Medals awarded to teenage WW1 ace who took on a dozen German planes at once and became first pilot to fly non-stop to India from Britain are on sale for £30,000
- Squadron Leader Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams awarded Military Cross in 1917
- Only 18 when he attacked 12 German aircraft all at once during World War One
- Went on to be first pilot to fly non-stop to India in 1929 in 50 hours 37 minutes
- Medals and notes to co-pilot during flight to India are among items up for sale
The military medals of a teenage WWI pilot, who later became the first person to fly non-stop from Britain to India, are expected to fetch £30,000 at auction next week.
Squadron Leader Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams was awarded the Military Cross in July 1917, aged just 18, for attacking 12 German aircraft all at once and succeeding in destroying one and driving down another.
Showing ‘utmost dash’ and ‘the finest offensive spirit’, he repeated the act again weeks later, for which he was awarded a Bar to his Military Cross.
The citation for the award read: ‘On several occasions he attacked enemy formations although they were in superior numbers, fighting them in more than one instance single-handed, and showing the finest offensive spirit.
‘He drove several machines down completely out of control, fighting until his ammunition was expended.’
He would later go on to become the first pilot to fly non-stop from Britain to India in 1929- a flight that took more than 50 hours.
Squadron Leader Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams (pictured) was awarded the Military Cross in July 1917, aged just 18, for attacking 12 German aircraft all at once and succeeding in destroying one and driving down another
Now his medals are up for auction, including the Military Cross, British War and Victory Medals, General Service Medal and Croix de Guerre (pictured left to right)
After WWI Sq Ldr Jones-Williams (circled) spent time in Kurdistan, taking part in a bombing raid as part of operations against Sheik Mahmoud who was leading a revolt against the Baghdad government
Sq Ldr Jones-Williams’s mother received the gold Aero Club medal (pictured) for his achievements after he died and it is included in the collection
Now the pilot’s WWI medals are up for auction at Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester, Gloucestershire along with messages he passed to his co-pilot on his historic flight to India, logbooks, trophies and other memorabilia.
Auctioneer Henry Meadows said: ‘Opportunities to buy a collection like this are becoming increasingly rare and I don’t expect to see any other archives that are so complete.
‘The provenance of the medals is spectacular. Not only was Squadron Leader Jones-Williams a daring pilot but he also became the first pilot to fly non-stop from Cranwell to India.
‘Collections like this from the First World War, particularly from pilots, are very special.
‘Flying was very experimental at this time and it was incredibly dangerous.
‘I expect there will be a lot of interest from RAF and civil aviation collectors around the world.
‘There is just so much in this archive, the memos passed between Jones-Williams and his co-pilot during their record breaking flight are particularly interesting.
‘Pre-radio this was the only way for co-pilots to communicate with each other and the messages show how uncertain they were about being able to finish the flight.’
The collection includes 40 original RAF message slips passed between the pilot and observer during the non-stop flight to India (pictured)
Pictured: Squadron Leader Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams and his observer Flight sergeant Bedson over Baghdad in 1928
Born in British Columbia in 1898 and educated at a boarding school in Sussex, Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams (pictured) initially joined the Welsh Regiment at the outbreak of the First World War, before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps
Born in British Columbia in 1898 and educated at a boarding school in Sussex, Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams initially joined the Welsh Regiment at the outbreak of the First World War, before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps.
Between April and September 1917 he was wounded twice and forced to return home to recover.
He returned to the Western Front as a Flight Commander with 65 Squadron and began flying again in a Sopwith Camel.
After the war he was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French – another medal included in the collection.
He spent time in Kurdistan, taking part in a bombing raid as part of operations against Sheik Mahmoud who was leading a revolt against the Baghdad government.
In 1927, he flew Sir Philip Sassoon, the secretary of state for air to the US to meet with President Calvin Coolidge.
Pictured: a silver trophy of the silver Fairey monoplane engraved with the words: ‘Presented by Mr C.R. Fairey to Sqdn Ldr A.G. Jones-Williams, M.C. in commemoration of the first non-stop flight from England to India 3948 Miles in 50 hours 37 minutes, April 24th – 26th 1929’
The collection, which includes the pilot’s log books (pictured) is expected to fetch £30,000 at auction next week
The collection also includes several albums of personal family albums (pictured)
A year later he was promoted to Squadron Leader and began to plan for his record-breaking flight to India.
Included in the sale are 40 message slips that he passed to his co-pilot Norman Jenkins during the journey.
One message read: ‘There is oil blowing up through the hole in the floor of the cabin – I can’t find a leak and the tank and pressure appears to be ok.. Watch your pressure.’
Another says: ‘I am afraid we don’t stand a hope of Karachi (India).’
Despite their concern they made it to India covering 4,130 miles in 50 hours and 48 minutes in a Fairey Long-Range Monoplane.
They were only 336 miles short of the world non-stop flight distance record.
Later in the year the pair made a second attempt, this time with a destination in South Africa.
But on December 16, 1929 the aircraft crashed at Djebel Lit, Zaghouan, a mountainous region south of Tunis, killing both men.
Sq Ldr Jones-Williams’s mother Lucy received the gold Aero Club medal for his achievements after he died and it is included in the collection.
The sale takes place on November 23.
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