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| THIS ITEM IS INCLUDED IN OUR BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE OFFER ! Choose any two prints in this special offer and the lower priced item is half price. (Any free bonus prints already supplied with an item are separate and will also be included !) Hundreds of items across our websites are included in this offer! |
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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 |
 Flt Lt R Livermore *Signature Value : £20 | Was part of 299 Air Support Squadron in Norfolk. He flew six ops. on Stirlings, taking supplies to the French resistance - dropping 24 containers at a time by parachute at night, each one full of supplies, including guns and ammunition. They had to arrive at the target area within a five minute period, or else the resistance would leave for fear of a trap being set by the Germans. When the resistance were satisfied they were watching the correct aircraft they would flash they torches on and off as both a signal and also to pinpoint the drop zone. Flt. Lt. Livermore also towed gliders behind his Stirling aircraft during the Rhine crossing. |
 Sqn Ldr W E Bill Lucas DFC *Signature Value : £15 | Born in 1917, Bill Lucas volunteered for aircrew early in 1940 and after training as a fighter pilot he became, due to the high demand, a bomber pilot and joined 9 Squadron (Wellingtons) in August 1941. After 14 missions over Germany Bill converted to Stirlings and completed a further 26 operations, this time with 15 Squadron at Wyton. After two years instructing at 19 OTU Kinloss he was selected to join Pathfinder Force in October 1944 to fly Mosquitoes with 162 Squadron at Bourn, Cambridgeshire, where he remained until war end to complete 41 more missions making 81 in total. Bill attained the rank of Squadron Leader and was awarded the DFC and a Mention in Despatches. The most memorable of his missions must be the first 1000 bomber raid on Cologne on May 30 1942, as this seems to have struck a lasting memory in the minds of the general public. After the war Bill pursued a career in the insurance industry and also began to pick up the pieces of a serious athletic activity with the Belgrave Harriers which resulted in selection for the 5000 metres at the Olympic Games at Wembley in 1948, but at the age of 32 he was not in his own words 'very successful'. Bill says his greatest regret was missing the games in Helsinki in 1940 and the cancelled games in 1944. 'These should have been the best athletic years of my life.' |
  Squadron Leader L S Benny Goodman (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Benny Goodman (Pilot) volunteered for aircrew at 18 years of age and was called up in 1940. After basic training he went to RAF Abingdon - a Whitley OTU - for what he was told would be straight through training. This did not materialise and he found himself in the role of a Ground Gunner. In 1941, a posting eventually came through to the Initial Training Wing followed by Elementary Fyling School at Peterborough and an instructors course at Woodley, Reading; then to Clyffe Pyparde, a holding unit. A sea journey to Canada followed and Service Flying Training School on Ansons. On completion he was posted to Kingston, Ontario, to instruct Acting Leading Naval Airmen on the Royal Navy tactics of the time, e.g. jinking after take off, dive bombing, etc. Eventually he returned to the UK and OTU on Wellingtons at Silverstone and Heavy Conversion Bomber Unit at Swinderby on Stirlings, followed by a short course at the Lancaster Conversion Unit. After an interview Benny and his crew were surprised and delighted to find they had been selected for 617 squadron - this was in 1944 and they had stayed together as a crew on 617 squadron until the war in Europe ended. He completed 30 missions - all with Jock Burnett as his flight engineer. Notable raids Jock took part in were on the Tirpitz, 29th October 1944, dropping the Grand Slam 22,000 bomb on the Arnsberg Viaduct, 19th March 1945, and the attack on Berchtesgarten Eagles Nest, 25th May 1945. Benny Goodman died in July 2021. |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Stirling | The Royal Air Force's first four engined monoplane Bomber, the Short Stirling first flew in May 1939 and entered front line service in August 1940 with no. 7 squadron. Due to its poor operational ceiling the aircraft sustained heavy losses and by mid 1942 the Stirling was beginning to be replaced by the Lancaster. Improved versions of the Short Stirling were built for Glider towing, paratroopers and heavy transport. also from 1943 many of the Stirling's were used for mine laying. A total of 2381 Stirling's were built for the Royal air Force and from this total 641 Stirling bombers were lost to enemy action. Crew 7 or 8: Speed: 260 mph (MK1) 275mph (MKIII) and 280mph (MKV)Service ceiling 17,000 feet Range: 2330 miles. (MK1) 2010 miles (MKIII) and 3,000 miles (MKV) Armament: two .303 Vickers machine guns. in nose turret, two .303 in browning machine guns in dorsal turret , Four .303 Browning machine guns in tail turret. Bomb Load 14,000 Lbs Engines: four 1150 Hp Bristol Hercules II (MK1) four 1650 hp Bristol Hercules XVI (MK111 and MKV) |
| Artist Details : Philip West |
| Click here for a full list of all artwork by Philip West |
 Philip West Philip West is recognised as one of the worlds finest aviation artists. Collectors of his original oil paintings span the globe, many waiting patiently for his next breathtaking canvas to appear. With some one hundred and eight limited editions behind him, a waiting list of commissioned paintings for clients both existing and new, and a head full of ideas for new limited edition prints, life is never dull for this Wiltshire based artist! Self-taught, after years of painting pictures for friends and relatives, Philip took the plunge and became a full-time professional artist. Since then he has developed a very loyal and expanding for both his original paintings and prints. Whilst jets, and Phantoms in particular, light Philips fire, he is also a master painter of piston-engined classics; being renowned for his rendition of Avro Lancasters and Supermarine Spitfires. Philip is also one of the few artists to also enthusiastically paint pictures of Fleet Air Arm aircraft. Philips knowledge of aircraft and the accuracy of his work combine to record a moment in history so perfectly, that both collectors and admirers of his work are able to feel a real sense of the excitement and drama that his work portrays. More about Philip West |
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Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price!
Goodman, L S Benny 
(signed in person)
Livermore, R (signed in person)
