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Auction: 19001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 705

'At 7-30 a.m. on 11th July, 1918, our formation of 4 machines was attacked by about 14 E.A. Scouts. 2/Lieut. Austin (Observer) shot down one E.A. which crumpled up and went down hopelessly out of control. The E.A. withdrew for about a minute during which time 2/Lieut. Austin was badly wounded by A.A. fire. The E.A. again attacked and 2/Lieut. Austin shot down another E.A. which went down in flames. 2/Lieut. Austin was dead when I landed him just behind our lines owing to my engine having been badly shot about.' Combat in the Air, Army form W. 3348, by Lieutenant F. C. Wilton refers.

A good group of three awarded to 2nd Lieutenant E. V. Austin, Royal Air Force, who served as an Observer in a D.H.9. of No. 98 Squadron, who having 'bagged' two kills, was mortally wounded on the same day, succumbing to his injuries before his pilot managed to land

1914-15 Star (M2-051646 Pte. E. V. Austin. A.S.C.); British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. E. V. Austin. R.A.F.), with traces of glue to reverse of first and third, good very fine (3)

Edward Valentine Austin was born on 6 June 1895, the son of the late Albert Edward Austin. The family resided in Singapore, but following the deaths of both parents in 1896 and 1897, Edward returned to England and was raised by his uncle, Samuel Herbert Valentine, at Hawthornden, Ludlow. Valentine served as Mayor of Ludlow from 1913-1917 and was the owner of a large grocery store on the main throughfare, Broad Street, which continues to bear his name to this day. In 1912, having been educated at Ludlow Grammar School, his nephew left Shropshire and took up employment at Edwards & Armstrong as an electrical engineer, living in Colston Street, Bristol.

Following the outbreak of the Great War, Edward enlisted into the Army Service Corps, serving as a Private with the M.T. workshop in France from 4 September 1915. Transferring to the Royal Flying Corps, his service papers note that he was deemed 'fit as Observer, unfit as Pilot,' on 29 November 1917. Commissioned 2nd Lieutenant on 7 June 1918, he embarked for Boulogne on 27 June and joined No. 98 Squadron the next day.

On 11 July 1918, at 5.40 a.m., Austin and his pilot left their airfield at Drionville and proceeded on a bombing raid over the locality of Don Locks. It was to be his final flight. Having successfully 'downed' two enemy aeroplanes, he was mortally wounded:

'When over the lines the petrol tank, radiator and oil sump were shot through by enemy fire. This caused the engine to fail but the pilot managed to get the machine back to our lines, but it was immediately shelled by enemy guns.'

That same morning, Oberleutnant Adolf Gutknecht, a Great War 'ace' credited with eight aerial victories, lodged a combat claim for a D.H.9. west of La Bassée at 7.35 am, flying from Haubourdin aerodrome. It is more likely however, that Anti Aircraft fire cost Austin his life. He is buried in the Sandpits British Cemetery, Fouquereuil, and commemorated upon the Ludlow Grammar School and K. Kellett, Shipley, West Yorkshire, Memorials; sold with extensive copied research and R.A.F. service record.


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