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Auction: 22001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 535

An unusual A.F.C. group of six awarded to Flight Lieutenant D. W. Claxton, Royal Air Force, later Instructor Lieutenant-Commander, Royal Navy

Air Force Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse dated '1945'; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Naval General Service 1915-62, 1 clasp, Malaya (Inst. Lt. D. W. Claxton A.F.C. R.N.), very fine (6)

A.F.C. London Gazette 7 September 1945. The citation states:

'This Officer is employed as instructor on beam approach training. In March 1945 the aircraft of his flight was fitted with special (the word then struck-out) new equipment for the purpose of instruction in the instrument approach system. This was the first flight in the Royal Air Force to be so equipped and no previous experience of the system was available. Flight Lieutenant Claxton showed great keenness to experiment even in very poor weather condition. The tests he carried out proved invaluable in the compilation of a basic Manual of Training for this method of beam approach training.'

Derric Walter Claxton was born on 25 August 1922 at Forest Gate, London, the son of Walter, a coach builder. Claxton was commissioned Pilot Officer (General Duties Branch) in May 1942 and by the end of the Second World War had flown over occupied Europe on Operations, besides his work in pioneering the testing of novel beam approach systems, for which he was duly awarded the Air Force Cross.

Resigning his commission in the Royal Air Force on 7 August 1947, Claxton took up the position of Instructor Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy the same day. Having seen further active service in Malaya, Claxton retired as an Instructor Lieutenant-Commander on 1 September 1964. He retired to Devon, became a Headmaster and died at Tavistock on 21 March 1998; sold together with Air Council issuance slip for his Second War campaign Medals, besides four ships 'flimsies', together with a number of images of the recipient and copied research.

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Sold for
£2,000

Starting price
£1400