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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 |
 Able Seaman Bill Bennett *Signature Value : £10 | Bill was a Merchant Navy pipeline specialist and seconded to the top secret Tombola Division of the Royal Navy prior to D-Day. As part of Operation Pluto, their task was to lap ship-to-shore pipelines from oil tankers moored up to 1000m offshore which would allow the Allies to pump fuel when the invasion began. On board HMS Grampian, his crew stalked the coast from midnight on D-Day and when dawn broke sailed beneath the heavy German artillery on the cliffs above to lay pipelines which later provided fuel for the vehicles landing at Gold Beach. |
| Brigadier Sir Alex Stanier BT,DSO,MC. (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 (matted) | Born 31st january 1899 son of Sirbeville Stanier. Educated a Eton Joined the Army during the first world war and Served in France in 1918 winning his MC. Served in France with the BEF and again in 1944 commanding 231 Brigade of the 50(N) Division which landed on the beaches east of Asnelles-sur-Mer as part of the D-Day landings(Normandy Landing onwards) (despatches, DSO and bar, American Silver Star, Comdr Order of Leopold of Belgium with palm, Belgian Croix de Guerre with palm); Adjutant 1st Bn Welsh Guards, 1923-26; Military Secretary, Gibraltar, 1927-30; commanded 2nd Battalion Welsh Guards, 1939-40; Tem Brigadier, 1940-45; Lieut-Colonel Commanding Welsh Guards 1945-48; CC Salop, 1950-58. High Sheriff of Shropshire, 1951. He died in 1995. |
 Corporal Geoffrey Pulzer LdH *Signature Value : £20 | In early 1942, Geoffrey was drafted to Brigade HQ 29th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division at Ovingdean near Brighton and following a promotion to Corporal in 1943 he was given command of a Sherman tank in preparation for the D-Day Campaign. His crew landed at Courseuiles-sur-Mer near Juno Beach and proceeded west in the direction of Arromanches and Bayeaux where they were heavily involved in the fighting at Hill 112, surviving a German mortar shell attack. Often deployed in an observation role as one of the forward tanks of the Brigade, they fought at the Falaise Gap and en-route to liberate Antwerp where he commanded one of the first tanks to enter the city. As their advance through Holland continued, the 29th Armoured Brigade rushed back to the Ardennes to help the Americans during the Battle of the Bulge, before re-joining the 11th Armoured Division and proceeding to cross the Rhine, finishing near Flensburg in northern Germany. |
| Corporal Gordon Drabble *Signature Value : £10 | Gordon Drabble landed on Gold Beach D-Day +15 as part of a Bren Gun team. After taking part in Operations Charnwood, Pomegranate and Goodwood, he was wounded at Falaise and returned to England but the LST taking him back was torpedoed by a German midget submarine. He was finally rescued by the Royal Navy and returned home |
| Craftsman Doug Austin *Signature Value : £10 | Having landed with the 3rd Battalion Scots Guards, 6th Guard Tank Brigade, he fought from Caen with the advancing troops through Villers Bocage and the Falaise Gap. He saw action all the way through to Germany on VE-Day in May '45. |
 General Sir Hugh Beach GBE KCB MC *Signature Value : £40 | Sir Hugh joined the Royal Engineers in August 1941 and served with 621 Field Squadron, landing in France on D-Day +4 aged 21. In early September, as they advanced through Normandy and approached La Bassee canal crossing in northern France, Sir Hugh was in a Morris Scout Car sent to check the bridge was sutiable for tanks to cross. Armed only with a Sten gun, he crept towards the bridge only to be attacked by a group of German servicemen and seriously injured. After the war he went on to hold senor posts in the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence. |
| Private Bert Cooper *Signature Value : £10 | With the 5th Battalion East Yorks Regiment, 50 Division, he was among the first wave to land on D-Day at Gold Beach and went on to see action throughout the invasion including at Arnhem and in the Ardennes. |
| Private Charlie Hill *Signature Value : £10 | With D Company, 6th Battalion Green Howards he assaulted Gold Beach in the first wave on D-Day and was with Stan Hollis when he won his VC at Crepon that afternoon. He later joined the Gordon Highlanders of the 51st Highland Division in the fight through Germany. |
| Private Cyril Elliott *Signature Value : £10 | Royal Army Service Corps. Landed on Sword Beach in late June 1944. A lorry driver towing Bailey bridges, he served right through Europe, through the Rhine area down to Germany. |
| Private Patrick Stafford *Signature Value : £10 | 1/7 Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. Landed on Sword Beach in early July 1944. Whilst in action in Tessel Wood, he was shot by a German sniper and invalided back to the UK. |
 Sapper George Batts MBE LdH *Signature Value : £10 | After joining the Royal Engineers in 1943, George was just 18 when he landed on Gold Beach on the morning of D-Day. He spent most of the following days defusing mines and booby-traps on the beaches and clearing the area where the Mulberry Harbour was due to be constructed at Arromanches. In March 1945 he then went to the Far East where his war ended. George later became National Secretary for the Normandy Veterans Association and Patron of the Normandy Memorial Trust, and was instrumental in securing the backing of the UK Government to build a lasting monument in Normandy to honour all British Armed Forces and civilian services who lost their live during the campaign. |
| Trooper Don Walker *Signature Value : £10 | A driver on Churchill tanks, he landed on Gold Beach on June 22nd June during Operation Goodwood. Around Hill 112, his tank took a direct hit and he was the only survivor but he was captured, spending the rest of the War as a PoW in Stalag 4b. |
| Artist Details : Simon Smith |
| Click here for a full list of all artwork by Simon Smith |
 Simon Smith Simon Smith was born in 1960 into a military family and quickly developed an interest in history and the armed forces. He has worked continually as an illustrator in the historical field since leaving art college in 1982, having graduated with a First in Fine Art and Illustration.. He has work on permanent display in London and countries as far afield as Taiwan and Israel. Simon owes his lifelong interest in military subjects to his family connections with the services. More about Simon Smith |
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This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com |
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Pulzer, Geoffrey (signed in person)
(matted on companion print)
Pulzer, Geoffrey (signed in person)