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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 |
  Captain Richard Todd OBE (deceased) *Signature Value : £30 | Later a world famous actor - with a key role as Major John Howard in the D-Day film The Longest Day - Richard Todd jumped into Normandy with 7th Para at 0040 hours on June 6th 1944. Their immediate task was to support the holding of Pegasus Bridge against fierce German counterattacks. Originally commissioned into the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, he was seconded to The Parachute Regiment in 1943. In Normandy he transferred to 6th Airborne HO on D-Day +5 and stayed with them until September 1944 when they were withdrawn to England. He later took part in the Rhine crossing and subsequent fighting and the advance to meet the Russians at Wisman on the Baltic. His service with The Parachute Regiment ended in Palestine in 1946. He then returned to his career as an actor and producer, achieving fame for both film roles and stage performances, including the brilliant portrayal of Guy Gibson in the legendary Dam Busters film. Sadly, Richard Todd died on 4th December 2009 at the age of 90. |
| Geoff Brunton *Signature Value : £10 | 49 Squadron. |
| Harold Roddis *Signature Value : £15 | Flight Mechanic on the 617 Squadron Dambuster aircraft. |
| Jim Auton MBE *Signature Value : £15 | Nav/Air Bomber on Liberators based in Italy. Took part in the air bridge to Warsaw, Poland. Bombed the Ploesti, Rumanian oilfields. |
| Jim Inward DFC Flt. Eng. *Signature Value : £15 | Flight Engineer 35 & 76 Squadrons first tour of 25 operations, and 578 Squadron for a further 22 operations. |
| Peter Bond *Signature Value : £20 | Bomb Aimer 100 & 156 Pathfinder Squadrons |
| Sgt Jim Brookbank *Signature Value : £15 | Born in a Victorian terrace in the back streets of Kilburn in North West London and had yet to reach his sixteenth birthday at the outbreak of war. Having experienced the 'Blitz' and already obsessed with flying since the age of 12, he - in keeping with many aspiring young aviators - wanted to be a Spitfire pilot. He volunteered as U/T pilot at the age of 18, trained in Canada and qualified as a Bomb Aimer. Jim joined IX Squadron at Bardney in August 1944 and flew on Operations with them until VE Day. He attacked specially selected daylight targets with the Barnes Wallis 12,000lb 'Tallboy' bomb, including the final raid of the war on Berchtesgaden on 25th April 1945. Jim completed 23 ops. |
  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. |
  Squadron Leader Tony Iveson DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £45 | Tony Iveson fought in the Battle of Britain with RAF Fighter Command, as a Sergeant pilot, joining 616 Squadron at Kenley flying Spitfires on 2 September 1940. On the 16th of September, he was forced to ditch into the sea after running out of fuel following a pursuit of a Ju88 bomber. His Spitfire L1036 ditched 20 miles off Cromer in Norfolk, and he was picked up by an MTB. He joined No.92 Sqn the following month. Commissioned in 1942, Tony undertook his second tour transferring to RAF Bomber Command, where he was selected to join the famous 617 Squadron, flying Lancasters. He took part in most of 617 Squadrons high precision operations, including all three sorties against the German battleship Tirpitz, and went on to become one of the most respected pilots in the squadron. He died on 5th November 2013. |
| Ted Cachart *Signature Value : £15 | WOP 49 Squadron, POW and youngest (15) WOP in the RAF. |
| Warrant Officer William Jock Burnett *Signature Value : £15 | Jock Burnett (Flight Engineer) volunteered at the age of 18 as a Direct Entry in Edinburgh F/E and served in the RAFVR from 25th May 1943 until 19th February 1947 following a F/E course at St Athans, South Wales. On passing out from this course Jock was posted to Swinderby on Stirlings heavy conversion unit 1660 before being transferred to Syerston and Lancasters. In early August 1944 Jock joined 617 Sqn at Woodhall Spa and was subsequently posted with the squadron to Waddington and Digri, India. He completed 30 missions, all with Lawrence Benny Goodman as the pilot. 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. |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Lancaster | The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
| Artist Details : Stephen Brown |
| Click here for a full list of all artwork by Stephen Brown |
 Stephen Brown Stephen Brown is a self-taught artist who has specialised almost exclusively in aviation subjects for the last 15 years. Building on a background as a landscape and aviation photographer, his style carefully combines both these areas of interest. Stephen’s originals in oil are in much demand and have been regularly exhibited with the prestigious Guild of Aviation Artists. Demand for his originals is high with regular commissions being undertaken for commercial and private clients as well as the RAF. For many years Stephen successfully combined a career as a professional in the IT industry with his passion for art. Recently though he has chosen to go full time as an aviation artist. Stephen says, “My interest in aviation comes both from my father, who was a designer at Westland, and from growing up in post war Britain on a diet of films like 633 Squadron and The Dambusters. I used to combine aircraft and landscape photos in the darkroom with quite convincing results - when I reached the limit of what I could do with this I turned to painting to get greater flexibility. Photography taught me much about composition, colour and contrast - drawing and brushwork skills, though, have taken a long time to develop. My favourite paintings are those like In Safe Hands where I can combine the aircraft with a dramatic sky and plenty of period landscape detail.” More about Stephen Brown |
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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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Iveson, Tony 
(signed in person)
Iveson, Tony 
(signed in person)