Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

‘It is over a year since I saw Sergeant Wolton, as he was, but I remember very well that the Station Commander put him on the list because “he has done extremely well already and will do even better if he gets the chance: a particularly good type of sergeant pilot.” He was the cheerful sort of chap I enjoy drawing, though the number of gadgets on his arm made me work overtime! In one respect he is, I think, unique. He baled out into the sea without opening his parachute; he didn't have time! His aircraft had been badly shot up, and his engine was useless; he tried to glide to shore, but with three miles to go his controls, which had been badly frayed, broke. He was low down at the time, but was determined not to plunge into the sea inside the aeroplane, so jumped out and hit the water at, I suppose, a hundred and fifty miles an hour. He wasn't in the least hurt and swam, supported by his Mae West, two miles to a buoy, whence he was in due course rescued. A fortnight later he had to bale out again, this time from over twenty thousand feet. He’d forgotten to do up his belt and had opened his ‘hood’, the sliding cockpit cover, for a moment. Suddenly, having to go into a dive, he shot out of the aeroplane - to his intense surprise. Being a bit short in the arms, he couldn’t get hold of the release handle of the parachute, and it wasn’t till he was down to a thousand feet that he got it open.

I remember his standing me a whisky-and-soda at a Spitfire Ball at Weymouth. He thought it was due to me after drawing his many “trade-marks.”’

The artist, Cuthbert Orde, recalls Ralph Wolton sitting for his portrait in 1940.

A Caterpillar Club Membership Badge and related archive appertaining to Flight Lieutenant R. Wolton, Royal Air Force, who claimed two “kills” at the height of the Battle of Britain in Spitfires of No. 152 Squadron, but was himself shot down into the sea off Chesil Beach and, on another occasion, compelled to take to his parachute at the shortest notice: the subject of a portrait by Orde, he ended the War flying Mosquitos on counter-measures operations

(i) Caterpillar Club membership badge, gold, “ruby” eyes, the reverse officially engraved, ‘Sgt. R. Wolton, Pres. by Irving Co.’, together with related forwarding letter, dated 23 November 1940, and registered envelope

(ii) The recipient’s R.A.F. Pilot’s Flying Log Books (Form 414 types), the first with ink inscription ‘W./T. Operator’s’ over the front cover word ‘Pilot’, covering the period November 1934 to November 1937; the second December 1938 to June 1941; the third July 1941 to July 1945, this bound as one volume with the previous log, and the fourth August 1945 to May 1952.

(iii) Empire Central Flying School, graduation certificate for No. 12 Course in the name of ‘F./Lt. R. Wolton’, dated 12 December 1945, together with his printed and hand written course notes.

(iv) Pilots of Fighter Command, sixty-four portraits by Captain Cuthbert Orde (George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, January 1943), including the recipient’s portrait and accompanying notes by Orde, together with inscription to his wife ‘Peggy, May 1943’.

(v) Fighter Command 20th Anniversary Battle of Britain Reunion at Bentley Priory, 1960, commemorative pamphlet with list of those attending, including Wolton.

(vi) An exercise book containing several pages of notes written by the recipient with view to publishing a book - accompanying note by his wife refers - together with 1939-45 campaign medals (4), including Air Crew Europe Star, as used for display purposes (Lot) £3000-3500

Ralph Wolton, who was born in July 1914, entered the Royal Air Force as an Aircrafthand in the summer of 1932, and was originally employed at the Torpedo Flight Development Flight at Gosport.

Subsequently selected for training as a Wireless Operator, and duly qualified, he was posted to No. 58 Squadron at Worthy Down and thence, in September 1935, to No. 142 Squadron at Mersa Matruh, at the time of the Abyssinian crisis. Having then transferred to No. 45 Squadron at Helwan, Wolton volunteered for pilot training, and duly qualified for his “Wings” back in the U.K. in October 1939.

Posted to No. 152 Squadron, a Gladiator unit forming at Acklington, he went into front line action when the unit moved south to Warmwell in July 1940, after being re-equipped with Spitfires, his flying log book detailing numerous operational sorties, often twice, and sometimes three times a day.

Flying as ‘White 1’ in ‘A’ Flight on 25 July 1940, Wolton carried out several attacks and was credited with the destruction of a Do. 17 with Pilot Officer Holmes, in addition to claiming a probable Ju. 87 over the sea:

‘At approximately 11.15 hours Yellow 1 and 2 followed up White 1 and 2 and carried out a No. 1 attack on a Do. 17. I got in a short burst, first from 200 yards, closing to 100 yards (effect unknown). I broke away in the normal manner, and looking behind observed about 18 Ju. 87s carrying out dive-bombing attacks on a small vessel. I flew towards them and got in a short deflection burst at one, dived down on another just as it finished its attack and fired another short deflection burst whilst still diving. On climbing up again another Ju. 87 crossed in front of me at which I took a short deflection burst and he got on the tail of a fourth which was proceeding out to sea in company with about six others at approximately 200 yards intervals. I fired my remaining ammunition at this E./A. closing to about 100 yards and then broke away. It went down into a fairly steep dive still proceeding seaward and emitting black smoke. I could observe nothing further as an Me. 109 was about 100 yards away on my starboard bow flying in the opposite direction’ (his combat report refers).

The Do. 17 crashed and burned out at East Fleet Farm, Dorset, two of its crew having baled out to be taken P.O.W. On 15 August, however, he was himself shot down, crashing into the sea off Chesil Beach - escaping his Spitfire uninjured, he managed to swim to a buoy and was picked up.

On 26 September 1940, Wolton participated in a combat over the Isle of Wight, his report stating:

‘I was Red 2 in company with Red 1 and 3. Over the Isle of Wight at 15,000 feet. We attacked a formation of Ju. 88s heading south from the enemy’s starboard beam, out of the sun in echelon 6













at Odiham - here then numerous patrols in Mosquitos.=-0Ͻ squitos of No. 239 Squadron on counter-measures operations - thus 12 further sorties over Germany - was released from the R.A.F. as a Flight Lieutenant in the summer of 1946, but rejoined in March of the following year for another 18 months. He died in 1993.