Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Three: Captain H. Tether, Royal Air Force, late Mercantile Marine and Royal Naval Air Service, a long-served seaplane pilot

British War Medal 1914-20 (Capt. H. Tether, R.A.F.); Mercantile Marine War Medal 1914-18 (Harold Tether), an official but later issue from the 1930s; Victory Medal 1914-19 (Capt. H. Tether, R.A.F.), good very fine (3) £250-300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Collection of Awards to the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force.

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Harold Tether, who was born in Newington, Hull, in December 1894, had qualified for his Board of Trade 2nd Mate’s certificate by the time he joined the Royal Naval Air Service after the outbreak of hostilities.

Taking his aviator’s certificate (No. 2109) in a Maurice Farman Biplane at the R.N.A.S. Station, Chingford in November 1915 and, confirmed in the rank as Flight Sub. Lieutenant, he was posted to R.N.A.S. Calshot as a seaplane pilot, in which capacity he came to grief on at least two occasions, his aircraft being wrecked on take off from Dover harbour on 4 December 1916, and again on 1 January 1917, while landing. Notwithstanding such accidents, he was advanced to Flight Lieutenant in June 1917 and to the temporary rank of Captain in the newly established R.A.F. in April 1918, shortly after which he transferred to Killingholme. He was demobilised in May 1919 and obtained his Master’s certificate in Cardiff in the period immediately following the War. Tether died in Watford, Hertfordshire, in March 1952, aged 58 years; sold with a file of research.