Orders, Decorations and Medals

A good Second World War D.F.M. group of seven awarded to Flying Officer W. E. Dunhill, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, late Auxiliary Air Force, who was decorated for a gallant tour of operations as a Rear Gunner in Whitleys and Halifaxes of No. 78 Squadron and Halifaxes of No. 35 Squadron (P.F.F.), his sorties including an attack on the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest, the ‘Thousand Bomber Raids’ on Cologne and Essen in May-June 1942 and the Hamburg ‘firestorm’ raids of July-August 1942

Distinguished Flying Medal, G.VI.R. (804266 F./Sgt. W. E. Dunhill, R.A.F.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Italy Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Air Efficiency Award, G.VI.R., 1st issue (804266 F./Sgt. W. E. Dunhill, A.A.F.), generally good very fine (7) £1700-1900

D.F.M. London Gazette 12 January 1943. The original recommendation states:

‘Flight Sergeant Dunhill has proved unfailing in his keenness and cheerfulness to combat the enemy during the many sorties upon which he has been engaged. His reliability has given his crew the utmost confidence throughout and his example has been, and continued to be, hard to equal. In recognition of his valuable selfless devotion to duty, Flight Sergeant Dunhill is recommended for the non-immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.’

Walter Edward Dunhill commenced his operational career as a Rear Gunner in No. 78 Squadron, a Whitley unit, in late 1941, when he participated in a sortie to Kiel on the night of 1 November: owing to a fire in the starboard engine, his aircraft flew home on one engine. In early 1942, after Dunhill and his crew had attacked additional German targets, including Dusseldorf and Emden, No. 78 converted to Halifaxes.

Subsequent sorties included Cologne and Essen in May-June, as part of the ‘1000 Bomber Raid’ initiative, in addition to Dunhill’s crew attacking Essen on four successive occasions in the same period; Hamburg was among their assignments in July-August, Dunhill participating in the opening - and final - night of the famous ‘firestorm’ raids.

Shortly afterwards he and his crew transferred to No. 35 Squadron, a Halifax unit operating out of Linton-on-Ouse, as part of the newly established Path Finder Force (P.F.F.). Their first sorties as members of the P.F.F. were flown in September, including two trips to Saarbrucken, their fifth to Bremen, and attacks against Duisburg, Frankfurt, and Dusseldorf.

November, the closing month of their operational tour, witnessed strikes on Hamburg and a brace of trips to Turin. Dunhill was awarded the D.F.M.; sold with copied research.