Ten: Wing Commander A. J. Shimmons, Royal Air Force, late Royal Flying Corps, who was sent on a clandestine mission to North Africa in 1940 regarding a ‘useless’ aero engine developed by a local inventor in his garage

1914 Star, with copy clasp (484 1st A.M. Shimmons A. J. R.F.C.) renamed; British War and Victory Medals (484. Sgt. A. J. Shimmons. R.F.C.); 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Jubilee 1935, unnamed as issued; Royal Air Force L.S. & G.C., G.V.R. (484. F/Sgt. A. J. Shimmons. R.A.F.) mounted court-style for display; together with the related miniature awards (the 1914 Star a 1914-15 Star), these mounted as worn, the Great War trio polished and worn, these fine, the remainder nearly very fine and better (10) £200-£240

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Medals - The Property of a Gentleman.

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Archibald Joseph Shimmons was born in Dublin on 14 November 1894 and attested for the Royal Flying Corps on 14 November 1912. Posted to France with 19 Squadron as 2nd Class Air Mechanic on 12 August 1914, he was raised Sergeant on 1 September 1916 and served as a Fitter in the Motorised Transport. Transferred to the Royal Air Force, Shimmons qualified for a Private Pilot’s Licence of the Federation Aeronautique in September 1918 and served in India from 1922 in charge of the Motorised Transport of 5 Squadron at Quetta.

Awarded the L.S. & G.C. Medal as Flight Sergeant on 14 November 1930, Shimmons was appointed to a commission as Flying Officer on 6 April 1938 whilst stationed at R.A.F. Finningley, and served as Wing Engineer Officer aboard H.M.S. Dumana from November 1939. Sent to Gibraltar in 1940, he was ordered to Tangiers by the Colonial Secretary who was interested in work of a local engineer regarding the invention of an aero engine:

‘It was arranged that I should proceed to Tangier, and for this purpose I was given credit and indefinite leave from the Royal Air Force to go there, assisted by arrangements made by an American dentist who practised in Gibraltar and had a flat in Tangier, by the name of Boswick. The dentist was supposed to be a friend of the inventor, and in fact he met me and assisted me through the Customs at Tangier. The visit was shrouded in a good deal of mystery. I stayed at a hotel when I was there, but spent most of the time at Mr. Boswick’s flat, where I met Cavazzuti. No details of the invention were discussed until the third day of my stay, when I was taken by Boswick to see the engine, which had been erected on a test bed in a garage by Cavazzuti’s house... He managed to run the engine up after a great deal of difficulty, and I quickly gained the impression that it would not be of any value to the British Government.’

Returned to Gibraltar, Shimmons prepared a report for the Officer Commanding 202 Group, Royal Air Force, where he condemned the engine ‘unhesitatingly as useless’. From this point on his relationship with the American dentist deteriorated to a point where Shimmins was afraid of being blackmailed; his fears came true at Alexandria in 1941 when he was informed by the Air Ministry that he had been condemned to a year’s imprisonment by a mixed tribunal at Tangier for having ‘obtained an [engine] cylinder and plans dishonestly’. The sentence was later commuted to one month’s imprisonment, although it remains unlikely that it was carried out:

‘I did nothing more about the matter until after the war, when I learned through the Air Ministry that the Italian Consul in Tangier had been pressing the British Consul to take some action about the matter...’

Advanced Wing Commander on 1 July 1942, Shimmons took his retirement on 15 November 1949 and later attended the 60th Anniversary Dinner of Military Aviation in Whitehall on 2 June 1972.

Sold with an original typed document where the recipient describes his Tangier exploits; original International Aviator Certificate bearing a photograph of Shimmons in R.A.F. uniform, displaying the 1914 Star riband; small diary detailing his experiences in 1922; Second War passport bearing stamp(s) to confirm the visit to Tangier, valid until 7 March 1945; and private research.