By Patrick LowmanA COLLECTION of artefacts that belonged to a war hero and cameraman who flew with legendary Dambusters leader Guy Gibson will be auctioned today.
By Patrick Lowman
A COLLECTION of artefacts that belonged to a war hero and cameraman who flew with legendary Dambusters leader Guy Gibson will be auctioned today.
The collection belonged to Flight Lieutenant Albert Cartwright, who lived in Boxford, and gives a fascinating insight into the life of a wartime pilot and his daring missions.
It also contains documentary evidence of some of the biggest news events in the 1960s, including the Great Train Robbery and the death of Donald Campbell as he attempted to break the world water speed record.
Mr Cartwright died in December last year, but he left behind a legacy of his wartime exploits and work as a BBC cameraman.
During the war he joined the 106 Bomber Squadron as an air gunner, where his commanding officer was Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who later received the Victoria Cross for leading the daring Dambuster raids.
Mr Cartwright took part in the famous bomber raids on Cologne and Peenemude and flew with Wg Cdr Gibson as pilot in raids on Turin and Milan.
He received several honours for his wartime exploits, including the Distinguished Flying Medal in 1942 and the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1944. After the war, Mr Cartwright joined the BBC as a news cameraman.
The collection on sale includes four of his wartime medals, two flying log books, photo albums, instruction manuals and newspaper cuttings relating to his time in the 106 Bomber Squadron and of Wg Cdr Gibson.
There are also pictures and newspaper cuttings of Mr Cartwright's coverage of Donald Campbell's death and other documents relating to his time as a television cameraman.
The collection goes under the hammer today at Olivers auctioneers in Sudbury and James Fletcher, auctioneer, said: “This collection includes fascinating documents that highlight the wartime efforts.
“I am sure there will be a lot of interest in this collection. Ideally, I would like to see it go to someone connected to the 106 Bomber Squadron, which would be its rightful home.”
patrick.lowman@eadt.co.uk
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