Orders, Decorations and Medals

Five: Flight Lieutenant K. J. Rothery, No. 101 Squadron and No. 582 (Pathfinder) Squadron, Royal Air Force
1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; Defence and War Medals; Coronation 1953, these all unnamed as issued but sold with the recipient’s original ‘Observer’s and Air Gunner’s Flying Log Book’, good very fine (5)

After training in 1943-44, Rothery joined No. 101 Squadron at Ludford Magna in August 1944. Flying as mid-upper gunner in Lancaster bombers he took part in seven operational sorties before being selected for Path Finder Force training at N.T.U. Warboys, which he joined on 30 September 1944. He was posted to No. 582 (Pathfinder) Squadron on 7 October and immediately began operational flying, still as mid-upper gunner in Lancasters. Between 12 October 1944 and 14 April 1945, he flew on a further 34 operational sorties, many in daylight, mostly against heavily defended targets in Germany. On several occasions his aircraft was shot up by flak and, on the 2nd January in a raid on Nuremburg, his aircraft was shot up by the rear gunner of another Lancaster, severely wounding the bomb aimer and damaging the planes hydraulics system.