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Auction: 21001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals (conducted behind closed doors)
Lot: 616

'Suddenly we were lit up by what seemed to be a million candle-power illuminations. We had been caught not only by the original searchlight but by a dozen more which joined in as soon as we were pinpointed. In seconds bursts of archie were coming up towards us, and shells bursting around us. But just as quickly Musgrove reacted, putting the big aircraft into a steep, sickening, corkscrewing dive to escape both searchlights and flak. Fortunately I'd anticipated what he might do, and held on tight, but I was terrified by the experience and the steepness of our dive left my stomach far behind; it was like being on a nightmare big dipper, whizzing down into the blackness in a vehicle over which one had no control. But we escaped the searchlights, Musgrove levelled-off the aircraft and after a minute or so climbed back to 5,000 feet, and my nerves steadied. I kept my hands on the guns in case of night-fighters, and peered continually around into the enveloping darkness. The excitement had caused my adrenalin to rise, and I didn't feel cold or hungry; I was even ready for what came next'...

The exceptional Great War and Long Service group of four - including an extensive personal archive - to Lieutenant Leslie Reed Blacking, Royal Air Force late London Rifle Brigade and Karachi Corps A.F.I. who, as a nineteen-year-old subaltern in 207 Squadron, piloted Handley-Page 0/400 night bombers on raids behind German lines on the Western Front.

Post-war Blacking turned his efforts to Banking, spending time in the Far East and India - including a stint as a Trooper in the Karachi Corps - before returning to the U.K. and resuming his association with the R.A.F., becoming a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, serving well into the 1950's

British War and Victory Medals (Lt. L.R. Blacking. R.A.F.), Efficiency Medal, G.V.R., India, with Second Award Clasp (Tpr. L.R. Blacking. Karachi Corps, A.F.I.), Air Efficiency Award, E.II.R. (Flt. Lt. L.R. Blacking. R.A.F.V.R.), mounted as worn, good very fine (4)

Leslie Reed Blacking was born in 1899 and, after serving in the ranks of the London Rifle Brigade on the Western Front, applied for and was granted a Commission in the newly-formed Royal Air Force in 1918. Opting to train on heavy bombers rather than the more fashionable fighters or scouts, he soon found himself as a pilot in No. 207 Squadron which was equipped with Handley-Page 0/400 bombers and based in Ligescourt, Picardy. Specifically tasked with night-bombing raids over the German lines in an effort to damage and disrupt various targets during the time of the Spring Offensive, Blacking's semi-autobiographical novel covers much detail of daily life as a member of the Squadron including raids, living arrangements, personal experiences of flying one of the largest aircraft in the world (at that time), and unfortunate flashbacks to his time as a teenager in the trenches.

Post-war he joined the Mercantile Bank of India, spending many years in China, Malaya, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States; somewhat unusually he appears not to have served in any military capacity during the Second World War, his obituary noting that he was manager of the New York branch of the bank between 1939-1945. It is, however, clear that a move back to the U.K. prompted him to yet again 'do his bit' despite advancing age - indeed, he qualified for and was issued with the Air Efficiency Award in 1961. His obituary also notes that he attended many 207 Squadron reunion dinners at the RAF Club in Piccadilly.

Clearly a man of enormous energy and enthusiasm, in retirement he continued to travel extensively - South Africa, Canada, the United States and even a hitch-hike to the Yukon were undertaken by this old veteran...the latter in his 77th year!

Leslie Reed Blacking died, aged 82, at the Mignot Memorial Hospital on Guernsey; he and his wife had lived on the island of Alderney since 1973.Sold together with a comprehensive personal archive comprising:

(i) A first-edition copy of Darkness Shall Cover Me: Night Bombing Over the Western Front, by Humphrey Winn and with an obituary notice for Leslie Blacking pasted to the inside front cover.

(ii) A photograph album, 9 x 6, annotated 'L.R. Blacking' to inside front cover, containing 32 black-and-white photographs of Blacking in uniform, various friends and comrades, and aircraft including Handley-Page 0/400's, F.E.2's and R.E.8's, both intact and after crashes.

(iii) A collection of badges and associated ephemera including a riband bar, three sets of Second Lieutenant's 'pips' (cloth; gilt; and blackened respectively); a bronzed R.F.C. collar-dog; two tie-slides; and a St. Christopher's Medal on ribbon.

(iv) A pair of dog-tags stamped: L Blacking 304966 5 CLR CE

(v) Two circular card name-badges; one white, one green, annotated to obverse in ink 'L.R. Blacking 207 Sqn.' and 'Leslie Blacking' respectively.

(vi) Five original letters, including two written by Blacking to his parents in England during the Great War, mentioning some military details including flights over 'Hunland' which are so vividly described in the book; an Air Ministry letter forwarding him the Air Efficiency Award. Also a small black-and-white illustration of the Menin Gate, annotated in ink: 'Presented to Mr. Leslie Blacking on the occasion of his visit to Ypres, 22-4-1972' and signed 'H. Vandevoorde O.B.E.'

(vii) A manuscript copy of Darkness Shall Cover Me: Night Bombing Over the Western Front, bound and accompanied by various copied excerpts & photocopies.

For the recipient's mounted miniature group, please see Lot 811.

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Sold for
£800

Starting price
£550