Beschreibung:

Sold by Order of a Direct Descendant An interesting campaign group of six awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel S. G. L. Pepys, Essex Regiment, seconded Royal Air Force, who was pilot of a Blenheim bomber shot down during the Battle of France Constantly causing consternation amongst his German captors dressed in his Army uniform, he was present at Stalag Luft III during the 'Great Escape' and survived the famous forced march in the final months of the war General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, Palestine (Lieut. S. G. L. Pepys. Essex.); 1939-45 Star; Air Crew Europe Star; War Medal 1939-45 with M.I.D. oakleaf; U.N. Korea 1950-54, unnamed as issued; Coronation 1953, unnamed as issued, mounted half-court style as worn, very fine and an unusual combination (6) Samuel Guy Leslie Pepys was born on 13 December 1915 at Banbury, Oxfordshire, the son of Lieutenant-Colonel A. G. L. Pepys of Coombe Priory, Shaftesbury, Dorset. Educated at Wellington College, Pepys was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Essex Regiment on 29 August 1935. Having then witnessed service in Palestine, he was promoted Lieutenant 29 August 1938, before being transferred to Special Employment on 31 October 1938, whereupon he qualified as a pilot on secondment to the Royal Air Force. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Pepys served as a Flying Officer with No. 53 Squadron. In May 1940, the Squadron - equipped with Bristol Blenheim light bombers - was heavily engaged resisting the German onslaught in France, and it was on one such mission flying Blenheim R3691 that Pepys and his crew were shot down near Hesdin in the Pas-de-Calais. His General Questionnaire for British and American Ex-Prisoners of War adds more detail: 'Shot down 5 a.m. on 23/May/40 with Sgt (Obs) Haygreen & A.C. H. Spear (A/G), endeavoured to make south of the Somme. Surrendered to enemy at 0800 hrs near La Broye - having very little food.' Pepys immediately found himself in a rather precarious position, as recalled by the son of Spear: 'At that time, the Germans couldn't figure out why he was in his Army uniform flying an R.A.F. bomber.' Initially reported missing, he was confirmed as a Prisoner of War in The Daily Mirror, 22 June 1940, and by Flight Magazine on 27 June 1940. Sent to Oflag IXA at Spangenberg from 10 June 1940-10 July 1940, followed by Stalag Luft I at Barth from 10 July 1940-25 March 1942, Pepys found himself interned in the infamous Stalag Luft III at Sagan, scene of 'The Great Escape,' from 26 March 1942-25 January 1945. Whilst there, he had an interesting discussion with a fellow prisoner, Squadron Leader Rupert Parkhouse: 'About two years later I was in the prison camp talking to Captain Samuel Pepys of the Essex Regiment - he was a direct descendant of the great diarist and he said that during his training at Little Rissington, two Cranwell Cadets had landed downwind and the second one had bounced over him when he was taking off. He said he would certainly like to meet that bastard and tell him what he thought of him, so I told him he could do so now as I was that chap, and I must have been as shaken as he was!' This is but one event recalled in a 30-minute tape recording with Parkhouse, which was produced on 2 June 1995 and is held by the Imperial War Museum and available online. Parkhouse was subsequently forced to report to the C.F.I. and was severely reprimanded by Squadron-Leader Dermot Boyle: 'He tore me off a most imperial rocket and made me stay overnight, where I was an object of considerable derision to the short service officers who were under instruction there.' The Great Escape According to family repute, Pepys, whilst not an escaper, had previous experience as the Quartermaster at Stalag Luft I. He is understood to have assisted in ensuring supplies for the captives from the German authorities and would surely have been a well-known character to the big players in the break. In the obituary of Wing Commander Ken Rees, the last surviving member of the digging team