December 7th Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 112:
Description
This exceptionally rare and important Battle of Britain grouping is dedicated to Flight Lieutenant William Bryan Henn, AFC, a distinguished fighter ace of No. 501 Squadron RAF and one of “The Few, ” who was wounded during the battle. Offering an unprecedented window into his combat operations and service life, the collection includes original service documents and personal effects, highlighted by two original Royal Air Force Pilot’s Flying Log Books that record his training and combat flights. Entries from August and September 1940 are especially significant, documenting his intense participation in the Battle of Britain and clearly noting multiple confirmed and probable claims against enemy aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Bf 110. Particularly poignant is his entry for 2 September 1940, describing being shot down in flames, bailing out at 22,000 feet, and sustaining burns to his face, hands, and legs—an event further detailed in a chilling personal combat narrative included in the lot. The grouping also features a mounted medal group assembled to represent his entitlement, while the authentic Air Force Cross and Air Crew Europe Star are present; the Battle of Britain clasp is a vintage copy. Additional period items include his embroidered RAF Pilot Wing, RAF badge, a Battle of Britain brass plaque, and a black leather case marked “A.F.C.” Together, the original logbooks and Henn’s written narrative form an exceedingly rare and highly desirable service record from one of the defining campaigns of the Second World War. Born in Dublin on 22 October 1917, Henn came from a family with a notable record of public and military service: his father, William Francis Henn (later awarded CBE, MVO, and CStJ), served with the Royal Munster Fusiliers in the First World War, seeing action at Gallipoli and in Palestine where he was wounded and mentioned in despatches, later holding senior posts including Chief Constable of Gloucestershire until 1959; his brother Frank also served with distinction, fighting in France and the Low Countries with the British Expeditionary Force and again after D-Day, and later commanding the British contingent of the United Nations in Cyprus during the Turkish invasion. William Bryan Henn began his aviation career on 4 July 1938 when he entered the Royal Navy’s Air Branch as a Midshipman and trained aboard HMS Hermes; he earned his Air Certificate at No. 10 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School at Yatesbury in November 1938 and subsequently joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in October 1939 as a pilot under training. After receiving his RAF wings, he served with No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit before moving to No. 5 Operational Training Unit at Aston Down on 3 August 1940, where he converted to Hurricanes and was posted to No. 501 Squadron at Gravesend on 19 August, entering combat almost immediately and claiming a Heinkel He 111 destroyed on 30 August 1940. Injured on 2 September 1940 under circumstances that remain debated in the records, he was removed from operational flying and did not return to squadron duties until December 1940. Later assigned to Canada, he served as a flying instructor in Alberta, was commissioned in September 1942, and returned to Britain the following year to continue instructing with RAF Transport Command; for his service he was awarded the Air Force Cross in the New Year Honours published on 1 January 1945. Henn left the RAF in 1947 with the rank of Flight Lieutenant, later flying commercially as a captain with British European Airways until retiring in 1968, after which he served with the UK Civil Aviation Authority as a Flight Operations Inspector.
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