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Crew Signed Halifax Aviation Prints by Gerald Coulson and Ivan Berryman. - Aviation Art Prints
DHM2250.  Leading the Way by Gerald Coulson. <p>On August 15th 1942, under the leadership of Don Bennet, a new group was formed from Bomber Command to develop specialised target finding and target  marking. Made up purely from experienced volunteers, this elite and highly trained group of men were known as the Pathfinders. Up until this point the means available to Bomber Command of accurately finding their targets were totally lacking and the task of the Pathfinders was to develop techniques to precisely define these targets ahead of the main force.  Initially made up of four Squadrons  Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons)  they were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Originally part of No.3 Group Bomber Command the Pathfinder Force was directly answerable to C-in-C Air Marshal Arthur Harris until January 1943 when it became a separate group, No.8 (PFF)  .  Personally selected for the task by Arthur Harris, the Australian born Don Bennet, just 32 years of age proved to be and inspired choice to form the Pathfinders. A navigation expert without peers he was widely experienced in flying all types of aircraft including fighters, flying boats and bombers and already an experienced operational bomber captain. Along with many of his colleagues, such as Hamish Mahaddie and John Searby he was responsible for instilling in his men the Pathfinder Spirit - an intangible quality of dedication which bonded them together.  Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside.  The first Pathfinder unit to fly the Halifax was 35 Squadron based at Graveley. With some of the greatest Bomber Aircrew amongst their number the unit quickly gained a reputation for excellence that was second to none.  This superb painting from one of the worlds most highly regarded Aviation Artists, Gerald Coulson, depicts a Halifax B.MkII series 1A of 35 (PFF) Squadron on an operation over occupied Europe. Flying at around 20,000 feet and completely alone and unprotected, the crew navigate their bomber well ahead of the main force, leading the way to their target.  <p><b>Less than 20 now available.</b><b><p>Signed by Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC (deceased), <br>Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM <br>and <br>Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE (deceased). <p>Signed limited edition of 500 prints. <p> Image size 31 inches x 26 inches (79cm x 66cm)
DHM1712D. Halifax Mk.III NA337 by Ivan Berryman. <p> One of 6,176 Halifaxes built during World War II, NA337(2P-X) was shot down over Norway on 23rd April 1945. In 1995 it was recovered from the lake that had been its watery home for fifty years and has now been restored by the Halifax Aircraft Association in Ontario, Canada. <b><p>Signed by Pilot Officer Bill Leckie, AEM, KW. <p>Leckie signature edition of 200 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. <p>Image size 19 inches x 13 inches (48cm x 33cm)

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  Website Price: £ 235.00  

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Crew Signed Halifax Aviation Prints by Gerald Coulson and Ivan Berryman.

PCK1545. Crew Signed Halifax Aviation Prints by Gerald Coulson and Ivan Berryman.

Aviation Print Pack.

Items in this pack :

Item #1 - Click to view individual item

DHM2250. Leading the Way by Gerald Coulson.

On August 15th 1942, under the leadership of Don Bennet, a new group was formed from Bomber Command to develop specialised target finding and target marking. Made up purely from experienced volunteers, this elite and highly trained group of men were known as the Pathfinders. Up until this point the means available to Bomber Command of accurately finding their targets were totally lacking and the task of the Pathfinders was to develop techniques to precisely define these targets ahead of the main force. Initially made up of four Squadrons Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) they were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Originally part of No.3 Group Bomber Command the Pathfinder Force was directly answerable to C-in-C Air Marshal Arthur Harris until January 1943 when it became a separate group, No.8 (PFF) . Personally selected for the task by Arthur Harris, the Australian born Don Bennet, just 32 years of age proved to be and inspired choice to form the Pathfinders. A navigation expert without peers he was widely experienced in flying all types of aircraft including fighters, flying boats and bombers and already an experienced operational bomber captain. Along with many of his colleagues, such as Hamish Mahaddie and John Searby he was responsible for instilling in his men the Pathfinder Spirit - an intangible quality of dedication which bonded them together. Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. The first Pathfinder unit to fly the Halifax was 35 Squadron based at Graveley. With some of the greatest Bomber Aircrew amongst their number the unit quickly gained a reputation for excellence that was second to none. This superb painting from one of the worlds most highly regarded Aviation Artists, Gerald Coulson, depicts a Halifax B.MkII series 1A of 35 (PFF) Squadron on an operation over occupied Europe. Flying at around 20,000 feet and completely alone and unprotected, the crew navigate their bomber well ahead of the main force, leading the way to their target.

Less than 20 now available.

Signed by Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC (deceased),
Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM
and
Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE (deceased).

Signed limited edition of 500 prints.

Image size 31 inches x 26 inches (79cm x 66cm)


Item #2 - Click to view individual item

DHM1712D. Halifax Mk.III NA337 by Ivan Berryman.

One of 6,176 Halifaxes built during World War II, NA337(2P-X) was shot down over Norway on 23rd April 1945. In 1995 it was recovered from the lake that had been its watery home for fifty years and has now been restored by the Halifax Aircraft Association in Ontario, Canada.

Signed by Pilot Officer Bill Leckie, AEM, KW.

Leckie signature edition of 200 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints.

Image size 19 inches x 13 inches (48cm x 33cm)


Website Price: £ 235.00  

To purchase these prints individually at their normal retail price would cost £330.00 . By buying them together in this special pack, you save £95




All prices are displayed in British Pounds Sterling

 

Signatures on this item
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo
Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC (deceased)
*Signature Value : £40 (matted)

After joining the RAF in 1940 he was called up in early 1941 and entered OTU where he qualified as an observer and was then posted operationally to 466 Sqn at Leconfield on Wellingtons. At the end of 1942 he joined 35 Sqn as a Navigator at Gravely as part of the Pathfinder Force, initially on the Halifax and later converting to Lancasters. He remained with the Pathfinders until 1944 when he was posted to Stoney Cross to convert back to Wellington 1C's as a way of becoming reacquainted with two engined aircraft. he spent the remainder of the war flying Dakotas in the Far East and left the RAF in mid 1946. Died 26th March 2005.
The signature of Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE (deceased)

Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE (deceased)
*Signature Value : £30 (matted)

Joining the RAF in 1932, after qualifying as a pilot, he served as an instructor until 1942, when he joined 15 Squadron at Mildenhall, flying Lancasters. Volunteering for the Pathfinder Force he joined 35 Squadron at Gravely on Halifaxes, followed by 582 Squadron on Lancasters, taking part in many bombing sorties over Normandy, including two missions on D-Day. He finished the war having completed 66 operations. Pat Carden sadly died 28th June 2008, aged 96.
Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM
*Signature Value : £30 (matted)

Joining the RAF in 1940 he was initially posted to Cardington as a driver and ended up on the Isle of Sheppey releasing explosive met balloons in order to hamper enemy aircraft. Volunteering for aircrew he attended a gunnery course at Stormy Down in 1942 and shortly after joined 51 squadron at Snaith in Yorkshire, as a Rear Gunner on Halifaxes. In 1943 after many operations with the main force he volunteered for the Pathfinders and joined 35 Squadron at Gravely on both the Halifax and Lancaster. He remained with this unit until the end of the war completing 82 operations and left the RAF in 1946
Signatures on item 2
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo


The signature of Pilot Officer Bill Leckie, AEM, KW (deceased)

Pilot Officer Bill Leckie, AEM, KW (deceased)
*Signature Value : £45 (matted)

Bill Leckie was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 23rd June 1921, joined the Royal Air Force in June 1941 and went to St Johns Wood on the 15th of September 1941. Bill Leckie started his flying training on the 4th of April 1942 at Stoke Orchard near Cheltenham in Tiger Moths. He went to Canada on the 26th of May 1942 at Monkton for further training until June before going on to Detroit and on to Pensacola, Florida on the 1st October 1942, flying Stearman and Catalina Flying boats until 31st March 1943 when Bill went to Prince Edward Island for further training. Back in the UK, Bill was expecting to join a Coastal Command squadron flying Catalinas but was transferred to Bomber Command and a conversion course on to Whitleys at Kinloss Scotland on the 22nd of February 1944, and joined 77 Squadron at Full Sutton on the 19th July 1944 on Halifaxes, flying 6 bombing missions, one being the bombing of the Flying Bomb Factory at Russesheim, before transferring to 148 Special Duties squadron on the 19th of August 1944 and going to Brindisi. Pilot Officer Bill Leckie was involved in the dropping of supplies (guns, ammunition and food) to the Polish during the Warsaw uprising. This was a costly mission and many aircraft were lost. (Bill was flying Halifax JD319 (FS - G). For his efforts in air-dropping supplies during this period, Bill Leckie was awarded the Polish Cross of Valour (KW). Pilot Officer Bill Leckie was also the Pilot for Operation Ebensburg on Sunday 8th April 1945. Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special) JP254 of 148 Special Duties Squadron carried out the misison to drop four SOE agents and their equipment near Alt Aussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps. Thier mission was to secure and protect 6,755 items of the worlds greatest works of art that had been looted and stored by the Germans as they swept across Europe. With the allied forces closing in, the Germans had planned to blow up the entire store to prevent the artworks from falling into the hands of the liberators. Once on the ground, the four agents linked up with local resistance fighters and the mine and its valuable contents were eventually secured, the explosives made safe and the entire cache taken into the safe keeping of the 80th US Infantry Division as the German occupation of Europe crumbled. Bill Leckie stayed with 148 Squadron until 18th May 1945 when he was posted to Cairo with 216 Squadron (Dakotas) of Transport Command and on 1st January 1946 to 78 Squadron flying Dakotas again until 1st June 1946 , finally leaving the RAF on the 18th September 1946. He died in October 2021.

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