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Auction archive: Lot number 393

A poignant and well documented Great War

Estimate
£300 - £400
ca. US$390 - US$521
Price realised:
£1,000
ca. US$1,303
Auction archive: Lot number 393

A poignant and well documented Great War

Estimate
£300 - £400
ca. US$390 - US$521
Price realised:
£1,000
ca. US$1,303
Beschreibung:

A poignant and well documented Great War ‘fighter pilot’ casualty pair awarded to Second Lieutenant E. A. Cave, 24 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, who flew DH.2s as part of the R.F.C.’s first single seater fighter squadron. He was killed in a flying accident when returning from a patrol, 13 February 1916, just 7 days after arriving in France British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. E. A. Cave.) in named card boxes of issue, with Memorial Scroll, extremely fine (lot) £300-400 Footnote Eric Arthur Cave was born in Rushden, in August 1893, the only son of Mr and Mrs A. Cave of “The Hutt”, Higham Road, Rushden, Northamptonshire. He was educated at Kent College, Canterbury, and prior to the war was employed on the literary staff of the Northampton Daily Echo; Northampton Independent and on the editorial staff of The Yorkshire Observer. Cave attested for the Royal Flying Corps in July 1915, carried out his flying training at Brooklands, and obtained his Aviator’s Certificate as well as his commission on his birthday - 9 August 1916. He was posted for operational flying to 24 Squadron (DH.2s), the R.F.C.’s first single seater fighter squadron, and served with them in the French theatre of war from 6 February 1916. He wrote of his initial experiences in a letter to his parents, dated 7 February 1916: ‘My Dear All, We arrived here today in a howling gale, yesterday evening quite unfit for flying because of rain. Four of the machines crashed more others badly at Folkestone & at present only just over half the Squadron have arrived. We have to go out on patrol duty over the lines tomorrow all day, and as we are so short handed it means rather a heavy job. However, will write you later. Am awfully tired & have to get up at six.’ Six days later Cave was killed in a flying accident. On 14 February his C.O., Major Lanoe Hawker, V.C., D.S.O. wrote to the following to Cave’s mother: ‘Dear Mrs Cave, Permit me first, on behalf of myself and the whole of no 24 Squadron, to express our deepest sympathy with you in your sad bereavement. This Squadron, as you probably know, is equipped with fast Scouts, which are undoubtedly very tricky to fly. Your son however, was a good pilot, and handled the machine very well. Unfortunately, while planing down to land about 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, he made too steep a turn, the machine got out of control, and dived to the ground before he had time to recover control again. Help arrived within 2 minutes of the accident, but there was nothing to do - death was instantaneous:- at least he did not suffer any pain....’ The crash was to prove a turning point for the Squadron, as related in Hawker, V.C. in the chapter ‘Arrival in France’: ‘The 13th of February turned out to be a critical day for the squadron. Cave on his way back from a patrol got into a spin, crashed and was killed on the neighbouring aerodrome occupied by No. 11 Squadron. Two of his best pilots, for to Lanoe all his pilots were his best, were killed before a shot had been fired at the enemy. Lanoe, with his ready sympathy, felt their loss acutely. The DH.2 was living up to his evil reputation... his squadron had reached a crisis. When he returned to his own mess, he found discussion being carried on by some of his pilots as to whether it was really possible to get the DH.2 out of a spin when once it started. So far it was considered fatal to get the DH.2 into a spin, and the pilots had taken great pains to avoid it... and that the machine was a death trap. Listening quietly, Lanoe realised that the fighting value of his squadron was in peril. His was the first squadron of DH.2s, and there was a possibility of his pilots losing confidence in their machines in which case the morale of the squadron was gone.... Without a word Lanoe left the mess and ordered out a machine, climbed to 8,000 feet and deliberately threw it into a spin. If he failed to get it out of a spin... but Lanoe never thought of failure. Putting his theories in practise he recove

Auction archive: Lot number 393
Auction:
Datum:
19 Jul 2017 - 20 Jul 2017
Auction house:
Dix Noonan Webb
16 Bolton St, Mayfair
London, W1J 8BQ
United Kingdom
auctions@dnw.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7016 1700
+44 (0)20 7016 1799
Beschreibung:

A poignant and well documented Great War ‘fighter pilot’ casualty pair awarded to Second Lieutenant E. A. Cave, 24 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, who flew DH.2s as part of the R.F.C.’s first single seater fighter squadron. He was killed in a flying accident when returning from a patrol, 13 February 1916, just 7 days after arriving in France British War and Victory Medals (2. Lieut. E. A. Cave.) in named card boxes of issue, with Memorial Scroll, extremely fine (lot) £300-400 Footnote Eric Arthur Cave was born in Rushden, in August 1893, the only son of Mr and Mrs A. Cave of “The Hutt”, Higham Road, Rushden, Northamptonshire. He was educated at Kent College, Canterbury, and prior to the war was employed on the literary staff of the Northampton Daily Echo; Northampton Independent and on the editorial staff of The Yorkshire Observer. Cave attested for the Royal Flying Corps in July 1915, carried out his flying training at Brooklands, and obtained his Aviator’s Certificate as well as his commission on his birthday - 9 August 1916. He was posted for operational flying to 24 Squadron (DH.2s), the R.F.C.’s first single seater fighter squadron, and served with them in the French theatre of war from 6 February 1916. He wrote of his initial experiences in a letter to his parents, dated 7 February 1916: ‘My Dear All, We arrived here today in a howling gale, yesterday evening quite unfit for flying because of rain. Four of the machines crashed more others badly at Folkestone & at present only just over half the Squadron have arrived. We have to go out on patrol duty over the lines tomorrow all day, and as we are so short handed it means rather a heavy job. However, will write you later. Am awfully tired & have to get up at six.’ Six days later Cave was killed in a flying accident. On 14 February his C.O., Major Lanoe Hawker, V.C., D.S.O. wrote to the following to Cave’s mother: ‘Dear Mrs Cave, Permit me first, on behalf of myself and the whole of no 24 Squadron, to express our deepest sympathy with you in your sad bereavement. This Squadron, as you probably know, is equipped with fast Scouts, which are undoubtedly very tricky to fly. Your son however, was a good pilot, and handled the machine very well. Unfortunately, while planing down to land about 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, he made too steep a turn, the machine got out of control, and dived to the ground before he had time to recover control again. Help arrived within 2 minutes of the accident, but there was nothing to do - death was instantaneous:- at least he did not suffer any pain....’ The crash was to prove a turning point for the Squadron, as related in Hawker, V.C. in the chapter ‘Arrival in France’: ‘The 13th of February turned out to be a critical day for the squadron. Cave on his way back from a patrol got into a spin, crashed and was killed on the neighbouring aerodrome occupied by No. 11 Squadron. Two of his best pilots, for to Lanoe all his pilots were his best, were killed before a shot had been fired at the enemy. Lanoe, with his ready sympathy, felt their loss acutely. The DH.2 was living up to his evil reputation... his squadron had reached a crisis. When he returned to his own mess, he found discussion being carried on by some of his pilots as to whether it was really possible to get the DH.2 out of a spin when once it started. So far it was considered fatal to get the DH.2 into a spin, and the pilots had taken great pains to avoid it... and that the machine was a death trap. Listening quietly, Lanoe realised that the fighting value of his squadron was in peril. His was the first squadron of DH.2s, and there was a possibility of his pilots losing confidence in their machines in which case the morale of the squadron was gone.... Without a word Lanoe left the mess and ordered out a machine, climbed to 8,000 feet and deliberately threw it into a spin. If he failed to get it out of a spin... but Lanoe never thought of failure. Putting his theories in practise he recove

Auction archive: Lot number 393
Auction:
Datum:
19 Jul 2017 - 20 Jul 2017
Auction house:
Dix Noonan Webb
16 Bolton St, Mayfair
London, W1J 8BQ
United Kingdom
auctions@dnw.co.uk
+44 (0)20 7016 1700
+44 (0)20 7016 1799
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