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Auction: 22001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 424

(x) A superb 1945 D.F.C. and 1943 D.F.M. pair awarded to Flight Lieutenant K. W. J. Tugwell, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, awarded an Immediate D.F.M. for his gallantry in perhaps one of the great 'epics' of the last War; when his Lancaster was attacked and crippled over Mannheim, Tugwell remained in the rear turret and stuck to his duty, after their gallant Skipper Squadron Leader J. B. Starky had regained control of their kite which had fallen out of control, Tugwell waited for the enemy night fighter to close before shooting it down in flames

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated '1945' and in its Royal Mint case of issue; Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (1437223 Sgt. K. W. J. Tugwell. R.A.F.), upon its original pin and in its named card box of issue, nearly extremely fine (2)

D.F.C. London Gazette 7 December 1945 (No. 75 Squadron). The recommendation states:

'This Officer has now completed a total of forty-on operational sorties, twenty-four on his first tour and seventeen on his present tour. During his operational career Tugwell as Rear Gunner has attacked the most heavily defended targets in Germany, including Berlin, and at all times has displayed commendable determination and keenness to get to grips with the enemy. Since being awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal Tugwell has completed many sorties and at all times has shown the greatest keenness for operational flying. Recently this Officer has been the Squadron Gunnery Leader and throughout this time has shown great drive and efficiency in the handling of his men. on the night of 3 January 1945 Tugwell was flying as Rear Gunner in a crew detailed to attack Dortmund. Shortly after bombing the target the aircraft was coned for twenty minutes and attacked by two Me110 night fighters, Tugwell immediately opened fire on the enemy to such good effect that one of the fighters was probably shot down while the other after being hit by the prompt action of this Gunner took evasive action and was not seen again; at the same time Tugwell gave instructions to the Pilot which enabled him to save the aircraft from any severe damage. After getting free of the searchlights the aircraft was once again attacked by a fighter this time a Ju88. Tugwell opened fire immediately gaining strikes on the wings and fuselage of the enemy aircraft forcing him to break of the engagement. This Officer showed an offensive spirit which was in keeping with the highest traditions of the service and as Gunnery Leader set an example which has been an inspiration to all Gunners in the Squadron. I consider that this Officer's excellent record is deserving of recognition and strongly recommend that he be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.'

D.F.M. London Gazette 28 September 1943. This edition awarded Immediate awards to Squadron Leader Starky (D.S.O.), Flying Officer Beer (D.F.C.) and Sergeant Willis (D.F.M.):

'One night in September, 1943, Flying Officer Beer and Sergeants Tugwell and Willis were air bomber, mid-upper gunner and rear gunner respectively of an aircraft captained by Squadron Leader Starky and detailed to attack Mannheim.

When nearing the target area the aircraft was attacked by a fighter. The bomber was badly hit and sustained much damage. It became filled with smoke and dived earthwards out of control. By a tremendous effort. Squadron Leader Starky succeeded in regaining control as the fighter came in to resume the attack. Sergeants Tugwell and Willis coolly withheld their fire until the attacker came into close range then, with devastating bursts of fire, shot it down in flames. The situation was critical as the bomber had been badly crippled while the second pilot and flight engineer had been wounded. Nevertheless, on a course plotted by Flying Officer Beer who, throughout the remainder of the homeward flight, rendered great assistance, Squadron Leader Starky battled his way over enemy territory, often under fire from ground defences. Displaying superb airmanship and an unconquerable spirit he finally reached an airfield near the coast and effected a safe landing. In most harassing circumstances these members of aircraft crew discharged their duties in an exemplary manner, setting an example worthy of the highest praise.'

The original Recommendation for the D.S.O. gives more detail and states:

‘At 20.11 hours on the night of 5-6 September 1943, Lancaster Y-DS 682 took off for Mannheim. The Captain, Acting Squadron Leader J. B. Starky, was on his forty-seventh trip; the remainder of the crew had about 20 sorties each to their credit. At 01.50 hours the aircraft, with starboard elevator almost completely shot away, the Navigator and Wireless Operator missing, and two more of the crew wounded, forced landed successfully at Ford. What follows is the story of events in between:

The trip was uneventful until some 20 miles short of the target. The weather was clear and the aircraft was flying at 19,000 feet. Suddenly without any previous warning, a night fighter dived in a head-on attack. Our aircraft was badly hit, the cockpit was filled with smoke and a bright light gave the impression of a fire. It then went into a violent spiral - the central column rocking violently - and being unable to regain control the Captain gave the order to abandon by parachute.

The Mid-Upper Gunner, Sergeant K. Tugwell, called out that the Rear-Gunner was stuck in his turret and the Captain made a desperate effort to regain control. The stick became a little easier, due to the dinghy which had been jammed in the tail unit blowing free, and the Captain regained control. The night fighter - a Ju. 88 - then attacked again from the rear. Both tail and Mid-Upper Gunners held their fire, and shot it down in flames.

Squadron Leader Starky then attempted to take stock. He found that both Wireless Operator and Navigator had jumped by parachute, that his Flight Engineer was wounded in the shoulder and the 2nd Pilot wounded in the arm and head. The Bomb Aimer, Flying Officer B. A. W. Beer, had attempted to jump from the front exit, but had been unable to jettison the escape hatch. When he was finally half way out of the aircraft, he heard the Captain say “Hold on!” as he had the aircraft back under control. The Rear-Gunner was now manning the mid-upper turret, while the Mid-Upper Gunner and Bomb Aimer attended the wounded.

The Captain then attempted the most difficult task of bringing his badly damaged aircraft back to base without the assistance of a Wireless Operator or Navigator. He set an approachable course for base and carried on this for over 30 minutes. By this time the Bomb Aimer had gone back to do the navigation, but as the navigators log had gone he had no plot and gave the Captain an amended course for base. On their way across France they were repeatedly fired at by A.A. batteries and as his inter-com had now gone, the Captain was compelled to take evasive action only from the judgment of the gun flashes. On one occasion the Bomb Aimer had to go through to tell the Captain that shells were bursting dangerously near the tail.

In this precarious state the damaged Lancaster made its way back through the enemy fighter belt. The Mid-Upper Gunner manned the wireless set and succeeded in getting acknowledgment to a laborious S.O.S. The Bomb Aimer tried unsuccessfully to work GEE.

Eventually the Channel was reached and as they drew near the coast the Captain and Bomb Aimer flashed S.O.S. on their lights. As they crossed the shore an immediate green was received and Squadron Leader Starky effected a masterly landing of his now uncontrollable aircraft, bringing it in at an air speed of 140 m.p.h.

The story of this flight is an epic, and the return of the aircraft to this country must be considered due firstly and primarily to the superb airmanship and captaincy of Squadron Leader Starky, and actually to the magnificent co-operation of the rest of the crew. Squadron Leader Starky has already been recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross for his really magnificent work during two tours of operations, and I consider that his latest achievement is worthy of the immediate award of the Distinguished Service Order.’

Kenneth William John Tugwell was born on 23 February 1923 and by 1939 was living at 45 Sheals Crescent, Maidstone, a Clerk to a Brewery Director by trade. During the Second World War he earned both the D.F.C. and D.F.M. and flew with No. 115 Squadron initially.

The Squadron were a Lancaster unit operating out of East Wretham, Norfolk and assuming he was 'crewed' with Starky, he would have been joined by his Pilot in April 1943. Starky quickly renewed his acquaintance with German targets of the heavily defended kind, Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen and Stettin among them, so, too, Krefeld, on the night of 21-22 June, when his Lancaster was holed in 16 places by flak - and this just 48 hours after being attacked by a Ju. 88 on returning from a minelaying sortie. Starky had another Op of the hair-raising kind over Gelsenkirchen on the night of the 25th - namely a collision with another Lancaster. Men with Wings, by Wing Commander H. P. “Sandy” Powell, takes up the story:

‘Starky, now a Flight Commander, was turning his Lancaster for his run up to the target. They were flying at 14,000 feet. There was an appalling crash and the whole aircraft shook with the impact. Another Lancaster then appeared in front of them and blew up. It had struck off over six feet of Starky’s starboard wing. It was completely impossible to identify this particular Lancaster, but it was flying as though there were fighters on its tail ... the immediate awareness in Starky’s mind when he had recovered from the first shock of the collision was that to keep the Lancaster level - he had full aileron on - the control wheel had to be held over. His second thought was concerning the 4000 lb. bomb suspended in the under part of the Lancaster’s fuselage. At reduced speed he flew straight on towards the target and there dropped the great bomb. Miraculously all four Hercules engines went on running as smoothly as ever and they were able to turn and set course for home ... Over Texel, a strongly defended area, Starky, by force of habit, took evasive action. His left elbow, already low down due to the position of the control wheel, hit something with a resounding crack when making an attempt to apply opposite aileron. He was thus harshly made aware of the need to keep the controls full over to avoid doing a complete roll towards the damaged wing! This produced another shock. At the moment his elbow struck there was a torrent of German on the R./T., for his elbow had pressed the buttons on the radio switch-box and the circuit engaged and happened to pick up the comments of a German ground controller below. The landing was not the least of the difficulties, as extra speed was clearly necessary for fear of stalling the crippled wing. Lining up on the flare-path must be exactly right as it would have been courting disaster to make any but the most gentle manoeuvre on the approach. Suffice it to say a safe approach and landing was made and no additional damage of any sort was done to the aeroplane.’

Accordingly, nerves must have been tested to the limit when ordered to return to Gelsenkirchen early in the following month, not least when his aircraft was attacked by a Ju. 88 and Fw. 190 - again, too, during a raid on Aachen on 13th. These operations were swiftly followed by a brace of trips to Hamburg during the “firestorm” raids at the end of July, while in the following month, the unit moved to Little Snoring, Norfolk. Not too long after, Starky took his Wing Commander “along for the ride” in an attack against Milan on the 12th. But if the next sortie - the famous attack on the secret rocket establishment at Peenemunde on the night of the 17th-18th - proved more challenging, subsequent events in a raid on Mannheim on 5 September were to test pilot and crew to the very limit, a fact laid bare by the extended recommendation for Starky’s immediate D.S.O. which threw praise upon Tugwell and his comrades. Not mentioned, however, is the assault launched by the shocked and wounded Flight Engineer on his pilot, an incident curtailed by the Mid-Upper Gunner [Tugwell] who knocked him clean out with a fire extinguisher - on regaining consciousness, the Flight Engineer returned to his position and managed to re-start two fuel-starved engines.

Tugwell was commissioned Pilot Officer on 5 October 1943 and made Flight Lieutenant by War's end, with a D.F.C. to boot. Tugwell died at Southampton in November 1997; sold together with named forwarding letter for the D.F.C.

Subject to 5% tax on Hammer Price in addition to 20% VAT on Buyer’s Premium.

Sold for
£4,500

Starting price
£2000