Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare Second World War Tomahawk pilot’s D.F.C. group of five awarded to Major L. B. Van der Spuy, South African Air Force, who, having recovered from wounds after baling out of his shot-up aircraft in April 1942, went on to command No. 5 (S.A.A.F.) Squadron in the Western Desert

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., the reverse officially dated ‘1942’; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star, clasp, North Africa 1942-43; War Medal 1939-45; Africa Service Medal 1939-45, these four officially inscribed, ‘102743 L. B. Van der Spuy’, together with related No. 5 (S.A.A.F.) Squadron presentation medallion, gilt-metal, the reverse engraved, ‘Maj. L. B. Van der Spuy, D.F.C., O.C. 5 Sqn., 1942’, and a set of related miniature dress medals, good very fine and better (11) £1800-2200

D.F.C. London Gazette 6 October 1942. The original recommendation states:

‘During the withdrawal from Libya, Lieutenant Van der Spuy acted as Flight Commander and later as O.C. No. 5 Squadron, as the officers holding these posts became casualties. By his cheerfulness, his untiring devotion to duty and his powers of leadership, he successfully brought the Squadron through a very critical stage. During this period he destroyed one and damaged two enemy aircraft. He has completed 100 operational hours which include 70 sorties.’

Louis Botha Van der Spuy was born in May 1916 and graduated from the University of Witwatersrand with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering. It was while attending university that he learned to fly with the Transvaal Air Training Squadron, as a consequence of which he attested for the South African Air Force in September 1939.

Joining No. 5 (S.A.A.F.) Squadron as a pilot ‘Up North’ in early 1942, he was quickly in action in the unit’s Tomahawks over the Western Desert, a combat fought on 14 June, off Tobruk, being a case in point:

‘That afternoon No. 5 Squadron was patrolling the convoy area between Tobruk and El Adem when it met ten-plus Stukas and Ju. 88s escorted by Messerschmitts attacking the Dutch ship Aagteterk; the vessel had turned back unable to keep up with the convoy.

Major Frosts No. 5 Squadron, vectored onto the target by radar at Tobruk, came on 24 Stukas and 12 Ju. 88s escorted by 12 Me. 109s. The South African pilots were still half a mile off when the Aagteterk was hit and sank. Messerschmitts dived to attack them.

Major Frost got three bursts into a Stuka which burst into flames. Only Lieutenant K. C. Kemsley reached the formation of Ju. 88s before it started to dive. His lone attack scattered the bombers. Lieutenant Kemsley picked off a straggler and saw its fatal splash before he was driven off, badly damaged by three Messerschmitts. Lieutenant L. B. Van der Spuy claimed a Messerschmitt before he was wounded and forced to jump. He was taken to Tobruk hospital.’

(S.A. Forces in World War II, Vol. 4, Eagles Strike, by James Ambrose Brown, refers).

Van der Spuy rejoined his unit on recovery from his wounds and saw further action during the retreat from Libya into Egypt in the summer of 1942, including the battles of the Knightsbridge Box and Bir Hakim. It was a period of heavy losses in the squadron, including no less than four C.Os, among them John Frost, killed in a combat with 109s on 16 June 1942, his successor Louis Botha, who was killed on the very next day, and Major Dennis Lacey, who was shot down on 7 August. As a consequence, Van der Spuy found himself taking command of the squadron in the acting rank of Major, about the time of the battle of El Alamein. He remained on active service in the Middle East until July 1943 and his final wartime appointment was in the U.K. prior to his release from the S.A.A.F. at the end of 1945.

Post-war, Van der Spuy enjoyed a long career in the Stewart & Lloyds Group, retiring from his post as Regional General Manager in 1980. He died in Durban in March 2001.

Sold with a quantity of original documentation and photographs, including his S.A.A.F. identity card and release certificate, the photographs including several pictures taken at his D.F.C. investiture at Government House, Pretoria on 8 September 1944.

Note
The whereabouts of the recipient’s flying log books are known; these medals and related photographs and documentation were originally sold by his widow at City Coins, as verified by an accompanying letter dated 12 December 2003.