Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria to coincide with the OMRS Convention

A Second World War Flight Engineer’s D.F.M. group of five awarded to Sergeant W. S. H. Strong, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, who was killed in action in a raid against Chemnitz in February 1945, midway through his second operational tour: he had earlier participated in the famous Hamburg ‘firestorm’ raids and in the strike against Peenemunde

Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (527668 Sgt. W. S. H. Strong, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France and Germany; Defence and War Medals nearly extremely fine (5) £1000-1200

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Fine Collection of Awards to the Men of Bomber Command 1939-45.

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D.F.M. London Gazette 15 February 1944. The recommendation states:

‘This N.C.O. has completed his first tour of 21 operational sorties against some of the most heavily defended targets in enemy territory, including Berlin, Hamburg, Essen, Krefeld and many trips to the Ruhr, when he displayed skill and courage of a very high order. Throughout his tour his accurate engine handling and meticulous calculations have been a tremendous asset to his Captain, and unquestionably were of prime importance to the successful completion of the sorties upon which he has been engaged. He has set a fine example for those who will follow him and proved himself to be unruffled by the most intense opposition. His coolness and skill have been an inspiration to the remainder of his crew and it is recommended that his fine operational record be recognised by the award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.’

William Samuel Henry Strong commenced his operational career as a Flight Engineer with No. 158 Squadron, a Halifax unit operating out of Lissett, Yorkshire in June 1943, flying his first sortie against Krefeld on the night of 21st-22nd. Trips to Mulheim and Wuppertal were ordered in quick succession, but both had to be aborted as a result of technical problems. Then in July, in addition to sorties to such targets as Aachen, Cologne, Essen and Gelsenkirchen, he participated in three raids on Hamburg at the end of the month, all of them as part of the now famous effort that resulted in terrible ‘firestorms’ and horrendous local casualties.

August commenced with a sortie to Mannheim and ended with another to Munich, various targets being assigned to No. 158 in between, Nuremburg among them, but the famous strike against the rocket research establishment at Peenemunde on the night of the 17th-18th was undoubtedly the highlight. September appears to have seen just one outing, to Munich on the night of the 6th-7th, and October none at all, Strong possibly have fallen ill, but in November he ended his tour with trips to five heavily defended targets, Berlin, Frankfurt, Mannheim and Stuttgart among them. He was also in a crew assigned to Cannes on the night of 11th-12th, during which trip the oxygen supply failed, but nonetheless the target was attacked, Strong’s Halifax eventually returning home on three engines.

Just over a year later, almost certainly following a stint of service as an instructor at an O.T.U., Strong commenced his second tour of operations, joining No. 640 Squadron, another Halifax unit, at Leconfield. Opening his tour with a sortie to Duisberg on the night of 18-19 December 1944, he completed three more missions that month, including trips to Essen and Cologne. And January 1945 witnessed raids on Dortmund, Hanover, Magdeburg, Ludwigshaven and Saarbrucken. Tragically, however, following another six sorties in the following month, including two trips to Wanne-Eickel, he was killed in action in a strike against Chemnitz, on the night of 15th-16th. Flying in Halifax 953 NP-G, skippered by Pilot Officer K. Weber, he and his crew very probably fell victim to an enemy night figher, the Squadron Operations Book reporting of such activity on the route out of the target area to the East. Strong is interred in the Berlin 1939-45 War Cemetery.