Orders, Decorations and Medals

A Great War A.F.M. group of three awarded to Sergeant F. C. Tucker, Royal Air Force, one of the first two such awards ever made
Air Force Medal, G.V.R. (106100 Sergt., R.A.F.); British War and Victory Medals (106100 Sgt., R.A.F.) very fine and scarce (3)

A.F.M. London Gazette 3 June, 1918. This Gazette contained only two awards of the Air Force Medal, to Sergeant Tucker and Sergeant S. J. Mitchell, the first ever awarded.
‘In a letter of 6th May 1918...the King approved the proposal that the new decorations should be “brought out” on his birthday. Accordingly, this was done and a notice to the effect that the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Force Cross, the Distinguished Flying Medal and the Air Force Medal had been instituted appeared in the London Gazette of 3rd June 1918. The first awards of all four appeared in the same Gazette. Curiously enough, it was not until 17th December 1918 that the King signed in writing his approval of the Royal Warrant instituting the four awards and it was not until 5th December 1919 that the Warrant was published in the Gazette.’ (Ref British Gallantry Awards by P. E. Abbott and J. M. A. Tamplin, 1981)