Orders, Decorations & Medals - Aust. Groups

Lot 5196    Session 19 (4:30pm Friday)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - Aust. Groups

Estimate $20,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

DFC TRIO: Distinguished Flying Cross (GVR); British War Medal 1914-18; Victory Medal 1914-19. First medal unnamed, Lieut. G.S.Jones-Evans, R.A.F. on last two medals. Named medals impressed. Court mounted on a Gaunt, Montreal brooch bar, nylon thread securing first medal loose, very fine - extremely fine.

Together with modern reproduction AFC pilot's wings; photo of recipient in uniform; official award promulgation advice for DFC; photocopy of 16pp article, 'A Month With 4 Squadron Australian Flying Corps' by Alan Fraser, published in Cross & Cockade International Journal of The First World War Aviation Historical Society, Vol.23 No.1, 1992.

Ex I.S.Wright (Sydney).

DFC: LG 21/9/1918, p11251; CAG 12/2/1919, p262 to Lieutenant Gordon Sheppard Jones-Evans No 4 Squadron (Australian Flying Corps).

Citation: On returning from a raid on enemy rolling stock this officer observed an enemy two-seater machine below him; engaging it, the machine dived vertically and crashed. He was then attacked by a second two-seater; into this he fired a very short burst and it also spun down and crashed. In this engagement Lieutenant Jones-Evans was wounded, but though faint from loss of blood, he succeeded in reaching our lines, where he crashed. In the last few weeks he has destroyed three two-seaters and brought down one balloon in flames.

Recommendation: On the morning of the 28th instant Lt Jones-Evans went down to 1,000 feet over Armentieres and dropped two 25lb bombs at a train, just missing it. He then dived on another train moving out of Armentieres and fired 300 rounds into it. On turning towards the lines, he observed an enemy two-seater just below him on which he dived firing a short burst. The Observer of the two-seater returned his fire and Lt Jones-Evans dived under the enemy aircraft's tail firing about 100 rounds, with the result that the machine dived vertically into the ground and crashed. Lt Jones-Evans was then attacked by a second two-seater, and turning he fired a short burst at it side-on without effect. He then got under the enemy aircraft's tail and fired a very short burst and this machine also spun down and crashed. Almost simultaneously Lt Jones-Evans was hit in the foot by machine-gun fire from the ground, and although faint from loss of blood, flew west and reached St Pol, where he crashed on attempting to land. This officer then had to crawl for nearly a mile in order to gain assistance.

Gordon Sheppard Jones-Evans, school teacher of British Columbia, Canada (Jan1914-Dec1916), born 02Mar1896 at Waterloo, Lancashire, England; served in RFC and RAF from 27 Oct1917, initially with No.4 S.M.A. (School of Military Aeronautics) Royal Flying Corps, Canada; B.E.F posting to No.1 ASD (Aircraft Supply Depot) 26May1918; attached to No 4 Sqn, AFC 01Jun to 28Jul1918 as a pilot with C Flight; on the morning of 28Jun1918 while on patrol with the flight commander, Captain A.H.Cobby DFC, Lt G.S.Jones-Evans, after a short fight, shot down a two-seater low-flying Albatros which was attacking the British army forces near Vieux Berquin; In 4 Squadron's War Diary 'Casualties', it is recorded that Lt. G.S.Evans (sic) RAF, evacuated to hospital with a gunshot wound in the foot. Jones-Evans, flying Camel D1901 on an early morning Special Mission, was a victim of fire from the ground after destroying two LVG two-seaters west of Armentieres; RAF records show him transferred to Unemployed List 07Feb1919; a footnote on his record dated 1929 shows his last known address as C/- Dominion Airways, Vancouver Block, Vancouver, British Columbia; G.S.Jones-Evans was killed in an aeroplane accident in England on 22Jan1937. Capt Gordon Sheppard Jones-Evans, age 40, pilot, and John Walker, age 29, wireless operator were killed when their Airspeed AS.6J Envoy G-ADBZ, of Air Dispatch Ltd, Croydon crashed in bad weather into Titsey Hill near Oxted, Surrey.

With copy of Service File and other research.