[WWII - RAF - PILOT'S LOG BOOK]. HELM, Robert French.
Royal Air Force. Pilot's flying log book.
[British empire, Royal Air Force, 1938-1955].
With: [WWII MEDALS]. The 1939-1945 Star; The Africa Star; The Burma Star; The Defence Medal 1939-1945; The War Medal 1939-1945.
1 volume and 5 medals. Ca. 22 x 20 cm. With 5 assessment forms mounted on the leaves. Contemporary blueish-grey cloth with the title and manuscript name on the front board, red sprinkled edges. [74] ll.
€ 4,500
A unique set of a World War II pilot's logbook, which once belonged to Robert French Helm (1913-1995), together with 5 WWII medals. Helm was a pilot and squadron leader at the British Royal Air Force (RAF), who was stationed in Egypt, Jordan, India and Burma. Although the medals do not have a name engraved on the back, they are examples of medals awarded to Helm, as he met the requirements to earn them. Also included are six printed sheets from various issues of The London Gazette that mention Helm's ranks or promotions.
Helm's time at the RAF is relatively well documented because of the 2-hour interview he gave in 1980, which can be found at the website of the Imperial War Museum in London (catalogue number 4583). The logbook itself contains all the flights Helm undertook between 1941 and 1955 in the various locations he was stationed at.
Helm started training at the RAF in Prestwick in 1938 before being posted to Abu Sueir (Egypt), Amman (Jordan), Ismailia (Egypt) and Cairo between 1939 and 1940. The first entry in the logbook is from this time. In 1944 and 1945, Helm was based in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Calcutta and Burma, to help protect the region against the Japanese.
The medals in the present set are all military campaign medals instituted by the United Kingdom during the war (two in July 1943, two in May 1945, one in August 1945) for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in WWII.
The edges and corners of the boards are scuffed and the front board and spine and discoloured and somewhat stained. The glue used to mount the assessment forms has browned, without affecting the text, a water stain at the foot of the leaves throughout, without affecting the text, at least one leaf has been torn out at the start, which might have contained Helm's flight records from 1940, and at least one leaf has been torn out in the middle, which might have contained flight records from 1947 and later. Otherwise in good condition. Imperial War Museum, interview with R. F. Helm, catalogue number 4853: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80004543.
Related Subjects:
