Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The particularly fine Second War immediate ‘Augsburg Raid’ D.F.C., D.F.M. group of seven awarded to Hampden and Lancaster navigator, Warrant Officer F. S. Kirke, Royal New Zealand Air Force, a veteran of at least 41 operational sorties prior to taking part in the Augsburg Raid, including on one, 5 November 1941, when he suffered a fractured skull and severe burns.

Kirke distinguished himself during the famous low-level unescorted daylight raid on the M.A.N. diesel factory at Augsburg, 17 April 1942, when in a Lancaster piloted by ‘Ginger’ Garwell. Their Lancaster was the only one of 44 Squadron to reach the target - other than the one flown by Squadron Leader J. D. Nettleton, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for the raid. Garwell’s ‘aircraft was hit badly in the fuselage as it ran in towards the target, but Kirke, lying face down over the bomb sight in the nose, cooly directed his pilot. The aircraft lifted as its bombs went but it was streaming fire and doomed. A couple of miles out of the city Garwell found an open field and accomplished a masterly crash-landing. Four of the stunned and shaken crew, Kirke among them, stumbled from the blazing wreck. The other three died. The survivors were captured.’

Kirke was taken prisoner of war, and interned at the infamous Stalag Luft III, Sagan. He became, ‘the first member of the RNZAF to wear the dual ribbons of the D.F.C. and D.F.M...’

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated ‘1942’, and reverse additionally engraved ‘N.Z.39864 Sgt. F. S. Kirke RNZAF’; Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (N.Z.39864. Sgt. F. S. Kirke. R.N.Z.A.F.) suspension claw re-pinned, and loose; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; New Zealand War Service Medal, mounted as worn - the DFM in reverse, cleaned, generally nearly very fine or better (lot) £4,000-£6,000

D.F.C. London Gazette 5 June 1942. Jointly listed with Flying Officer 65503 A. J. Garwell, D.F.M. (for the award of the DFC), and Sergeants 778173 L. L. Dando and 999625 J. Watson (both for the award of the D.F..M.):

‘On 17th April, 1942, Flying Officer Garwell, Warrant Officer Kirke and Sergeants Dando and Watson were members of the crew of a Lancaster aircraft which took part in the daring daylight attack on Augsburg, involving a flight of some 1,000 miles across enemy territory. Soon after crossing the enemy's coast their aircraft was damaged in a running fight with 25 to 30 enemy fighters. Despite this they pressed on until the target area was reached. In the face off fierce and accurate anti-aircraft fire which further damaged the bomber and set it on fire the bombs were released on the objective. The task accomplished, it was necessary to make a forced landing in a field some 2 miles from the target. In the most harassing circumstances this very gallant crew displayed great fortitude and skill which has set a magnificent example.’

D.F.M. London Gazette 6 June 1941. The original recommendation states:

‘This N.C.O. has carried out a total of 24 operations against the enemy during the course of which he has completed 172 hours flying as Navigator. He has always shown the greatest keenness at his work. His navigation in all kinds of weather has been of the very highest order. Throughout all these operations, he has shown outstanding ability, determination and devotion to duty.’

Frank Skipworth Kirke was born in Wellington, New Zealand in March 1917, and was educated at Marlborough College, Blenheim. He enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force at Ohakea as a Leading Aircraftman in October 1939, advanced to Temporary Sergeant, and embarked for the UK in April 1940. Kirke was posted for training as a Navigator to No. 12 O.T.U. in June 1940, before briefly being posted to 106 Squadron in September 1940. He was posted for operational flying to 83 Squadron, 6 October 1940, and then on to 61 Squadron, 17 March 1941. Kirke was awarded the D.F.M. for his service with 83 Squadron, and the following is given in Night After Night: New Zealanders in Bomber Command by M. Lambert:

‘On the otherhand, Kirke, 25, was vastly experienced [by the time he joined 44 Squadron - February 1942] and held the D.F.M. He’d enlisted in the RNZAF in October 1939, and by May 1941 had flown 34 ops on Hampdens, 25 with 83 Squadron, the rest with 61 Squadron. He’d been decorated after all that, the citation saying his navigation ‘has been of the very highest order’. After five months instructing he was posted to 455 Squadron, RAAF, also on Hampdens. He did four trips with 455 before surviving a nasty crash on Guy Fawkes Day 1941, which left him with a fractured skull and burns. Recovered after four months, he joined 44, completing three ops on Lancasters before the Augsburg raid.’

Kirke wrote to his sister about his investiture at Buckingham Palace, 5 October 1941:

‘There was nothing in it really. I just staggered up to the King, he stuck the medal on my chest and away I went... There was the usual crowd of sightseers floating around outside the main gates so I sailed passed in lordly disdain inside the taxi... Naturally all the women were staring at the heroes and all the fellows were wish it was over so they could go and have a beer.... All the crowd cheered and created hell so I sneaked smartly into the nearest pub and did a spot of steady drinking....’

Kirke had advanced to Flight Sergeant in September 1941, and to Warrant Officer in April 1942. He served as an instructor at No. 25 O.T.U., Finningley, at the same time as A. J. Garwell [whose D.F.C., D.F.M. group was sold as part of the Ron Penhall Collection, in these rooms in September 2006]- whom he was to be later crewed up with at 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron for the Augsburg Raid. In November 1941, Garwell joined the ‘Intensive Flying (Lancaster) Flight’ at Boscombe Down, at which establishment he flew on occasion as 2nd Pilot to Squadron Leader J. D. Nettleton, a timely encounter for before too long they would be flying alongside each other in the Lancasters of 44 Squadron and, more significantly, in the famous daylight raid on Augsburg. By that stage - April 1942 - the recently commissioned Garwell had flown two further sorties to Germany with his new unit and had very much become Nettleton’s right-hand man. On the way out to dispersal in a squadron truck for the Augsburg raid, the pair of them agreed that they would not take evasive action if attacked by fighters, but rather hold their course. As Garwell put it, “The only thing to do is press straight on and keep flat on the ground. If anyone gets crippled I suggest he throttles back and belly-lands straight ahead.”

Kirke was one of two Kiwis to fly on the Augsburg Raid.

The Augsburg Daylight Raid, 17 April 1942

No better account of this extremely gallant enterprise may be quoted than that written by Chaz Bowyer in For Valour, The Air VCs:

‘At 3.12 p.m. John Nettleton lifted Lancaster R5508 ‘B’ off the Waddington runway, followed by six other Lancasters from 44 Squadron. Once all were airborne and beginning to close up in tight formation, the last Lancaster to leave circled and returned to base, being simply a reserve machine to slot into any gap at the start of the sortie. The remaining six aircraft settled into two Vics of three as they drummed low across Lincolnshire heading southwards. In front Nettleton had Warrant Officer G. T. Rhodes in Lancaster L7536 ‘H’ to his left, and Flying Officer J. Garwell, D.F.M. in R5510 ‘A’ to starboard. The second Vic close behind was led by Flight Lieutenant N. Sandford in R5506 ‘P’, with Warrant Officer J. E. Beckett in L7565 ‘V’ to port and Warrant Officer H. V. Crum in L7548 ‘T’ to starboard.

The six bombers were soon linked up with six more Lancasters from 97 Squadron, based at Woodhall Spa, and led in similar two-Vics formations by Squadron Leader J. S. Sherwood, D.F.C. in Lancaster L7573 ‘OF-K’.

The rendezvous came over Selsey Bill and all twelve dropped to a mere 50 feet as they thundered across the English Channel. Ahead of them a force of 30 Boston bombers and 800 fighters were variously busy bombing and strafing targets away from the bombers’ planned route, in the hope of drawing off any Luftwaffe fighters and thereby provide the Lancasters with a safe run across Europe. As the bombers hugged the waves to the French coast line, Nettleton’s front two sections began to draw ahead of Sherwood’s formation, flying slightly north of the intended flight path. Sherwood made no attempt to catch up; the briefing had allowed for separate attacks if circumstances decreed such, and Sherwood was highly conscious of the need to preserve fuel on such an extended sortie. Still keeping as low as possible to keep under any radar defences, the twelve aircraft roared across the French coast and headed deep into Germany.

For much of the initial journey across enemy-occupied territory the bombers met no serious opposition from ground defences and none from the Luftwaffe, but as Nettleton’s six aircraft - now well ahead of the 97 Squadron formation - skirted the boundary of Beaumont le Roger airfield they ran out of luck. As the bombers appeared a gaggle of Messerschmitt Bf. 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw. 190s of II Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 2 ‘Richthofen’ were in various stages of landing after an engagement in the Cherbourg area with some of the diversionary R.A.F. raids. For a moment the Lancasters thought they hadn’t been spotted, but then several German fighters were seen to snap up their undercarriages and turn quickly in their direction.

Unescorted, at tree-top height, and in broad daylight, the ensuing onslaught could have only one conclusion for the Lancasters. The rear Vic of Nettleton’s formation was the first to be attacked, and the first Lancaster to go was Beckett’s; hit by a hail of cannon shells from Hauptmann Heine Greisert and diving into a clump of trees like a roaring furnace of flames. Next to go was Sandford who was attacked by Feldwebel Bosseckert and had all four engines set on fire before exploding in a giant fireball. Then Crum was jumped by Unteroffizier Pohl in his Bf. 109 ‘Black 7’ and had his port wing erupt in flames. Jettisoning his bomb load immediately Crum promptly put the crippled Lancaster down on the ground, as per the pre-agreed briefing instructions. Unbeknown to Crum his crash was recorded in the Jagdgeschwader’s ‘Game Book’ as its 1000th claimed victory in the war.

The fighters now started attacks on Nettleton’s front Vic of three Lancasters. By then they had been joined by Major Oesau, a 100-victory ‘ace’ officially forbidden to fly more operations, but who had jumped into a fighter and taken off on first sight of the Lancasters, followed by his wing man Oberfeldwebel Edelmann. Oesau selected Rhodes for his victim and closed to within 10 metres firing all guns and cannon in a withering hail of fire. The Lancaster’s port engines both erupted in flames which spread instantly to the starboard motors. The bomber reared abruptly - ‘as if in agony’ - stalled harshly, plunged straight down; passing between Nettleton and Garwell in a vertical dive and missing both by mere inches.

By now most of the fighters were forced to withdraw due to lack of fuel, and the two surviving Lancasters, though damaged, continued their journey. Finally reaching the objective both flew straight across the target factory in close formation, released their bombs, and began the run-out. At that moment Garwell’s aircraft was hit badly by the alerted ground defences and, pluming smoke and flames, dropped towards the ground as Garwell put the Lancaster down quickly, finally slithering to a halt and saving the lives of all but three of his crew.

Nettleton, now alone, pulled away from the scene and set course for the return journey. By then the evening darkness was closing in, providing a form of protection for the lone bomber as it retraced its path across Germany and France ... ’

A detailed account of the final moments of Garwell and Kirke’s Lancaster is to be found in Ralph Barker’s Strike Hard, Strike Sure:

‘‘Suddenly Garwell heard Flux, his wireless operator, yelling in his ear. “We’re on fire!” Flux kept pointing over his shoulder, and Garwell took a quick look behind him. The armour-plated door leading into the fuselage was open and the interior was a mass of flames. This was a fire which would never be put out.

“Shut the door!” ordered Garwell. He decided to crash-land at once rather than attempt to climb and bale out. The quicker they were on the ground the better. Five of the crew had crowded into the front cockpit but there were still two more men behind the wall of fire.

Garwell could see Nettleton and some of his crew staring at the burning Lancaster and he gave an impolite version of the V-sign, which they instantly returned. Then he turned to port into the wind and made for a patchwork of fields south of the town.

As he throttled back and lowered the flaps, smoke started to pour into the cabin, blinding him so that he couldn’t see out or read the instruments, and choking him so that he could hardly breathe. All five men in the front cabin were coughing violently, and Flux opened the escape hatch over the navigator’s table to get some air.

Garwell kept the aircraft going at what he thought was the same angle, and then a sudden down-draught from the hatch cleared the smoke for a fraction of a second and he saw a line of tall trees straight ahead of them, blocking their path. He opened up the engines and pulled back on the stick, but already the smoke had closed again.

He must have cleared the trees by now. He throttled back again and pushed the nose gently forward. He could not see anything. He was flying her into the ground blind at eighty miles an hour. All he could do was hold off and hope. But when the impact came she settled down like an old hen, sliding on her belly for about fifty yards and then stopping gently. They made a dash for the hatch.

Outside they found Flux lying dead under the starboard inner engine. He had been thrown out on impact. His quick action in opening the hatch had probably saved their lives. The whole body of the aircraft was burning furiously and they couldn’t get near the two men in the fuselage ... ’

Night After Night: New Zealanders in Bomber Command adds the following:

‘Nettleton reached Augsburg as the sun was beginning to set and easily picked out the distinctive factory he was seeking. No fighters were present but flak crews, alerted, were waiting. Despite a torrent of fire as he roared over the city at 300 feet, Nettleton planted his bombs and got away safely, the crew watching the blasts after 11-second delay fuses had functioned. Garwell’s aircraft was hit badly in the fuselage as it ran in towards the target, but Kirke, lying face down over the bomb sight in the nose, cooly directed his pilot. The aircraft lifted as its bombs went but it was streaming fire and doomed. A couple of miles out of the city Garwell found an open field and accomplished a masterly crash-landing. Four of the stunned and shaken crew, Kirke among them, stumbled from the blazing wreck. The other three died. The survivors were captured. When 97’s aircraft came in a few minutes later on the same path of attack, the Germans had depressed their flak guns to fire almost horizontally and shot down another two bombers. The only survivor among the 14 crew was Sherwood - catapulted, still in his seat, from the crashing plane into a clump of trees.

Five Lancasters struggled home to acclaim. Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the raid an ‘outstanding achievement’, and the British press lauded the flyers and their bravery. Nettleton was awarded a Victoria Cross, Sherwood a D.S.O. Nettleton continued to fly bombers until shot down and killed in July 1943. Among other decorations awarded was a D.F.C. for Kirke when it became known that he was a POW. The first member of the RNZAF to wear the dual ribbons of the D.F.C. and D.F.M...

The cost of the raid was high - seven of the 12 aircraft and the lives of 37 crewmen. The Lancasters’ bombs wrecked their target but the damage was repaired quickly and the long-term effect was negligible, for it was learned later that five other plants were also making diesel engines for U-boats. The real significance was the chilling realisation among Germans that no corner of the Reich was now safe from RAF attack.’

Prisoner of War - Stalag Luft III, Sagan

Both Garwell and Kirke were captured and interned in Stalag Luft III, Sagan, Germany. Garwell remained at the infamous camp until the end of the war, participating in at least one escape attempt. His POW debrief giving the following:

‘From Sagan. Escaped with 25 others as a de-lousing party. Prisoners dressed as guards. Recaptured after one day. Threatened with Court Martial for sabotage and espionage by Germans. Held in jail 56 days, 12 June - 8 August.’

Kirke was transferred to Stalag Luft VI just four days after Garwell was chucked in the ‘cooler’, and it is possible to speculate that this action may have been as a consequence of an involvement in the escape. Kirke was then transferred to Stalag Luft 357, 18 July 1944, and saw out the remainder of the war at that camp.

Kirke was repatriated in May 1945, and returned to New Zealand at the end of October that year. He was posted as an instructor to Air Traffic Control Headquarters, before being posted as a navigator with 5 Squadron (Catalinas) on Fiji. Warrant Officer Kirke was released from the R.N.Z.A.F. in September 1951, only to re-engage the following month. He died in service at Hutt Public Hospital, aged 40, in December 1957. He was buried with full military honours at Kaori Cemetery. Kirke was one of a number of 83 Squadron men who featured in the painting entitled ‘The Briefing’ by F. O. Salisbury.

Sold with the following contemporary related items and documents: cloth insignia including: Navigator’s brevet, Warrant Officer’s sleeve rank badge, Sergeant’s stripes and riband bar; a Fontaine watch case, in relic condition; New Zealand Post Office Telegram addressed to recipient’s sister from F. Jones, Minister of Defence congratulating her on behalf of the Prime Minister for the award of the D.F.C. to her brother, dated 10 June 1942; Hand-written letter from recipient to his sister, dated 5 October 1941; large photographic image of recipient in uniform; copied service papers and copied research.