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| 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. | |
| Name | Info |
 Air Commodore Ernest Wootten (deceased) *Signature Value : £65 | Wootten joined the RAF in 1938 after beginning an engineering apprenticeship and completed his flying training shortly before the Second World War. After initially serving as a staff pilot and ferrying aircraft to operational units, he joined No. 234 Squadron, flying Spitfires during the Battle of Britain and subsequent fighter operations, where he achieved more than 13 aerial victories and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1941. He later commanded No. 118 Squadron and several fighter wings, earning a Bar to his DFC for his leadership and operational success. During the latter stages of the war he served with the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, leading fighter wings during the invasion of southern France before completing five operational tours. After the war Wootten held a variety of senior command, liaison and diplomatic appointments, including service as RAF Liaison Officer to the USAAF, military attaché to Venezuela and ADC to the Queen. His distinguished career was recognised with the Air Force Cross (AFC), the Venezuelan Air Force Cross and appointment as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He retired from the RAF in 1973 as an Air Commodore before continuing his career in the aerospace industry and later as an aerospace consultant. He died in May 1999. |
  Air Marshal Sir Denis Crowley-Milling KCB, CBE, DSO, DFC, AE (deceased) *Signature Value : £75 | He joined the RAFVR in 1937 as a Sgt, joining 615 squadron in France. During the Battle of Britain he was posted to 242 squadron and after winning a DFC joined 610 squadron as a Flight Commander in 1942. But, on 21st August he was shot down over France, evading capture and with the help of the resistance reached Spain, where he was interned for three months. After reaching England he rejoined 610 squadron and in 1942 was awarded his second DFC for operation on Typhoons. In 1943 he went to the USAAF Headquarters in England co-ordinating fighter operations with US heavy bomber raids. After the war he stayed in the R.A.F. and had a very successful career, rising to the rank Air Marshal. He died in late 1996. |
 Air Vice-Marshal David Scott-Malden (deceased) *Signature Value : £75 | Born 26th December 1919, at Portslade, Sussex , David Scott-Malden became a Pilot Officer in October 1939. After training in the Cambridge University Air Squadron, Scott-Malden was selected for an Army Co-Operation course as a pilot officer. He was thrilled when in late May 1940 the chief instructor announced that he had va severe disappointment' to communicate: 'Gentlemen,' he said, 'you are to be transferred immediately to fighters'. Scott-Malden joined No 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron at Hornchurch, Essex in early October 1940 as a replacement Spitfire pilot during the early stage of the Battle of Britain over the South-East. The squadron had been much depleted by losses that summer as was only too apparent in an action over Kent on October 12th. 'Eight aircraft were directed into a large gaggle of Me109 fighters, we split up individually and passed head-on through the enemy formation. There was a sense of shock as a distant series of silhouettes suddenly became rough metal with grey-green paint and yellow noses, passing head-on on either side. At the far end I had a few minutes dog fight with the last 109, scoring hits leaving a trail of black smoke. Then we were alone at 20,000 feet, the German gliding down with an engine which coughed and barely turned over, I with very little ammunition and very little petrol. He glided towards the Channel. I looked for an airfield before my petrol ran out. Strangely, I felt inclined to wave to him as I left. But then I was only 20'. It was Scott-Malden who would go onto many other victories with five confirmed and as many as seven probables. In June 1940 he was posted to fly Spitfires with No 611 (West Lancashire) Squadron at Digby, Lincolnshire before being transferred to No 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron at Hornchurch in early October. In the New Year of 1941 Scott-Malden flew offensive sweeps with 603 over northern France. He was promoted to flight commander and in September received command of No 54 Squadron. Bearing the initials 'S-M' below the cockpit and the legend 'Bahrain', Scott-Maldens Spitfire W3632 - built at the Supermarine factory at Woolston, Hampshire - was a gift from the people of Bahrain, who had raised £15,000 to purchase the Spitfire. Moving in November to headquarters No 14 Group in Scotland, Scott-Malden had the task of helping to bring to operational readiness the first Free Norwegian fighter squadrons, with pilots who had escaped from Norway. When they were ready Scott-Malden was appointed, in March 1942, to command the Norwegian Fighter Wing of three squadrons at North Weald in Essex. In the summer, the wing built a magnificent reputation and covered itself in glory during the disastrous Dieppe raid of August 20. Operating from the Kent coastal airfield at Manston, Scott-Malden led Nos 242, 331 and 332 squadrons in three separate sorties on the day, seeking, against great odds, to protect the mostly Canadian troops as they attempted to land and then to withdraw. Scott-Malden was awarded a DSO in 1942 and was also decorated by King Haakon of Norway with the Norwegian War Cross, lunching with the King afterwards at Claridges. In New Year 1944, in preparation During the run for the Normandy invasion, in 1944 Scott Malden joined a mobile group control unit on Goodwood racecourse. After D-Day June 6, the unit moved to Normandy with the roll to control fighter support. During the summer of 1944 Scott-Malden was promoted acting group captain and given command of No 125, a Spitfire wing covering the Allied forces as they advanced through North-West Europe from nine different points. Scott-Malden took a permanent commission witht he RAF and took a number staff and command appointments, one of which was to assist with plans for the Suez campaign of 1956. Scott-Malden final tally of victories stood at 3 confirmed destroyed with two shared, five probables and 12 damaged with another one sharedbecame an Air Vice marshal in 1965. and left the RAF in 1966 taking a administrator position with the Ministry of Transport and in 1978 retiring to Norfolk . Sadly, he died on 1st March 2000. |
  Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Tom Neil was born on 14th July 1920 in Bootle, Lancashire. Tom Neil (also to become known in the RAF as 'Ginger') joined the RAFVR in October 1938 and began his flying training at 17 E and RFTS, Barton, Manchester. Tom Neil was called up on the 2nd os September 1939 being sent to 4 ITW, Bexhill in early November. On 1st December 1939, he was posted to 8 FTS and on completion of the course he was commissioned and posted to 249 Squadron in May 1940 flying Hurricanes just before the start of the Battle of Britain flying from North Weald. On 7th September 1940, Tom Neil encountered and claimed a Bf109 destroyed. On the 11th an He111, on the 15th two Bf109s and a Do17 destroyed and another Do17 shared, on the 18th an He111 damaged and on the 27th a Bf110 and a Ju88 destroyed, a Bf110 probably destroyed and a Ju88 shared. On 6th October Tom Neil shared a Do17, on the 25th claimed a Bf109 destroyed, on the 27th a Do17 probably destroyed, on the 28th a Ju88 shared and on 7th November a Ju87 and two Bf109s destroyed. He was awarded a DFC on 8 October, but on 7 November, after claiming 3 victories over the North Sea off the Essex coast, he collided in mid-air with Wing Commander Francis Beamish and his aircraft lost its tail. He baled out of his Hurricane unhurt, Beamish force-landing unscathed. Tom received a Bar to his DFC on 26 November, and on 13 December was promoted flight Commander. The squadron was posted to Malta in May 1941, flying off HMS Ark Royal on the 21st. During a summer of frequent scrambles, he claimed one further victory in June, while on 7th October he led a fighter-bomber attack on Gela station, Sicily. He departed the island in December 1941, returning to the UK via the Middle East, South and West Africa, and Canada, finally arriving in March 1942, when he became tactics officer with 81 Group. A spell as an instructor at 56 OTU, before being posted as a flying liaison officer with the 100th Fighter Wing of the US 9th Air Force in January 1944. He managed to get some flying in over France with this unit, claiming a share in 6 aircraft destroyed on the ground before D-Day, and a dozen or so more later, plus a number of other ground targets. In January 1945 he was sent to the school of Land/Air Warfare as an instructor. In March 1945 he was posted out to Burma, where he undertook some operations with 1 Wing, Indian Air Force, to gain experience of the operations in this area. Returning to the UK in April, he resumed instructing at the school until the end of the year. In January 1946 he attended the Empire Test Pilots School, undertaking No.4 short course and No.5 course, a total of 18 months. Posted briefly to Farnborough, he sought a move to Boscombe Down, where he stayed for some 3 years. In 1948 in went to Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, to take part in the first high altitude pressure suit experiments, as a precursor to the aerospace programme. 1950-51 he was a staff officer at HQ, Fighter Command, while in 1952 he attended the staff college at Bracknell. He was then given command of 208 Squadron in Egypt, which he led until 1956, leaving just before the Suez operation. He returned to the UK to become W/Cdr Operations, Metropolitan sector, until 1958, when he attended the flying college at Manby. He went to the British Embassy in Washington for 3 years from 1959, returning to the Ministry of Defence but retiring from the service as a Wing Commander in 1964. Meanwhile he had added the US Bronze Star to his decorations in august 1947, and an AFC in January 1956. Tom Neil died on 11th July 2018. |
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