WW2 Distinguished Flying Cross dated 1944 with second bar dated 1945, 1939/45, Air Crew Europe clasp France & Germany, Africa clasp North Africa 1942-43 Stars all unnamed as issued, War Medal unnamed as issued & Royal Air Force Long Service & Good Conduct Medal named M NAV P HALL (999013) RAF.
Medal group comes with three Flying Log Books from 21st Mar 1941 to 7th May 1951, 19th Mar 1951 to 28th Feb 1956 & 1st Mar 1956 to 16th Aug 1970. WW2 medal slip, Buckingham Palace congratulations DFC slip, blue RAF Air Traffic Control book , blue RAF certificate of service book, medal box perforated slip with medal entitlement, permission to wear medals slip 105 squadron, Warrant Officer certificate named to him, Path Finder Force certificate for Badge named to him dated 1945 & forty two photos mainly military, planes, crashes, bombs etc.
DFC LG 8th Dec 1944: Flying Officer Percy Hall, 105 Squadron No.8 Path Finder Force Group - F/O Hall commenced to operate with Path Finder Force in July 1944 and has carried out many marking and bombing sorties. He had previously completed a tour on Wellington aircraft in the Middle East. F/O Hall has consistently shown himself to be not only a skilled navigator in whom every reliance can be placed, but also possessed to a high degree of courage and determination, with great devotion to duty however adverse the conditions.
Bar to DFC LG 26th Oct 1945: During the last eight months Flight Lt Hall has completed a further 48 sorties on Mosquito aircraft. He has helped to mark most of the German industrial targets which were attacked prior to the final invasion of Germany and has also participated in many tactical attacks on German forces. In all he made 39 sorties as a marker. His standard of navigation is high, and his determination has enabled him to succeed in his allotted task, often while operation under most difficult circumstances.
Percy Hall was born on 1st Sept 1917 and was a Progress Clerk when he enlisted into the RAFVR after the outbreak of WW2. He went to Flying Training being posted to No1 Air Armaments School at Manby in Lincolnshire in Mar 1941, then to No21 Operational Training Unit at Moreton-in-March in Aug 1941. Then to No458 RAAF Squadron at Holme on Spalding Moor, East Yorkshire in Oct 1941, the squadron flying Wellington Bombers and serving with No1 Group. Percy was selected for the crew of Pilot Officer Clark in A Flight and his first sortie was Emden on 15th Nov 1941.
At the end of Dec 1941, No458 was withdrawn from Bomber Command duties to prepare for transfer to Middle East and its aircrews subsequently ferried 36 Wellington Bombers to Egypt. Hall as part of Clarks crew took Wellington AB651 to Malta on 15th Feb 1942 and then flew another one to Egypt. He was based at Mersa Matruh, Egypt and flew in a US Army Dakota to Lagos, West Africa arriving 8th Mar 1942. He came back to the UK in April 1942 and went to No1446 Ferry Flight at Moreton-in-Marsh in May 1942. On 26th July 1942 he flew with Clark delivering a Wellington to Cairo. Next he was posted to No148 Squadron operation Wellington Bombers in the Middle East and so began intense period of operations attacking Tobruk in Sept 1942, even crashing on landing in Cairo.
Percy was then transferred to 104 Squadron in Dec 1942, a Wellington Bomber unit in Malta, joining the crew of Flying Officer Beattie. He was posted to No20 Operational Training Unit at Lossimouth in May 1944 and then to No1655 Mosquito Training at Warboys, Huntingdonshire in June 1944. He became part of E Flight under Flying Officer Muller, before both being posted to No105 Squadron at Bourn, Cambridgeshire, a Path Finder Force in No8 in upgraded Mosquitos. It performed the precision target marking for Bomber Command until the end of the war.
On 21st July 1944 with Muller he flew in a sortie at Coutrai, Nov 1944 bombing raids at night, attacked Homberg in daylight, Freiberg at night and daylight attack on Hamborn all in Nov 1944. He was now flying as Leading Navigator for the Support Force. Dec 1944 St Vita and his final wartime sortie on 7 May 1945 Rotherdam when they surrendered - 113 sorties in wartime. He left the service in Feb 1946 but reapplied on 26th Feb 1951. He finally left service on 1 Sept 1972.
