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Auction: 26003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 338

A fine post-war A.F.M. group of six awarded to Squadron Leader B. S. Bull, Royal Air Force, late Air Transport Auxiliary, who flew operationally in Canberras of No. 101 Squadron in Malaya and the Near East and was twice awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air

Air Force Medal, G.VI.R., 2nd issue (1583781 Plt. II B. S. Bull. R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; General Service 1918-62, E.II.R., 2 clasps, Malaya, Near East (Plt. Off. B. S. Bull. R.A.F.), mounted as worn with an M.I.D. oak leaf on a navy blue riband for his Queen's Commendations for Valuable Service in the Air, good very fine (7

A.F.M. London Gazette 2 January 1950. The original recommendation states:

'Pilot II Bull has been employed as a Flying Instructor at the Central Flying School since April 1948. During part of this time he was undergoing a Pilot Attack Instructor course. This non-commissioned officer has at all times shown an exceptional keenness and enthusiasm for flying and he has always made the maximum effort in his flying instructional duties at the school. He is a member of the Central Flying School Tiger Moth pupil / instructor team which has given many flying demonstrations at various public displays. In appearance, bearing, personality and drive Pilot II Bull sets a fine example and is a credit to the Royal Aire Force.'

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air London Gazette 14 June 1969.

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air London Gazette 13 December 1976.

Bruce Sydney Bull was born in Evington, Leicester on 28 March 1924, where he was educated at Wyggeston School.

As verified by his R.A.F. Service Record, he subsequently served as a pilot and Operations Room Assistant in the Air Transport Auxiliary, prior to transferring to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in August 1942. Awarded his R.A.F. 'Wings' in Canada in January 1944, he witnessed active service in the North-West Europe operations, some accompanying newspaper reports stating as a Spitfire pilot.

Transferring to the regular R.A.F. after the war, Bull was appointed a Pilot II in July 1946 and was awarded the A.F.M. for his services at the Central Flying School at Little Rissington in 1948-50. Advanced to Pilot I in November 1949 and Master Pilot in July 1954, he was finally commissioned as a Pilot Officer.

And he commenced his long association with Canberras in the same year, when he joined No. 101 Squadron at R.A.F. Binbrook, so long in fact that he later became known as 'Mr. Canberra' in R.A.F. circles. Moreover, he quickly saw action in the Malaya 'Firedog' operations in February-June 1955, when the squadron mounted a total of 98 sorties from R.A.F. Butterworth, Penang.

Further active service ensued in Operation 'Musketeer' off Suez in October-November 1956, when the squadron - operating from Hal Far in Malta and Nicosia, Cyprus - mounted a series of strikes against Kabrit, Kasferret and Huckstep Camp. In a sortie to the latter target on the 4 November 1956, Bull - who had recently been promoted to Flying Officer - reported he 'met some light flak' and that 'There was a gigantic explosion in the target area and, in its light, I could see the contrails of a Valiant far above us.' (Canberras Over the Canal, refers).

Next posted to another Canberra unit, No. 12 Squadron in 1957-58, he was advanced to Flight Lieutenant in June 1960. Further appointments having ensued, Bull transferred to No. 58 Squadron at R.A.F. Wyton in May 1967 and thence, in August 1969, to R.A.F. Luqa in Malta, where he remained employed as a pilot in the Near East Air Force until joining No. 7 Squadron at St. Mawgan, Cornwall in September 1972.

Bull - who had been selected as 'Specialist Aircrew' in April 1970 - was advanced to Squadron Leader in July 1973 and was placed on the Retired List at his own request in February 1977. He died in Truro, Cornwall in October 2003, where his funeral caused a degree of excitement among the locals: it seems a low-level flypast by an R.A.F. Hercules C130 led some locals to suspect the aircraft was about to crash.

Sold with the recipient's original Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air certificates (2), as a Flight Lieutenant, dated 14 June 1969, and as a Squadron Leader, dated 31 December 1976; an R.A.F. Bassingbourn programme for an air show on 20 September 1958; newspaper cuttings reporting on the above funeral incident, and a copy of his R.A.F. Service Record.

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Estimate
£1,500 to £2,000

Starting price
£1200