Map, Silk, Escape, C/D, MI9, Sgt. Kenneth Smith, Royal Air Force, MIA, Battle of Britain, 1940
Rare genuine WWII British double-sided escape and evasion map, printed on silk and belonging to some of the earliest series of cloth maps produced by Bartholomew of Edinburgh on behalf of the MI9, intended for being issued to RAF -- and later USAAF -- aicrews flying of enemy-occupied Europe.
The first side (C) covers the south-eastern corner of England, the northern third of France, the Channel Islands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as well as the border regions of Germany; the second side (D) shows the southern two-thirds of France, along with the border areas of Switzerland, Italy and Spain. Scale: 1;2,000,000.
Excellent overall condition; comes in its original handcrafted, light green cotton cloth pouch, which bears the following handwritten mention: K.B.S. 754895 R.A.F.
The above-mentioned name and service number indicate that the present set belonged to Sergeant Kenneth B. Smith, a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force.
Kenneth Barton Smith was born on May 29, 1919 in Bromley, a borough of south-eastern London, Britain, and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on August 14, 1939. After being awarded his 'wings', he went on to serve with No. 257 Squadron from May 22, 1940 onwards. On August 8, while the Battle of Britain was raging, his aircraft, Hawker Hurricane Mk I serial R4094, crashed in the Channel somewhere off St. Catherine's Point, at the southernmost point of the Isle of Wight, probably shot down by some Bf 109 of Jagdgeschwader 27. His body was never found and his name appears on the Runnymede Memorial.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1807510/kenneth-barton-smith/
https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/SmithKB.htm
https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/15263588/kenneth-smith
Illustration documents available in digital format only.
Description
Product Details
You might also like
Rare genuine WWII British double-sided escape and evasion map, printed on silk and belonging to some of the earliest series of cloth maps produced by Bartholomew of Edinburgh on behalf of the MI9, intended for being issued to RAF -- and later USAAF -- aicrews flying of enemy-occupied Europe.
The first side (C) covers the south-eastern corner of England, the northern third of France, the Channel Islands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as well as the border regions of Germany; the second side (D) shows the southern two-thirds of France, along with the border areas of Switzerland, Italy and Spain. Scale: 1;2,000,000.
Excellent overall condition; comes in its original handcrafted, light green cotton cloth pouch, which bears the following handwritten mention: K.B.S. 754895 R.A.F.
The above-mentioned name and service number indicate that the present set belonged to Sergeant Kenneth B. Smith, a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force.
Kenneth Barton Smith was born on May 29, 1919 in Bromley, a borough of south-eastern London, Britain, and joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on August 14, 1939. After being awarded his 'wings', he went on to serve with No. 257 Squadron from May 22, 1940 onwards. On August 8, while the Battle of Britain was raging, his aircraft, Hawker Hurricane Mk I serial R4094, crashed in the Channel somewhere off St. Catherine's Point, at the southernmost point of the Isle of Wight, probably shot down by some Bf 109 of Jagdgeschwader 27. His body was never found and his name appears on the Runnymede Memorial.
https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1807510/kenneth-barton-smith/
https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/SmithKB.htm
https://fr.findagrave.com/memorial/15263588/kenneth-smith
Illustration documents available in digital format only.
