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Auction: 7012 - Orders, Decorations, Medals & Militaria
Lot: 915

The Great War Western Front Pair and Original Related Archive to Observer/ Air Gunner Second Lieutenant R.J. Gregory, No. 20 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Late Royal Flying Corps, Shot Down Near Armentieres 5 June 1918 and Made Prisoner of War British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. R.J. Gregory. R.A.F.), minor edge bruise to first, otherwise extremely fine, with a good archive of original hand written correspondence, a number of which are on R.F.C. official note paper with related envelopes, from the recipient to his sweetheart encompassing his various postings from 105 Squadron to 20 Squadron in 1918, and also covering in the form of Official German "Field Postcards" his time as P.O.W. later that year; correspondence from recipient´s C.O. to Gregory´s mother, appertaining to the former being posted missing in action, June 1918; letter from Buckingham Palace for returning P.O.W.´s; Protection Certificate (Officer), dated 15.2.1919; Medical Registration Certificate for L.R.C.P., London, dated 5.2.1924; three photographs; newspaper cuttings and other ephemera (lot) Estimate £ 350-400 Second Lieutenant Robert John Gregory (1899-1940), educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School; studied medicine at St. George´s Hospital, Hyde Park, London; enlisted in the 2nd Artists Rifles, circa 1916-17; transferred as a Cadet Royal Flying Corps, September 1917; posted Second Lieutenant 105 Squadron, Andover, Hampshire, December 1917; posted to No 1 (Observers) School of Air Gunnery, New Romney, Kent, early 1918 before being posted to 20 Squadron (F2B´s), Boisdinghem, Northern France, May 1918; as an Observer he now took part in operational flights, ´Well, having got a regular pilot and a bus now, have properly started my duties. That was quite a ´cushy´ little start the other night after I wrote to you, the clouds forming a very effective screen to hide us from view from the ground, so that we were not troubled very much by "Archie". It was a most beautiful effect too, as you can imagine, to be sailing along a mile or two above the clouds, with little gaps here and there through which you could see the ground miles beneath........ Was on again this morning in which we properly put the wind up old Jerry and his gas bags. It was great sport although Archie was rather busy. Am starting off on another in about an hour´s time, so you see they keep us pretty busy. But then, you see, we are absolutely THE squadron - that really is a fact, we were specially congratulated by General Salmond on our record for last month. Everyone who gets posted to this squadron usually considers it quite an honour - I do. Well, will say good bye for the present....´ (Copy of letter from Gregory to his mother, dated 5.6.1918, included in the lot, refers) Within hours of writing the above to his mother, Gregory was shot down, wounded and taken P.O.W. His aircraft, piloted by Lieutenant E.A. Magee, had gone down in the vicinity of Arementieres. Gregory describes the incident in greater depth in a letter home to his sweetheart, written from Landshut P.O.W. Camp, ´Well, isn´t this just the absolute limit? Strange to say I had never considered the possibility and if you ask me how I got here, I don´t really know very definitely as we came down with a most "beautiful" crash, over some nice high trees from a height of about three miles or so in not many more minutes, which smashed the old "bus" up into matchwood and gave me a most "beautiful" knock on the head, which kept me most "beautifully" quiet for about three days. Ged Magee, my pilot, was none the worse for our little splash and is with me now. All I can remember is having a "scrap" with some German planes in the course of which we had our own engine, petrol tanks (how it was they didn´t catch fire I don´t know. They do that about 9 times out of every 10, when they got shot) and about half our control wires shot away, then a most sickening three mile drop quite out of control until a few hundred feet above the ground when Magee managed to check the speed a bit. All the time we were falling we were having led pumped into us like the deuce! The way it dodged all round the two of us was most marvellous. I had a group of about 20 shots about three inches in front of me and about 30 or 40 within a few inches of my head; apparently I am wanted to fight in the next war, unless it is that I am too good to die yet (I think it must be that, don´t you?!!!).....´ A letter from his C.O. Major E. Johnston to Gregory´s mother offers further detail, ´Your son was Observer in a machine which was one of nine engaged in an offensive fighting patrol. As far as I can gather, his machine became slightly detached from the patrol and four enemy machines were seen just behind it. Our machine then spun down and was lost sight of....´ Gregory saw out the remainder of the war as P.O.W. in camps such as Karlsruhe and finally in Pillau, East Prussia before being repatriated, December 1918. He was released from the Royal Air Force the following year and returned to studying medicine, before setting up a practice in Luton.

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