxford Don, Specialising in Sociology a) Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1251848. L.A.C. A. Fox R.A.F.) b) 1939-1945 Star c) Burma Star d) Defence and War Medals, generally very fine or better Three: Sergeant (Photographer) J.W. Fox, Royal Flying Corps 1914-Star (1135 2/A.M. J.W. Fox. R.F.C.); British War and Victory Medals (1135. Cpl. J.W. Fox. R.F.C.), good very fine, with two pieces of R.F.C. metal insignia and a comprehensive file of research on both recipients (lot) Estimate £ 2,800-3,200 D.F.M. London Gazette 7.1.1944 1251848 Leading Aircraftman Alan Fox, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 681 Squadron The Recommendation, dated 12.10.1943, states: ´LAC Fox has completed 59 operational sorties flying as photographer in B.25 aircraft in this Unit and has experienced anti-aircraft fire 6 times and fighter opposition 7 times. He has shown great keeness and devotion to duty on all operational flights. On numerous occasions when his aircraft has been attacked by enemy fighters LAC Fox has given invaluable assistance to his pilot by informing him of the position of the enemy aircraft. He has shown great coolness and courage and has set an excellent example to all. I strongly recommend him for the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal. Remarks of Air Officer Commanding Bengal Command: ´I agree with this citation. Apart from outstanding technical ability as a photographer, L.A.C. Fox has proved himself a competant and most reliable member of air crew. His record of 59 sorties and 394 hours of operational flying over a period of 14 months, a large proportion of which has been during the worst of the Burma monsoon, is an indication of his devotion to duty.´ 1251848 Leading Aricraftman Alan Fox, D.F.M., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, served as a Photographer during the Second World War as part of Billy Wise´s No. 3 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (Mitchells), Dum Dum, India, from the end of 1942; the Unit was renamed 681 Squadron, 25.1.1943; the unit had a fairly mixed complement of aircraft with Fox finding himself on Mitchells, the latter were employed on strategic reconnaissance sorties over the fronts in Burma, Siam, Malaya, Singapore, Java and Sumatra; given the long distance capabilities of the aircraft Fox found himself flying to the more distant airfields, docks, harbours and railway yards; the work was especially hazardous given that the aircraft did not have the speed to outpace Japanese fighters; Images of War, by R. Nesbit offers more incite, ´meanwhile, Wg Cdr Wise called for volunteers among ground photographers to fly as additional aircrew in the Mitchells. One of them who put his name forward was LAC Alan Fox, who had been in Mingaladon at the time the two Hurricanes were making their sorties and had taken part in the evacuation from Burma. The remainder of the crew consisted of a pilot, a second pilot and a navigator. There was an extra fuel tank in the fuselage, containing about 2,000gal, and battery of three F24s mounted above an aperture on the floor about halfway down the fuselage. One camera pointed straight down, while the other two were angled to overlap the coverage. Further towards the tail was an F52 with a telephoto lens. The operating height of the Mitchell was 26,000-30,000 feet, and Fox found that it was freezing cold. His job was responsibility for the cameras, replacing the magazines and attending to stoppages. In addition, he had the function of keeping a lookout from the astrodrome for any dot in the sky that might turn out to be an enemy fighter. These were often encountered, and the usual method of escape was to build up speed by putting the Mitchell into a steep dive. Nevertheless, several Mitchells were lost, one containing his friend Ben Weighall, another airman photographer who had also volunteered. Fox flew on sorties to such targets as the airfield at Myitkyrina, the docks at Rangoon, the airfield at Chiengmai, and the new Burma-Siam railway which was being built by thousands of British and Allied prisoners. He completed 75 sorties and was awarded the DFM, believed to be one of only three airman photographers who received this decoration.´ After the War Fox aided Geoffrey J. Thomas with his publication Eyes For The Phoenix, Allied Aerial Photo-Reconnaissance Operations South East Asia, 1941-45, sharing his own wartime experiences including, ´On 1 October 1943 Mitchell MA957, ´K´ was intercepted over Port Blair by a Kawasaki Ki.45 Toryu fighter, one of a small number on detachment from 21st Air Regt, recently equipped with the new aircraft and based at Mergui. The enemy was spotted by the B-25´s camera operator, LAC A. Fox, who reported, "I had been many times to Port Blair, and its grim wheel-shaped penitentiary of Imperial days had become a familiar sight. I found myself staring through the astrodrome at a black dot in the distant sky that grew rapidly in size to become an enemy fighter. Nobody else had yet seen it, so there was some brisk activity in the front cockpit as I delivered this news over the intercom. As he closed in on our tail to within a hundred yards and opened fire, I was the only member of the crew to have him in vision and so had to deliver a running commentary..... Since the B-25 had the gliding angle of a brick, the usual technique in such encounters was to go into a steep and prolonged dive - one of the amiable qualities of the B-25 being that, even when pulling out of the steepest plunge, one could always rely on the wings staying on. As it happened, cloud helped us to get out of sight. I, who was not seated, was forced almost to the floor. But there, just below us, were the palm trees and the tropical sea breaking on a golden shore and the fighter had lost us. It was not long, however, before I discovered the one small fly in this otherwise soothing ointment, dressed for the bitter cold of 26,000 feet, I was now in the tropical temperature of 500ft. True, clothing that had been put on could be taken off; this involved first removing my parachute harness. In the circumstances this seemed injudicious. I bathed in my own sweat until we regained height and started all over again. We got the pictures and a view of our pursuer as he weaved in and out of the clouds still searching for us.´ Fox who continued to serve in the same capacity throughout 1944 also appears in Edward Leaf´s work Above All Unseen; after the War Fox went on to become an Oxford don, and was the author of several publications on Sociology. 1135 Sergeant John William Fox, born Fulham, London; the father of Alan Fox; prior to the war was a Photographer; enlisted as 2 AM Royal Flying Corps, 4.3.1914, and served with RFC HQ in the French theatre of War, from 12.8.1914; promoted Sergeant (Photographer), 1.3.1918 and retained that rank and trade in April RAF Muster Roll.

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£2,800