orders, decorations, campaign medals and militaria - Spink

491
British War Medal (Capt. P.K. Fowler. R.A.F.),
naming rubbed, very fine
£80-120
M.I.D. London Gazette 19.12.1917 Flight Sub-Lieutenant
(now Flight Lieut.) P.K. Fowler, R.N.A.S.
Captain Phillip Kenning Fowler (1895-1970), born
Fielding, New Zealand; commissioned Probationary Flight
Sub Lieutenant, Royal Naval Air Service, 30.4.1916; gained
RAC Aviators’ Certificate (no. 3285) in a Curtiss Biplane at
R.N.A.S. Eastbourne, 26.7.1916; after training posted as a
Pilot to No. 2 Wing, December 1916; served with 220
Squadron, “A” Flight, Thasos, and the R.N.A.S. Operations
Report gives the following, ‘Thasos Air Station, “A”
Squadron, February 27th [1917]. Raid on Gereviz
Aerodrome - An attack was made at dawn upon Geveriz
Seaplane Base by four Henri Farmans, two Sopwith Bombers,
a Sopwith Fighter, and a Bristol Scout. Owing to
unfavourable weather conditions bomb-dropping was
difficult, and the full results obtained were not discernable,
but two of the 65lb bombs appeared to have hit the south
end of the hangar. There was a spirited fight between a large
hostile seaplane and the Bristol Scout. The enemy machine
was flying over the lake. The Bristol Scout dived down to
within 1,000 feet four times and fired three trays, the
Sopwith Fighter joining in from the rear and above. The
enemy machine then descended to the lake and taxied for
shore, running up on the beach, where both pilot and
observer deserted their machine. The Sopwith then, from
260 feet up, fired three trays from his rear gun and 50 rounds
from his forward gun, rendering the enemy machine useless.
Pilot - Flight Sub-Lieut. J.N. Ingham, Flight Sub-Lieut.
orders, deCoratioNs, CampaigN medaLs aNd miLitaria
Captain P.K. Fowler
WWW.spiNK.Com
N.H. Starbuck, R.N.V.R., as observer in Sopwith Fighter.
Flight Sub-Lieut. P.K. Fowler in Bristol Scout’; he was in
action again, ‘On the morning of the 30th September [1917]
three enemy seaplanes, two of them single-seater fighters of a
type known to the Royal Naval Air Service as ‘Blue Birds’,
and the other a two-seater reconnaissance seaplane, were
reported to be approaching Mudros. Three pilots went up at
once to engage them, but only two came into action. They
were Flight Lieutenant H.T. Mellings in a Sopwith Triplane,
and Flight Lieutenant J.W. Alcock in a Sop with ‘Camel’.
The Triplane pilot shot down one of the ‘Blue Birds’, which
dived into the sea and broke up, and the ‘Camel’ pilot
eventually forced the other to land, and its wounded pilot was
subsequently picked up by the ‘Acheron’. The German twoseater
was pursued to the Dardanelles, where a Sop with
‘Pup’ pilot from Imbros (Flight Lieutenant P.K. Fowler)
joined in the attack. The observer in the German seaplane was
apparently wounded, but, flying low down, the two-seater
came under cover of the guns of the Dardanelles forts and
escaped destruction.’ (The War In The Air, Vol. V refers);
Fowler was Mentioned in Despatches for this action, having
‘displayed remarkable skill and dash during these operations’
(service papers refer); both the other pilots were awarded the
D.S.C.; transferred to “C” Flight and was involved in the
attacks on the Turkish ships Goeben and Breslau, January
1918, ‘another attack was made by Flight Sub Lt. Murray in
Sopwith Bomber escorted by Flight Lt. Wincott and Flight
Lt. Fowler in “Camels”. About 0752, dropped 4 65lb bombs
at the Goeben. She was then taken about 1 mile up the
Straits, and was observed to have a very heavy list to port and
was down at the stern’; served with 273 and 212 Squadrons
at R.A.F. Station Yarmouth, October 1918-Ocotber 1919.