Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A rare Great War D.S.M. group of four awarded to Corporal C. A. Millhouse, Royal Air Force, late Royal Naval Air Service, in which latter corps he served as an Air Gunner out of Dunkirk

Distinguished Service Medal, G.V.R. (F. 22637 C. A. Millhouse, A.C. 2 Gr., R.N.A.S., 5 June 1917); British War and Victory Medals (222637 Pte. 1 C. A. Millhouse, R.A.F.); India General Service 1908-35, 1 clasp, Afghanistan N.W.F. 1919 (222637 Cpl. C. A. Millhouse, R.A.F.), official correction to number on the last, very fine and better (4) £1200-1500

D.S.M. London Gazette 11 August 1917.

Cyril Alfred Millhouse was born in Leicestershire in March 1898 and joined the Royal Naval Air Service in October 1916. Going out to Dunkirk in March of the following year, he flew operationally as an Air Gunner and was awarded the D.S.M. before returning to the U.K. that October.

Of his exact part in events of 5 June 1917, further research is required, though the date is not without interest: on that day aircraft operating out of R.N.A.S. Dunkirk intercepted 16 Gothas returning from bombing sorties to Essex and Kent - in which they had killed or injured nearly 50 people - and two of them were claimed as destroyed and another brace as sent down out of control.

Millhouse returned to Dunkirk in early 1918 and, as a member of No. 5 Naval (afterwards No. 205) Squadron, flew at least 25 operational sorties in the period March-April, including four bombing raids in a single day. Transferring to the newly formed R.A.F. in the latter month, he was posted to No. 22 Wing as an Aerial Gunner and thence, in April 1919, to No. 20 Squadron in India, with whom he served in the Third Afghan War. He was finally demobilised in May 1921; sold with copied research.