Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria, to include the Brian Ritchie Collection (Part I)

A Second World War Lancaster pilot’s D.F.C. group of four to Flight Lieutenant G. P. Pickering, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated ‘1945’, and additionally inscribed, ‘Flt. Lt. Godfrey Philip Pickering, R.A.F.V.R., No.115 Squadron (185436)’; 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star, clasp, France and Germany; War Medal 1939-45, these three privately inscribed, ‘Flt. Lt. Godfrey Pickering, D.F.C., R.A.F.V.R., 115 Sqdn.’, together with original Buckingham Palace D.F.C. forwarding letter, extremely fine (4) £700-900

D.F.C. London Gazette 22 May 1945. The recommendation states:

‘Flight Lieutenant Pickering has completed 30 bombing raids as Pilot and Captain of Aircraft. Many of his missions have been to targets in the Ruhr. He took part in the raid on 12 December 1944, when our force was continually attacked by enemy day fighters. He also bombed Ludwigshaven in clear conditions in daylight when 60% of our aircraft were damaged by flak. Flight Lieutenant Pickering is determined to bomb his objective at all costs and his work is worthy of official recognition.’

Godfrey Philip Pickering, who was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in September 1944, commenced his operational career in the following month with No. 115 Squadron, a Lancaster unit operating out of Witchford, Cambridgeshire. In a tour of operations that amounted to 150 hours flying and 30 sorties, his targets included Cologne (five times), Dortmund (thrice), Duisberg, Homberg (thrice), Koblenz, Munich and Soligen (twice), and, as verified by his recommendation, sometimes in the face of serious flak or enemy fighter opposition. Pickering completed his last sortie in early February 1945.