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Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC Signed Naval Art
 | Ace with 14.00 Victories |
A photogaph of Tom Neil signing an edition of Merlins over Malta.
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| Distinguished Flying Cross | Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross |
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| Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC - Signed Naval Art Naval Crew Signatures |
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| Text for the above items : |
Tribute to Flying Officer Count Manfred Beckett Czernin by Ivan Berryman. Serving with distinction throughout the Battle of Britain, Count Manfred Beckett Czernin's score included 13 confirmed, 2 unconfirmed, 3 probables and 5 damaged. He is depicted here on 25th July 1940, claiming the last of three Messerschmitt Bf.110s that he shot down that day, flying Hurricane V7408 (YB-F) whilst with 17 Sqn. Despite being shot down by Adolf Galland in November, he survived the war and passed away in 1962 having been awarded a DFC, an MC and DSO. |
Hurricane Patrol by Graeme Lothian. After taking part in the Battle of France early in 1940, 85 Squadron moved to Croydon on the 19th August, where, led by renowned squadron leader Peter Townsend DSO DFC, the squadron played a notable part in the Battle of Britain. Thirty Hurricane squadrons participated in the Battle of Britain compared to only eighteen Spitfire squadrons, claiming 80 percent of the RAF victories. Sir Sidney Camms innovative design ensured the Hurricane became a classic fighter. Hurricane Patrol portrays Squadron Leader Peter Townsend leading 85 Squadron on a high altitude sortie during the long hot summer of 1940. |
Spitfire Scramble by Philip West. Flt. Lt. Geoff Wellum leads this flight of Spitfires from 92 Squadron in a scramble to take on the might of the German Luftwaffe during the height of the Battle of Britain. No 92 Squadron was first formed on the 1st September 1917 at London Colney and was disbanded on 7th August 1919. Following the outbreak of the Second World War 92 Squadron reformed on 10th October 1939 at RAF Tangmere and first saw action over the Dunkirk evacuation beaches. The Squadron was the first into action on September 15, 1940, now known as Battle of Britain Day. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain 92 Squadron flew from Biggin Hill. By the end of 1940 the Squadron tally stood at 127 German aircraft destroyed. |
Undaunted by Odds by Robert Taylor. On 6th November 1935, a prototype aircraft took to the air for the very first time. As Sydney Camm's sturdy, single-engine monoplane fighter climbed into the sky, few realized that it was destined to become one of the enduring symbols of the greatest air battle ever fought. Its name was the Hawker Hurricane. Undaunted by Odds is a moving tribute to the Hurricane and the gallant pilots who flew it in combat. The painting portrays the Hurricanes of the 303 Polish Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain as the unit climbs steadily to intercept yet another incoming wave of enemy bombers heading for London in September 1940. Soon the already battle-hardened Polish pilots will once again be in the thick of the action. |
Hornchurch Scramble by Robert Taylor. On August 12th, 1940 the Luftwaffe turned their full attention to the RAF's forward fighter bases and radar stations with the intent to obliterate them once and for all. The outcome of the Battle of Britain hung in the balance. It was late in the afternoon of Sunday, 18 August 1940. The previous week had seen the hardest days of fighting in the Battle of Britain as the young pilots of the RAF Fighter Command had engaged in deadly duels with the Luftwaffe. Bystanders gazed cautiously upwards at the weaving contrails in the clear blue skies over southern England as they anxiously awaited the outcome. For just a moment, all was at peace: A gentle breeze floated across the airfield at RAF Hornchurch as the exhausted young pilots of 54 Squadron could rest for a few brief minutes and reflect on their own previous two encounters with the enemy that day. The Luftwaffe had thrown everything at them in the past few days, but today had been the toughest of them all. And then the calm was shattered by the shrill tones of the alarm, the Luftwaffe had launched another huge raid of over 300 aircraft across the Channel, and it looked like Hornchurch was the target. Hornchurch Scramble, portrays the moment as 54 Squadron's commanding officer, Squadron Leader James Leathart, taxis out at Hornchurch to prepare for take-off. Quickly following, the aircraft of New Zealander Colin Gray is guided out from dispersal by his ground crew. Gray would claim 3 Bf110s in the encounter and would eventually become the top scoring New Zealand Ace of the war. |
Victory Over Gold by Nicolas Trudgian. Frustrated by the absence of Luftwaffe aircraft over the Normandy beaches on D-Day, Allied fighter pilots were spoiling for a fight. When a dozen Ju88s appeared over Gold Beach on the following morning, June 7, 1944, the patrolling Spitfires of 401 Squadron wasted no time in getting into the fray. At just after 0800 hours twelve Junkers Ju88s appeared out of the 2000ft. cloud base, intent on making a diving attack on the heavily populated beachhead. Wheeling their Spitfires into the on-coming attack, Squadron Leader Cameron, C.O. of 401 Squadron, called his pilots to pick their own targets, and all hell broke loose. In the ensuing dogfight 401 Squadrons Canadian pilots destroyed no fewer than six of the Ju88s, and the attack on the beach was averted. Nicolas Trudgian recreates the scene as Flying Officer Arthur Bishop, son of WWI Ace Billy Bishop, brings down one of the Ju88s that day. With its starboard engine on fire, and its hydraulics shot away, the doomed Luftwaffe fighter-bomber begins its ultimate uncontrollable roll. F/O Arthur Bishop hurtles past the stricken bomber, Nicks superb study showing every detail of his Mk IX Spitfire. Below the pockmarked landscape and beachhead is packed with detail and activity: No fewer than fifty vehicles of all description can be counted, with as many ships and landing craft offshore. Some thirty aircraft are visible in the sky. A massively comprehensive image that will keep collectors endlessly absorbed in a wholly realistic atmosphere, created by a hugely talented and highly respected aviation artist. |
Glorious Summer by Robert Taylor Throughout the long hot summer of 1940 the destiny of the British Isles, indeed the future of Europe, lay in the hands of a small band of young RAF fighter pilots. Against them stood the vast aerial fleets of an all-powerful Luftwaffe, gloating and confident from its victories in Poland, France and the Low Countries. Lying in wait across the Channel, anticipating an easy victory by its air force, were the armies of the most powerful tyrant the world had ever known. With Europe already succumbed to Nazi rule, Britain was alone, the last bastion among the free nations to stand against an evil empire bent upon world domination. The battle, the first ever to be fought entirely in the air, would change the course of history, whatever the outcome. Outnumbered more than five to one at the outset, the odds were so heavily stacked against the RAF, the task looked hopeless. But as the ferocious aerial battles continued through the long summer months, the tactical skills, devotion and raw courage of the RAF's young flyers, gradually turned the tide. By September end, the battle was won and the defeated Luftwaffe retired to its plundered territories to lick its wounds. Image shows nearest, young Pilot Officer Geoffrey Page, later to become one of the RAFs most highly decorated fighter aces, powers his Mk I Hurricane over the country lane at the edge of the airfield, as he and his fellow No 56 Squadron pilots make their third scramble of the day. |
Dornier's Demise by Ivan Berryman. Maurice Peter Brown damages a Dornier Do.17 in his 41 Squadron Spitfire on 30th September 1940. |
The Hard Way Home by Robert Taylor. The Battle of Britain had been won by the young fighter pilots of Fighter Command, but now it fell to another band of young men to wage total warfare against the Nazi war machine - the aircrew of RAF Bomber Command. And like the fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain, the young men who flew with Bomber Command came not just from Britain, but from all over the Commonwealth, and from the countries of occupied mainland Europe. Every man was a volunteer, prepared to endure the deadly flak and prowling night fighters, to say nothing of the savage and bitter cold, in order to wage their relentless attack on the military and industrial targets of the Third Reich. The aircraft that carried these young men to war were numerous, but bearing the brunt of the RAFs incessant campaign were two heavy bombers, the stalwarts of Bomber Command - the Lancaster and the Halifax. Between them they accounted for over three quarters of all the bombs dropped by the RAF, and Halifaxes alone accounted for a total of 73,312 operations, nearly a fifth of all missions carried out by Bomber Command. |
We All Stand Together by Robert Taylor. Spitfires of 616 Squadron scramble from RAF Kenley during the heavy fighting of the Battle of Britain, late August 1940. Below them a Hurricane of 253 Squadron, sharing the same base, is being prepared for its next vital mission at a distant dispersal. All through the long summer of 1940, as Britain stood alone, a small band of fighter pilots took part in the greatest aerial battle in history. Day after day the men of Fighter Command valiantly took to the air to defend their country from the Luftwaffe and the threat of German invasion and Nazi tyranny. Outnumbered, but never out-fought, they fought to the point of exhaustion and, in doing so, paid a heavy price. But they won. |
Tribute to Fl Off Tom Neil by Ivan Berryman. Flying Officer Tom Neil closes on a Dornier Do.17 on 15th September 1940, just one of four victories confirmed on that day, the others being two Bf.109s and another Dornier shared. He is depicted flying Hurricane Mk1 V7313 of 249 Sqn whilst based at North Weald. |
Channel Sweep by Richard Taylor. On 14th June 1940, the first German jackboots were heard on the streets of Paris. Within days France signed an armistice and Hitler could now turn his avaricious eyes north and across the grey waters of the Channel. The island of Britain stood alone and, faced with the threat of imminent invasion, few gave her much chance of survival. Before the all-conquering Panzers could invade, Germany needed to gain air superiority and Goering boasted that his Luftwaffe 'would quickly sweep the RAF from the skies' - how wrong he would be. The Battle of Britain began on 10th July 1940 and for the next eight weeks most front-line squadrons were often flying four missions a day. Totally outnumbered by the Luftwaffe the RAF was close to breaking point by early September, with some units reduced to a handful of pilots and aircraft. Then on 7th September, an over-confident Goering made a fatal error. Believing the RAF destroyed, he changed tactics and the Luftwaffe began bombing civilian targets in London. It was the respite that Fighter Command needed and the tide of battle was turned. Against overwhelming and seemingly impossible odds, a replenished RAF repelled the Luftwaffe and by the end of October it was over. Richard Taylor's stunning painting depicts Mk1 Spitfires from 92 Squadron undertaking a defensive sweep along the Kent coastline against a dramatic backdrop of the white cliffs of Dover, at the height of the battle in September 1940. |
Churchills Few by David Pritchard It is September 1940 and the Battle of Britain is at its height. At RAF Biggin Hill, 92 Squadron have just relieved the battle weary pilots of 79 squadron who at this very moment are departing in their Hurricanes. As the 92 squadron pilots mill around dispersal and their Spitfires are being re armed they are about to have a famous visitor, none other than Winston Churchill. |
Fighter Pilot of the Royal Air Force by Graeme Lothian. No text for this item |
Clipped Signature - Tom Neil. A Battle of Britain Ace flying Hurricanes with No.249 Sqn, he survived a mid-air collision with another Hurricane. In his career he served in Malta, and as a liaison to the American 9th Air Force, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. He died in 2018 aged 97. |
Revenge of the Raider by Ivan Berryman. The 79 Sqn Hurricane Mk.I P3877 of P/O E J Morris receiving hits from a Dornier 17 on 31st August 1940. Morris was forced to crash land his aircraft and was slightly wounded following the combat. |
Into the Schwarm by Ivan Berryman. The lone Spitfire of Maurice Peter Brown of No.41 Sqn, single-handedly attacks a group of eight Me109s on 25th October 1940. |
41 Sqn Scramble by Ivan Berryman. The Spitfire (EB-J, X4559) of Maurice Peter Brown takes to the air with his wingman. |
Normandy Breakout by Nicolas Trudgian. Spitfires of No. 132 Squadron rush towards the Front to give ground support to the advancing Allied forces following breakout from the Normandy beaches, June 1944. Published 2003. Signed by three highly decorated fighter pilots who flew combat missions on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and during the Battle for Normandy. |
Beurling's Day by Ivan Berryman. George Beurling's Spitfire Vc shooting down the Macchi 202 of Italian Faliero Gellis over Malta. The crippled aircraft had been hit in the engine and radiator, but he managed to crash-land it and survived as a prisoner of war. This was the same day that Beurling also shot down Italian ace Furio Niclot and a probable Messerschmitt Bf.109. |
The Struggle for Malta by Ivan Berryman. Having been initially intercepted by just three ageing Gloster Gladiators, who gallantly gave both the Germans and Italians the impression of a much bigger resistance in the skies above Malta, the Italian Air Force was suddenly confronted by the more capable Hawker Hurricanes of 261 (F) Sqn, commanded by Sqn Ldr D W Balden. The previously unescorted bombers of the Regia Aeronautica suddenly required the presence of fighters to protect the marauding bombers, as depicted here, where Macchi 200s of 6° Gruppo 1° Stormo, reel around the sky to chase off the Hurricanes from the attacking Savoia Marchetti SM.79s above Grand Harbour in the summer of 1940. |
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