Orders, Decorations and Medals

Five: Flight Lieutenant L. S. Dixon, Royal New Zealand Air Force, No. 7 Squadron (P.F.F.), shot down over Frankfurt in October 1943 and made a prisoner-of-war

1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Defence and War Medals; New Zealand War Service Medal, all unnamed as issued, mounted as worn; together with a mounted set of five miniature dress medals, full-size medals with some contact marks, very fine and better (10) £400-500

Lindsey S. Dixon enlisted in to the R.N.Z.A.F. on 30 November 1941, having transferred from the New Zealand Territorial Army. He was trained in New Zealand and Canada, and was commissioned in September 1942 at the conclusion of his training. He arrived in the United Kingdom in October 1942. After the usual advanced training courses in the U.K., Flight Lieutenant Dixon was posted to No.75 (New Zealand) Squadron at Newmarket, as a Navigator on Stirlings in May 1943. With them he flew on two ‘Gardening’ (Minelaying) operations to La Rochelle and the Freisian Islands. After a spell with No.1657 Conversion Unit, in July 1943 he was posted to No. 7 Squadron (Pathfinder Force) at Oakington, on Lancaster Mk.III’s. With them he flew in operations to Hamburg, Berlin, Mannheim, Munich, Bochum and Hagen. His log for an operation to Munich, 2 October 1943, records ‘Fighter shot down’. However, on his very next operation to Frankfurt, 22 October 1943, his plane, piloted by Flying Officer Payne, was reported ‘Missing’. Dixon was subsequently made a prisoner-of-war (P.O.W. No. 1367), held at Stalag Luft 1 at Barth Vogelsang. He was liberated in May 1945.

Sold with Royal Canadian Air Force Flying Log Book for aircrew other than pilot, 1 June 1942-22 October 1943; a letter giving a statement of his wartime services from the H.Q., Royal New Zealand Air Force, London, dated 22 January 1946; portrait photographs of Dixon and his wife, and many other wartime photographs; and lastly, ‘A Wartime Log for British Prisoners’, a notebook containing a fascinating array of writings, poems, cuttings, sketches, plans, lists, names and addresses of some of his fellow inmates, letters and photographs from the time of his captivity in Germany. Amongst the contents are a plan of the P.O.W. camp, his block and room; sketches of his room, view from the window, a watchtower etc.

Naturally downhearted, he writes of the first days of his capture: ‘It all began with a dull thud - on 22nd October 1943 - when one encountered German cobblestones for the first time - with white silk everywhere. And there was a second dull thud - as the door of Dolagluff’s “cooler” closed upon one’s aspirations.... One was hungry, one remembers for the first time in one’s life ... and tired .... and distinctly annoyed ... One was interrogated .... somewhat .... and taken a dim view of ... One felt bloody ... One was taken through Frankfort to the Transit Camp, meeting Hess, Jimmey, Freddie and the rest ... and eating toast one realised that Des and Johnny wouldn’t be round any more .... [watercolour of a grave] After a few days of being fed and clothed ... until 9th November ... there was a two-day train trip which ended our travels to Stalagluft 1, Barth, Pommern. We arrived at night, the 11th November, it was cold, it rained like hell, we had no hats or coats. But as we marched towards the bright lights in the distance .... we sang Tipperary ... wondering impatiently what was coming next. We should’nt have been impatient ... we had lots of time to find out .... “For you the war is finished”’.