Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A set of civil aviation flying log books appertaining to First Officer W. G. Godwin, Air Transport Auxiliary, late Royal Air Force Reserve, who was killed in a flying accident in Staffordshire in April 1944, while delivering a Mosquito to a front line unit, comprising C.A. Form 24 types (3), covering the periods August 1936 to February 1942, February 1942 to August 1943, and August to October 1943, together with an original wartime portrait photographs, and later gilt embroidered A.T.A. Wings, generally in excellent condition (Lot) £200-250

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Small Collection of Medals to the R.F.C., R.N.A.S., R.A.F. and F.A.A..

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William Lionel Godwin, who was born in January 1914, commenced pilot training in August 1936 as a member of the Royal Air Force Reserve - as such, he most probably had a set of R.A.F. flying log books, in addition to the above described civil examples which he probably maintained in a private capacity.

Having then completed further instruction in the early months of the War at Lossiemouth and Middle Wallop, Godwin was posted as a Ferry Pool Pilot in the rank of First Officer to the Air Transport Auxiliary, in which capacity he served at White Waltham and elsewhere up until his death in a flying accident in a Mosquito on 30 April 1944, a period encompassing a remarkable array of types flown, including Albacores, Ansons, Beaufighters, Blenheims, Fairchilds, Fireflies, Havocs, Hellcats, Hurricanes, Lysanders, Mosquitos, Mustangs, Sharks, Swordfish, Typhoons, Spitfires, Venturas, Wellingtons and Whitleys - more often than not solo.

As verified by an accompanying letter from the A.T.A. Association, his Mosquito ‘turned to port at 8,000 feet, wobbled and then dived to 200 feet. It then flattened out and hit the ground and was totally destroyed. The investigation which followed was unable to determine the cause of the accident.’

He was the son of William and Serena Godwin of Weston-super-Mare, and husband of Sylvia Godwin of Markyate, Hertfordshire; sold with a file of research, including photographs of his grave in Weston-super-Mare Cemetery, Somerset.