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Auction: 7022 - Orders, Decorations, Medals & Militaria
Lot: 1245

A Great War ´Salonika´ B.E.12 Pilot´s D.F.C. Group of Six to Group Captain F.H.R. ´Happy´ Henwood, Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, Late Berkshire Yeomanry a) Distinguished Flying Cross, G.V.R., reverse engraved in upright sans serif capitals ´Lieut. F.H.R. Henwood June 3rd 1918´ b) 1914-15 Star (1763. L-Cpl. F.H.D. Henwood, Berks. Yeo.) c) British War and Victory Medals (Lieut. F.H.D. Henwood. R.A.F.) d) Defence and War Medals, good very fine or better, mounted as originally worn with the following original documents and related items: - recipient´s cloth Lance-Corporal´s Stripe - Silk scarf with ´Souvenir of Egypt´ sewn on, (3) ties - Commission appointing Francis Herbert Donald Henwood as Flight Lieutenant, Royal Air Force, with effect from 1.1.1926, dated 3.5.1927, this framed behind glass, with an original photograph of recipient and two other images of recipient - a quantity of photographs relating to varying stages of recipient´s military career, both from his time with the Yeomanry and the Air Force, including one with recipient seated on a motor bike as a despatch rider for the Yeomanry - a copy of Over the Balkans and South Russia, 47 Squadron R.A.F., by H.A. Jones, in which Henwood is mentioned - Programme for the ´60th Anniversary of Military Aviation In The United Kingdom´, 2.6.1972 - Air Force List, February 1922, soft bound, front cover detached; a quantity of newspaper cuttings (lot) Estimate £ 2,800-3,200 D.F.C. London Gazette 3.6.1918 Lieutenant Francis Herbert Ronald Henwood, Royal Air Force Group Captain Francis Herbert Ronald ´Happy´ Henwood, D.F.C., born 1896; enlisted as 1763 Private, Berkshire Yeomanry (T.F.), February 1913; advanced Lance Corporal, and served with the Regiment in Egypt from 21.4.1915; transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, March 1917, ´His D.F.C. was awarded in June 1918 for War service with No´s 47 and 150 Squadrons at Salonika´ (Newspaper cutting included in the lot refers); Over The Balkans and South Russia gives further insight into Henwood´s service at the time, ´In the afternoon [28.11.1917], 2nd Lieutenant J.C. Nelson, with Lieutenant A.J. Pick, Observer, went out to photograph the machine which had been sent down out of control by Apps and Clark in the morning when passing over Stojakovo, the British two-seater and a B.E.12 on which was 2nd Lieutenant F. Henwood were attacked by three enemy scouts. Both machines of No. 47 fired off all their ammunition from close range, and one of the enemy machines crashed into the hills north of Bogdanci´; Henwood was in action once again as one of a small number of R.F.C. machines sent to aide the R.N.A.S. in their attempts to sink the German Cruiser Goeben; the Breslau and the latter had attempted to make a sortie from the Dardanelles, 20.1.1918, in an effort to create as much damage to the Naval base at Murdos; this did not go according to plan, firstly with the Breslau being sunk by mines and then with the Goeben running aground off Nagara Point after hitting several mines herself; between the 20th-26th January she was subjected to continuous air attack; the R.N.A.S. called for assistance from the R.F.C. which initially resulted in 17 Squadron and 47 Squadron sending three machines each; a further four machines were sent in a second waive from 47 Squadron, ´Accordingly on January the 25th three B.E.12´ s and one A.W., piloted by 2nd Lieutenants Henwood and Dickson and Sergeants Spargo and Dowsett, were despatched´, only Henwood and Dickson successfully arrived on the 22nd of January, ´the R.F.C. machines made ready for a raid, and on that and the two succeeding days the machines made constant day and night attacks on the Goeben..... Heavy anti-aircraft fire was met with on all these raids..... Altogether some 270 flights were made and 15 tons of bombs were dropped´ (Over The Balkans and South Russia, H.A. Jones, refers); despite these raids the Goeben was successfully towed away in the direction of Constantinople on the 26th; Lieutenant Royal Air Force, 1.4.1918; Henwood was presented with the D.F.C. by the King at Buckingham Palace; Flight Lieutenant 1.1.1926, ´after being selected to specialize in engineering he served in Iraq in 1930-32, and during the past years has been on personnel staff duties at Headquarters of the Training Command´ (Newspaper cutting included in the lot refers); Wing Commander 1.3.1940; for nearly three years acted as Staff Officer in charge of Administration for No. 4 (Bomber) Group at Heslington Hall; retired Group Captain 27.10.1946; a resident of York in later life.

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£3,400