RAF pilot Leslie Valentine’s medals, logbooks, notes and photographs will be auctioned online on 1 October after his son offered the collection. On D-Day in 1944, Valentine flew a Boston bomber 50ft over Normandy’s beaches, laying smoke to cover invading forces.
Valentine was 24 on 6 June 1944. Two aircraft on the mission were lost; despite being shot at, he returned to RAF Hartbridge unharmed. His son Dudley, of Huby near York, hopes the items will go to someone who will treasure and preserve them.
The auction also includes Valentine’s printed copy of Michael Turner’s painting Friendly Smoke, which depicts the mission. His son bought the print without realizing it showed his father’s aircraft; Turner later visited and signed it. David Duggleby Auctioneers and Valuers will run the online sale, and the collection can be viewed at its Scarborough auction house next week and on the morning of the auction.
