A SUPERB & HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT
OX & BUCKS LIGHT INFANTRY
ROYAL FLYING CORPS-(PILOT)
1915 Star Trio
&
ROYAL AIR FORCE (RADAR OFFICER), WW2 Trio (M.I.D. x 3)
(inc Hugh Dowding 1940).
With WW1 Flying Log Book & a Mass of Superb photos & documents.
To:
Lt / Capt / Wing Commander, Stanley Herman Bird. 5th Bn OXFORDSHIRE & BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LIGHT INFANTRY
ROYAL FLYING CORPS (Pilot)
&
ROYAL AIR FORCE.
[THE MEDALS]
1914-15 Star: Lt S.H. BIRD. OX & BUCKS L.I.
Pair: CAPT. S.H. BIRD R.A.F.
1939-45 Star
Defence Medal
War Medal 1939-45
(With MID oak leaf emblem)
The 1914-15 Trio is swing mounted as worn by the recipient with the star being gilded as was obviously common practice among RFC & other officers of the period as we’ve seen many of these before.
Wing Commander Bird’s three WW2 medals & oak leaf emblem are unworn and still in their original named & addressed Air Ministry brown postal box, along with the issue certificate & the “bus ticket” X list..which also confirms his MID emblem. These were originally sent to his bank in Bournemouth which redirected them to his home address in Burley near Ringwood in Hampshire.
[BIOGRAPHY] 1896- 1962. (66)
Stanley Herman Bird was born in Islington, London on 20th December 1896.
He was educated at Merchant Tailors where he was a member of the OTC and gained a commission into the Ox & Bucks light infantry at age 17 via the Inns of Court TA Regiment. He landed in France on 16th July 1915 and was subsequently wounded in action. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and commenced flying training in December 1915 at the newly opened No.5 Flying Training School at RAF Shotwick (later and currently known as RAF Sealand) near Chester.
He qualified as a pilot and retained the rank of Lieutenant, but after several apparent crashes he then went to serve at RAF EGYPT H.Q. in Cairo. He remained in the RAF(VR) during the interwar period and was mobilised once more in 1939 with service in France with the Advanced Air Striking Force, along with the remnants of which he was evacuated from Dunkirk in the summer of 1940.
He then served with great distinction throughout WW2 in the then Top Secret area of Radar and was the commanding officer of several RAF wings (including 73 wing) & other units concerned with that. He retired from the RAF at the rank of Wing Commander and died in 1962 at age 66 with a funeral taking place at South Stoneham, near Bournemouth.
[MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES 1940, 1941 & 1942]
W/Cdr Bird was also mentioned in dispatches on three occasions, in 1940, 1941 & 1942. Included with the extensive papers are his three original MID certificates which are all in mint condition and still contained in their original postally dated official envelopes.
The first mention is highly important and was made in the 25th November 1940 “Battle of Britain” dispatch of Air Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding C in C Fighter Command during the Battle.
This and the other two later mentions in 1941 and 1942 quite obviously relate to Captain Bird’s secret work (*probably as an ultra top level security specialist officer) in the then “Above Top Secret” field of Radar detection which played a critical role in our success in winning the Battle of Britain and the later security of the United Kingdom.
We are aware that Captain Bird who was in the RAF(V.R.) at the outbreak of WW2 and after being evacuated from France in the summer of 1940 was employed on top secret RADAR work from early in the war which clearly explains the Dowding “Battle of Britain” period MID of 25th November 1940.
The battle officially ended on 31st October 1940.
[DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY & CONTENTS LIST]
- “A seriously special RFC-RAF assembly”-
I’ve been dealing in and collecting RFC & RAF medals for 45 years and this is one of the most complete and comprehensive assembly of items I’ve ever seen. The group of private and official RFC group & squadron photos are incredible and having been taken 100 years ago they must already be practically unique.
After this long period there are now unlikely to be any other surviving examples of these. They are of truly extraordinary historical importance as the images of many of the RFC officers contained in them will likely now be the only surviving photographic records of many of these men.
The group photos of which there are more than six (five RFC & one RAF) are all in outstanding condition and are of incredibly crisp quality and illustrate a snapshot of the early service life of this officer and his many fellows who also appear in them.
There are many many other interesting official and named RFC & RAF passes, documents and other paperwork items, and even Lt Bird’s original RFC Flying training log book is here. Apparently he crashed a number of aircraft, including one in an early training incident in fog, the details of which are recoded in his log book. In another incident he apparently experienced a further quite serious crash and was grounded.
He then served at RAF HQ in Cairo, Egypt having clearly ceased operational flying at an earlier date than was originally planned.
Also included are his WW2 National ID card. A United Kingdom driving licence and another from Ceylon. We even have his British passport and birth certificate.
The papers and photos, some in their original frames, fill a large double shoe box !
This is one of the best & most interestingly comprehensive WW1 RFC pilot & WW2 Radar Officer’s assemblies imaginable with unlimited possibilities for further research.
This is a totally unique & “must have” assembly for any serious flying medal enthusiast and is bound for inclusion in the finest aviation collection.
£2750 With quality part-exchanges welcome.
Lt / Capt / Wing Commander, Stanley Herman Bird. 5th Bn OXFORDSHIRE & BUCKINGHAMSHIRE LIGHT INFANTRY
ROYAL FLYING CORPS (Pilot)
&
ROYAL AIR FORCE.
[THE MEDALS]
1914-15 Star: Lt S.H. BIRD. OX & BUCKS L.I.
Pair: CAPT. S.H. BIRD R.A.F.
1939-45 Star
Defence Medal
War Medal 1939-45
(With MID oak leaf emblem)
The 1914-15 Trio is swing mounted as worn by the recipient with the star being gilded as was obviously common practice among RFC & other officers of the period as we’ve seen many of these before.
Wing Commander Bird’s three WW2 medals & oak leaf emblem are unworn and still in their original named & addressed Air Ministry brown postal box, along with the issue certificate & the “bus ticket” X list..which also confirms his MID emblem. These were originally sent to his bank in Bournemouth which redirected them to his home address in Burley near Ringwood in Hampshire.
[BIOGRAPHY] 1896- 1962. (66)
Stanley Herman Bird was born in Islington, London on 20th December 1896.
He was educated at Merchant Tailors where he was a member of the OTC and gained a commission into the Ox & Bucks light infantry at age 17 via the Inns of Court TA Regiment. He landed in France on 16th July 1915 and was subsequently wounded in action. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and commenced flying training in December 1915 at the newly opened No.5 Flying Training School at RAF Shotwick (later and currently known as RAF Sealand) near Chester.
He qualified as a pilot and retained the rank of Lieutenant, but after several apparent crashes he then went to serve at RAF EGYPT H.Q. in Cairo. He remained in the RAF(VR) during the interwar period and was mobilised once more in 1939 with service in France with the Advanced Air Striking Force, along with the remnants of which he was evacuated from Dunkirk in the summer of 1940.
He then served with great distinction throughout WW2 in the then Top Secret area of Radar and was the commanding officer of several RAF wings (including 73 wing) & other units concerned with that. He retired from the RAF at the rank of Wing Commander and died in 1962 at age 66 with a funeral taking place at South Stoneham, near Bournemouth.
[MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES 1940, 1941 & 1942]
W/Cdr Bird was also mentioned in dispatches on three occasions, in 1940, 1941 & 1942. Included with the extensive papers are his three original MID certificates which are all in mint condition and still contained in their original postally dated official envelopes.
The first mention is highly important and was made in the 25th November 1940 “Battle of Britain” dispatch of Air Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding C in C Fighter Command during the Battle.
This and the other two later mentions in 1941 and 1942 quite obviously relate to Captain Bird’s secret work (*probably as an ultra top level security specialist officer) in the then “Above Top Secret” field of Radar detection which played a critical role in our success in winning the Battle of Britain and the later security of the United Kingdom.
We are aware that Captain Bird who was in the RAF(V.R.) at the outbreak of WW2 and after being evacuated from France in the summer of 1940 was employed on top secret RADAR work from early in the war which clearly explains the Dowding “Battle of Britain” period MID of 25th November 1940.
The battle officially ended on 31st October 1940.
[DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY & CONTENTS LIST]
- “A seriously special RFC-RAF assembly”-
I’ve been dealing in and collecting RFC & RAF medals for 45 years and this is one of the most complete and comprehensive assembly of items I’ve ever seen. The group of private and official RFC group & squadron photos are incredible and having been taken 100 years ago they must already be practically unique.
After this long period there are now unlikely to be any other surviving examples of these. They are of truly extraordinary historical importance as the images of many of the RFC officers contained in them will likely now be the only surviving photographic records of many of these men.
The group photos of which there are more than six (five RFC & one RAF) are all in outstanding condition and are of incredibly crisp quality and illustrate a snapshot of the early service life of this officer and his many fellows who also appear in them.
There are many many other interesting official and named RFC & RAF passes, documents and other paperwork items, and even Lt Bird’s original RFC Flying training log book is here. Apparently he crashed a number of aircraft, including one in an early training incident in fog, the details of which are recoded in his log book. In another incident he apparently experienced a further quite serious crash and was grounded.
He then served at RAF HQ in Cairo, Egypt having clearly ceased operational flying at an earlier date than was originally planned.
Also included are his WW2 National ID card. A United Kingdom driving licence and another from Ceylon. We even have his British passport and birth certificate.
The papers and photos, some in their original frames, fill a large double shoe box !
This is one of the best & most interestingly comprehensive WW1 RFC pilot & WW2 Radar Officer’s assemblies imaginable with unlimited possibilities for further research.
This is a totally unique & “must have” assembly for any serious flying medal enthusiast and is bound for inclusion in the finest aviation collection.
£2750 With quality part-exchanges welcome.