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Auction: 23111 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 765

Pair: Lieutenant W. G. Jacks, No. 63 Squadron, Royal Air Force late 2nd/6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, who was in action over Baghdad during the Mesopotamian Campaign

British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. W. G. Jacks. R.A.F.), sold together with a large archive including boxes of issue and an OHMS envelope named to the recipient at the 'Imperial Bank of Persia', nearly extremely fine (2)

Wilfred Grey Jacks was born at South Shields on 25 January 1895, and lived at 1 Chaloner Terrace, South Shields prior to the outbreak of hostilities and was subsequently commissioned 2nd Lieutenant with the 2nd/6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry on 29 June 1915. This Territorial battalion remained on home service in Britain for the duration of the war - Jacks, however, was not to remain with them having instead applied to join the Royal Flying Corps.

Entering service with the R.F.C. on 25 September 1916 at Oxford he joined No. 60 Squadron the next year, being appointed a Flying Officer on 2 June 1917. Embarking for Mesopotamia in March, Jacks arrived there for service with No. 63 Squadron in the advance on Baghdad. This formation was part of the 31st Wing at Samarrah with orders to support the Tigris front.

No. 63 Squadron was a bomber formation and their efforts in harrying the retreating Turks up the Tigris in support of 1st Indian Corps was commendable; Jacks is mentioned in a passage from In the Clouds Above Baghdad which states:

'Lieut Jacks and Corporal Huxley were singled out by three scouts, above, behind, and below. After fifteen rounds from the Corporal's gun the enemy astern went spinning down into the clouds, apparently out the control and the other two veered off.'

Other than this action he flew a mixture of reconnaissance flights and bombing raids through 1918. Remaining with the R.A.F. Jacks served in Iraq for some time, flying out of Ramadi in command of 'B' Flight, No. 63 Squadron. Still in command of this unit he was posted to Persia, where they were engaged in operations against the Mundumis and Gulbechis from Kazvin (Qazvin) in North-West Persia. The Squadron diary refers to a tragic occurrence while they were in Persia:

'22/4/19: Two 16 Pounder "Pistol" bombs were tested. These arrived from Baku. One exploded O.K. but the other was eventually found by a Persian and taken home. There it exploded wiping the whole family out.'

The flying in this campaign was exceptionally difficult, with poor conditions and extreme landscapes combining to make it deadly. The R.A.F. squadrons assigned to Persia were often in support of British or local forces keeping open lines of communication with British and White Russian troops in the Caucasus. No. 63 Squadron found themselves operating alongside a Persian force under Sirdar Rashid against hostile tribes.

As British troops withdrew from the Russian Intervention and the post-war instability in the region wound down No. 63 Squadron was disbanded. Jacks resigned his commission on 4 August 1920, but remained in the region, joining the Imperial Bank of Persia. He stayed out there until his death on 8 March 1925 at Sistan, Persia; sold together with copied research comprising No. 63 Operations and after-action reports along with M.I.C., and extracts from The Modern Squadrons and In the Clouds above Baghdad as well as R.A.F. and R.F.C. service records with an archive of original research comprising:

i)
Several autographs by the recipient, including one upon a menu for a dinner given by the Squadron at Tabriz on 11 November 1919 for H.H. Prince Hizra.

ii)
Cuttings from a magazine depicting aerial photographs of Persia by the R.A.F. Photographic Section.

iii)
A number of photographs depicting the recipient's service including both War and Post-War service.

iv)
A Passport named to the recipient, dated post-war.

v)
A leather wallet named 'W.G. Jacks' containing further photographs along with a number of negatives.

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Sold for
£350

Starting price
£60