Flt Sgt G. E. Brown WWII Service Medals And History

Item Description

A collection of WWII British service medals and history, to include the Air Crew of Europe Star, the 1939-1945 War Medal and the 1939-45 Star, contained in a display frame with flight engineer brevet badge and brooch, awarded to 1726854 Flight Sergeant G.E. Brown of the Royal Air Force, accompanied by Caterpillar Club membership certificate, and a bomber command clasp, a flight log book with detailed sortie accounts, recipient's portraits, love letters, POW letters and artwork; as well as newspaper clippings and a piece of flak shrapnel collected from the aircraft and kept as a souvenir after flying a sortie over Germany. 

This stand-out collection will be offered as Lot 109 in our forthcoming Militaria, Arms and Armour Sale on Wednesday, 27th May, presenting collectors, museums, military institutions, and archivists with an exciting opportunity to acquire a remarkable piece of military history.

Flight Sergeant George Ernest Brown: A History

George Ernest Brown was born in Henley-on-Thames in 1921. He worked for a local motor company and, in 1941, at the age of 19, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force. Having completed training as a flight engineer at RAF Waddington, he was transferred with Bomber Command to RAF Skellingthorpe with 50 Squadron. Brown's log book shows a number of successful raids throughout 1943, including 12000Lb and 10000Lb loads dropped over Hamburg, Hanover, Berlin, Nuremberg, Milan and various other locations. There are frequent references to heavy flak while flying and encounters with German night fighters. 

The last entry in his flight logbook was made on 02/12/43, when, while carrying an international news service reporter from the USA, Mr Lowell L. Bennett, they were shot down. Two of the seven crew members perished in the crash: A/B 155594 P/O Alexander McCracken and A/G 1609499 Sgt. Ronal Frank. The remaining members of the crew, including the reporter Bennett, survived the crash using their Irvine parachutes and were subsequently awarded membership of the Caterpillar Club. After landing, they were all captured, apart from the reporter, who managed to evade the Germans three times before eventually being caught. 

Brown was interned in the German Prisoner of War camp M-Stammlager IV-B. During this time, he not only corresponded with his sweetheart and future wife, Gwen, through the Red Cross Postal Service but also was promoted to Temporary Warrant Officer. He served the remainder of the war interned in P.O.W camps, and after the war ended, he was eventually repatriated home in 1946. When the reporter Lowell Bennett returned, he wrote the book "Parachute to Berlin", which mentions the raid, but unfortunately fails to accurately detail the men of Bomber Command he flew with. 

Brown moved back to Henley-on-Thames, where he lived until his death in 2002.

Preserving Military History Through Specialist Auctions

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With specialist knowledge and a respectful approach, we are committed to guiding you through every stage of the process. Whether you are consigning a single family item or an extensive lifetime collection, you can trust that your pieces will be professionally catalogued and presented to a dedicated international audience of collectors, historians, and institutions passionate about preserving military history for future generations.

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