JSF21 Battle of Britain RAF Cover signed Sqn Leader Colquhoun DFC GM DFM For Sale

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JSF21 Battle of Britain RAF Cover signed Sqn Leader Colquhoun DFC GM DFM:
$25.30

Battle of Britain Open Day Finningley RAF Cover signed Squadron Leader Colquhoun DFC GM DFC

JSF21 Produced in 1993 with Mini stamp sheet depicting aircraft Port Victoria Armstrong Whitworth Vickers Vireo and Supermarine Seafang.

Bears Royal Mail stamp cancelled with BFPS 2384 for Battle of Britain Open Day Finningley

Cover is signed by

Squadron Leader L R Colquhoun DFC GM DFM

Obituary

LES COLQUHOUN, who died aged 80, was a photographic reconnaissance pilot with No 69 squadron whose daring coverage of Axis positions in southern Italy and Libya contributed significantly to the survival of Malta; his contribution to the preparations for the 1944 landings in the south of France was recognised with the award of the DFC.

In 1941, Colquhoun had being flying fighter sweeps over northern France with No 603 (City of Edinburgh) Auxiliary Air Force squadron when he was detailed to deliver a photographic reconnaissance Spitfire to Cairo. During a stopover in Malta it became apparent that the situation there was desperate. He and his Spitfire were seconded to No 69 Squadron and so hard pressed were the island's defenders that for a while the squadron comprised only Colquhoun and one other pilot.

For nine months during 1941 and 1942, Colquhoun piloted an unarmed and unescorted pale blue Spitfire out of Malta, flying over Italy and assessing the enemy's position. Travelling at great speed and using considerable guile, he would continuously outmanoeuvre the enemy before landing back at Luqa with his anxiously awaited photographs.

Not until May 1942 was the squadron reinforced by Spitfires transported in the aircraft carrier Eagle. By then, Colquhoun had survived 154 operational sorties, each of which had been flown mostly over the sea, a risky business in a single-engine Spitfire.

Wing Commander Laddie Lucas, the ace commander of No 249 Squadron summed up the value of Colquhoun's contribution when he noted: "At Luqa, in the face of adversity, photographic reconnaissance was touching the limits of human endeavour. It placed the highest premium upon personal character and integrity." Sergeant Colquhoun was awarded the DFM and commissioned.

Leslie Robert Colquhoun was born on March 15 1921, at Hanwell, Middlesex, and educated in Ealing. He enlisted in August 1940, trained as a pilot, and in the autumn of 1941 was posted to No 603 (City of Edinburgh), an Auxiliary Air Force Spitfire squadron engaged on sweeps over France and convoy protection patrols.

Following his exploits in Malta, Colquhoun returned home for Mosquito operational training and in 1943 he joined No 682, a Mosquito photographic-reconnaissance squadron based in Algeria and operating over Tunisia and Italy, moving to San Severo in Italy in September 1943.

He remained with 682 squadron until October 1944, during which time he flew 82 operational trips over enemy territory involving 262 hours of operational flying. He was awarded the DFC for his photographic contribution to the successful conclusion of the North African and Italian campaigns and his part in the preparation for the landings in the south of France during the summer of 1944.

In 1945, after a short period as an instructor, Colquhoun was posted to Vickers Supermarine where he joined the team of production test pilots. Here he tested the later marks of Spitfires as they rolled off the production lines. He also displayed a special aptitude for putting new types through their paces, particularly the Attacker, an early carrier-borne naval jet fighter.

In May 1950, he was flying an Attacker when the outer tip of his starboard wing folded up. The ailerons locked and Colquhoun began to lose control of the plane. Coolly declining to eject, he stayed put in the hope of discovering the cause of the fault.

Flying by rudder alone, he managed to bring the speed up to more than 200 mph. Although this was about twice the Attacker's landing speed, he was able to land at Chilbolton, Hampshire's 1,800 yd runway, with the length of a cricket pitch to spare. By putting his life on the line, Colquhoun, as the subsequent investigation revealed, had enabled the fault to be identified.

Colquhoun's career progressed through testing naval Scimitar jet fighters and early hovercraft - which assured him control, in 1962, of the first hovercraft service between Wallasey and Rhyl.

He was appointed operations manager of Hoverlloyd in 1966, later becoming managing director and operating the company's car ferry between Ramsgate and Calais. After Seaspeed took over Hoverlloyd, Colquhoun ran the company's jetfoil service to Dieppe.

After a period spent as custodian at Chiddingstone Castle, Colquhoun retired to Broadstairs, Kent. He was a great supporter of the Spitfire society of which he was a former chairman.

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JSF21 Battle of Britain RAF Cover signed Sqn Leader Colquhoun DFC GM DFM

$25.83