Air Marshal Sir
Ivor Broom KCB CBE DSO DFC AFC. The following aviaiton art prints have
been signed by Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom Entering the RAF in 1940 he joined No 114 Squadron
as a sergeant pilot flying Blenheims. After 12 operations he and his crew
were allocated to No 105 Squadron and then No 107 Squadron, the last
remaining Blenheim Squadron in Malta. The Squadron remained there without
relief for five months carrying out low level attacks on the shipping.
Very few of the original crews survived the detachment, in fact he was
commissioned during this period, when 107 Squadron had lost all their
officers and for a short time was the only officer, other than the CO, in
the Squadron. At the end of this tour he was awarded the DFC. In early
1943 he became one of the first Mosquito instructors in the Pathfinder
Force and later moved to No 571 Squadron with the Light Night Strike
Force. He then formed No 163 Squadron as acting Wing Commander. He was
awarded a bar to his DFC for a low level moonlight mining attack on the
Dormund - Ems Canal from 50ft and then a second bar for getting a 4000lb
bomb into the mouth of a railway tunnel during the final German Ardennes
offensive. During his time on Mosquitoes his navigator was Tommy Broom,
together they formed an inseparable combination. Remaining with the RAF
after WWII and in accordance with peacetime rules for a much smaller Air
Force he was reduced in rank first to Squadron Leader and then to Flight
Lieutenant in 1948. Promoted to Air Marshal in 1974 he became the Head of
the UK National Air Traffic Services and was the first serving officer to
be appointed to the Board of the Civil Aviation Authority. Retiring from
the RAF in 1979 he has been actively engaged in civil aviation since then
Low Level Raiders by Keith Woodcock Two De Havilland Mosquito FBMk VIs of 464 squadron set out on a low
level mission in difficult weather conditions. Signed by Air Marshall Sir Ivor Broom, KCB,
DSO, DFC. AFC and Squadron Leader T J Tommy Broom DFC. and Keith Woodcock
The Berlin Express by Stuart Brown During the climactic phases of WWII, the powerful De Haviland Mosquito,
allowed aircrews to fly up to three sorties in twenty-four hours. The
German capital was attacked with such regularity the inhabitants
christened the high-speed bomber 'The Berlin Express'. Signed by Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom and Wing Commander Joe Singleton.
Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom began his operational career
flying Bristol Blenheims as a Sgt pilot. He amassed a total of 103 bombing
raids in the Blenheim and the Mosquito, 22 of which were on the heavily
defended German capitol Berlin. By the end of hostilities, Sir Ivor Broom
had risen to the rank of Wing Commander (163 Squadron, 8 Group). He became
Air Marshal after the war and received his knighthood in 1975.
Wing Commander Joe Singleton flew the Mosquito in both
the offensive and defensive role. During the latter, his more notable
engagements included downing three Ju88's in a matter of minutes. The
three aircraft were pathfinders for a much larger force heading for the
city of Hull. The interception of these three aircraft effectively put an
end to the success of the enemy raid.
Mosquito by Frank Wootton Also signed by five famous airmen including Group Captain John
Cunningham DSO and Air Vice Marshal Sir Ivor Bloo KBE, CBE, DSO.
Rangers on the Rampage by Robert Taylor
RAF Edition signatures: Ivor Broom, Tom Broom, Terry Kearns, Charles
Patterson, Ted Sismore, John Cunningham.