Groups and Single Decorations for Gallantry

A scarce and poignant Second War A.F.C. and Second Award Bar group of five awarded to Wing Commander S. R. Hinks, Royal Air Force, who initially flew Hudsons with Coastal Command, prior to being employed as an Instructor in Canada. Hinks served with 24 Squadron (King’s Flight), and flew a number of VIP’s during the war, including Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, and the Royal Family. After the war Hinks was employed as a civil pilot in Argentina, and flew Eva Peron for the entirety of her tour of Europe in 1947. He was subsequently employed by El-Al Airlines operating out of Israel - and flying a Lockheed 049 Constellation from London to Tel Aviv, via Vienna and Istanbul, strayed into Bulgarian airspace at the height of the Cold War. The passenger aircraft, with a crew of 7 and a passenger list of 51 (including Hinks’ fiancée), was intercepted and shot down by two Bulgarian MiG fighters, 27 July 1955. All of the crew and passengers lost their lives, in what became a major international incident Air Force Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated ‘1943’, with Second Award Bar, reverse officially dated ‘1945’; 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45, with M.I.D. oak leaf, mounted as originally worn together with an Eva Peron Medal, gold (18ct) and enamel medal, naming embossed in raised letters ‘A L Cap. Stanley R. Hinks’, generally very fine or better, last rare (6) £2,400-£2,800 --- Provenance: Christie’s, November 1982. A.F.C. London Gazette 16 April 1943. The original recommendation states: ‘This officer, an excellent Flying Instructor, has set a very good example to both staff pilots and pupils and has maintained a high standard of flying in his flight. The success of this unit depends to a large extent on successful Hudson conversion training. Flight Lieutenant Hinks, by his outstanding zeal and energy in the performance of his duties, has, to a large degree, been responsible for the high standard of training obtained. In a period of nineteen months this officer has completed 860 flying instructional hours on Hudson conversion training.’ A.F.C. Second Award Bar London Gazette 3 April 1945. The original recommendation states: ‘Since joining this Squadron [24 Squadron] as a Flight Commander in July 1944 this officer has completed 191 hrs. flying which includes thirteen overseas flights. He is a most reliable and dependable Flight Commander. In the performance of his duties he has not only proved himself to be most efficient, but also a very capable leader. His interest in, and knowledge of administration has been invaluable to the Squadron. Total flying time in R.A.F.: 2,882,00 hrs. Total last 6 months: 191.15 hrs.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 11 August 1940. Stanley Reginald Hinks was born in North Devon in February 1920, and educated at King Edward VII School, King’s Lynn. He was commissioned in to the Royal Air Force in 1938, and served in Hudsons with Coastal Command, 1939-1941 (M.I.D.). Hinks was posted as an instructor to the first flying training school in Canada, and was based at No. 31 O.T.U., Nova Scotia until 1943. He was subsequently posted to 24 Squadron (King’s Flight), and flew VIP’s in Dakotas: ‘With the King and Princess Elizabeth standing chatting beside him, Squadron Leader Reginald Hinks, of 18, Temple Drive, Nuthall, yesterday [17 July 1945] piloted the Royal plane - a silver Dakota - escorted by two squadrons of Mustangs, to Long Kesh, R.A.F. Station near Belfast, where the King and Queen began their tour of Northern Ireland. Pilot for many V.I.P.s during the war, including Mr Churchill, Mr Attlee, and Field Marshal Sir Alan BrookE - Squadron Leader Hinks took off from Northolt yesterday afternoon at 4.30 with the King and Queen and Princess Elizabeth aboard. The journey took two hours and one minute. It was the second occasion within a month that he has piloted the King and Queen - he flew them home from the Channel Islands in June. “We had a lovely flight,” the Queen told the Duke of Abercorn, Governor of Northern Ireland, who greeted the Royal trio on the airfield. Squadron Leader Hinks actually made history, for it was the first time that a sovereign has travelled to Northern Ireland by air. He was also piloting Princess Elizabeth on her first flight.’ (Newspaper cutting included with lot refers). After the war Hinks was employed as a civil pilot for F.A.M.A., the Argentine airline. As a civil pilot, Hinks flew Eva Peron round Europe on her tour in 1947, and when they reached Buenos Aires on returning, she gave him a present of £150, and presented him to President Peron. Hinks was next employed as a pilot by El-Al Airlines. On 27 July 1955 an El Al Airlines Lockheed 049 Constellation (4X-AKC, flight 426, flying from London to Tel Aviv, via Vienna and Istanbul, strayed into Bulgarian airspace, likely due to strong winds in very bad weather. The crew of the aircraft was Hinks as pilot, First Officer Pini Ben-Porat, Flight Engineer Sidney Chalmers and Radio Operator Raphael Goldman. The aircraft was intercepted in the early morning darkness at 17,500 feet by Bulgarian MiG-15 Fagot fighters, and was shot down near Petrich, Bulgaria. The aircraft crashed near the Strumitza River, close to the Yugoslav and Greek borders in south-western Bulgaria. All fifty-one passengers and seven crew were killed. It caused an international incident at the height of the Cold War, and whilst lost in diplomacy lead to a number of conspiracy theories even to this day. The victims’ remains were transported back to Israel, and buried in a communal grave. A memorial to them was built at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery, Tel Aviv. Sold with the following original documents: M.I.D. Certificate, dated 11 August 1940; photograph of recipient in uniform with Winston Churchill; a newspaper cutting and copied research. Note: Although it is not known exactly how many ‘Peron Medals’ were issued, the fact that the recipient’s name is embossed in raised letters, rather than engraved, would have necessitated a separate die for each medal, and consequently it can be assumed that the medal was sparingly presented.