Hammer

£2,000

WW2 RAF 35 Pathfinder Squadron Distinguished Flying Medal, DFM Logbook Archive . A scarce Pathfinder Force special duty Bomb Aimers DFM medal group, logbooks and photographic archive of Warrant Officer Ronald Walter Cumbers of 76 and 35 Squadrons.
Comprising:
Medal Group: Distinguished Flying Medal (1385133 F/SGT R.W. CUMBERS RAF), 1939/45 Star, Aircrew Europe Star with clasp FRANCE AND GERMANY Defence Medal, War Medal. The group has been attractively mounted along with three commemorative medals and a photograph of Ronald with his wife Violet a serving member of the ATS.
Logbooks.
Two examples the first being a pilots logbook covering the period 10th October 1941 to 27th July 1942 when he re-mustered as a Bomb Aimer. The second aircrew log book records flights from the 13th September 1942 to his last flight with 14 OTU on the 17th May 1945. The log records his first trip to Kassel on the 3rd October 1943 with 76 Squadron and his first operation with 35 Pathfinder Squadron on the marshalling yards at Lille on the 9th April 1944. Details of 62 trips are recorded.
Photograph archive.
These include photographs of training in Canada, plus two photographs taken whilst with 35 Squadron showing a Halifax and crew prior to ops on Kassel.
Selection of Ephemera.
Including original Buckingham Palace invitation to receive the DFM from the hand of King George VI.
The recommendation for the DFM raised on the 19th August 1944 London Gazette 14th November 1944.
This NCO is an operator of special equipment who has been engaged on operational flying for a long period and has 45 sorties to his credit. At all times, he demonstrates most praiseworthy keenest to operate and the results he has achieved with his crew are of the highest standard. In view of this NCO’s record of accuracy and reliability, he is recommended for the non-immediate award of the Distinguished Flying Medal.

Warrant Officer Ronald Walter Cumbers DFM was born in 1921 at the outbreak of WW2 he was working at the London Stock Exchange and in 1940 he joined the RAF at Euston and volunteered for Pilot training. Accepted he attended the Elementary Flying Training School at Swindon before being posted to Florida. In 1942 he re-mustered as a Bomb Aimer completing training in Canada before returning to the UK and following posting to various training units he undertook his first operational sortie on the 3rd October 1943 with 76 Squadron flying the Halifax heavy bomber. A steady flow of ops saw 9 under his belt by March 1944, when the crew answered the call for volunteers for the PFF Pathfinder Force. After a month of training he was posted to 35 Squadron and flew his 10 operation on the night of the 9th April 1944. Bomber Command was now preparing for D-Day and 35 carried out a constant flow of specialised operations by the 5th June he had completed 18 trips. The missions continued with the Squadron switching to Daylight Pathfinder ops on the 6th July 1944, most of these in Northern France in support of the allied spearhead. Trips to the big cities of the Rhur resumed on the 25th July with his 36th op to Stuttgart and endurance of over 7 hours. On the 28th October 1944 along with his crew he wrote up his last operation to Walcheren Gun positions this being his 62nd trip. Screened from ops he was posted to 14 OTU as an instructor in December 1944 and remained with the unit until May 1945. Surviving the war his marriage to Violet would last over 68 years and he died shortly after his 100th Birthday.
Warrant Officer Cumbers is mentioned in the book The Arnold Scheme British Pilots, The American South and the Allies Daring Plan by Gilbert S Gunn. He was one of 122 intake in May 1942 to undertake Pilot training, before he re-mustered as a Bomb Aimer.