One Of "The Few"
Flight Lieutenant Arthur Frank Vokes
CO Squadron 19
Killed in his Spitfire - September 5th, 1941
see larger scan of above here
A "RARE" collection of Battle of Britain Memorabilia.
We have the pilot's original flying logbook, medals, photos, letters,
commission and many other documents of Flight Lieutenant Arthur Frank
Vokes.
Vokes, from Erdington, Birmingham, worked in a local bank and joined
the RAF
Volunteer Reserve before the war. Having learned to fly at Sywell,
he was called to full
time service in September 1939. His service flying training was completed
as an army
co-operation pilot, but as losses mounted during the Battle of France,
Vokes was
converted to Spitfires. In June 1940 he joined 19 Squadron at Duxford,
the RAF's first to
be equipped with the legendary Spitfire. Vokes would fly throughout
the Battle of Britain
in 'A' Flight, until September 5th, 1940, led by Flight Lieutenant
Brian Lane DFC, who has
signed the logbook several times. On that date the CO, Squadron Leader
Phillip Pinkham
AFC was KIA, and was succeeded by Lane. Flight Lieutenant Walter Lawson
then took
over the flight until he later succeded Lane as CO. During the Battle
of Britain 19
Squadron flew from Fowlmere as a part of Squadron Leader Douglas Bader's
controversial Duxford 'Big Wing', and Vokes flew many sorties. He flew,
for example, on
Battle of Britain Day, September 15th, when his logbook records 'Hundreds
of Jerries', and
on which day he damaged a German Bomber. In November, 'A' Flight shared
in the
destruction of an Me 110, and this collection includes a letter from
Vokes
to his parents, still in the original envelope, describing the incident.
Vokes later became
commander of 'A' Flight, in 1941, and flew on the offensive operations
of that year.
During a raid on Rotterdam in August 1941, Squadron Leader Lawson DFC
was killed,
and the 'B' Flight commander, Flt Lt Wallace Cunningham DFC, was shot
down and
captured. The following day, Vokes led 19 Squadron on an ASR search
of the North Sea,
but the Spitfires were bounced by a formation of Me 110s. Several were
shot down,
making this a disastrous time for 19 Squadron. Vokes then became Acting
CO, but a few
days later on September 5, 1941 he was killed in a flying accident
when his Spitfire flew into high ground,
in low visibility. He was buried at Bircham Newton, Norfolk, where
his grave can be seen today.
It was Vokes's story that inspired Author and Historian Dilip Sarkar,
to write 'Spitfire Squadron'
(Air Research Publications, 1990), 'The
Invisible Thread: A Spitfire's Tale' (Ramrod
Publications, 1992) and the 'Battle
of Britain - Last look Back' (Ramrod Publications, 2002)
The logbook is superb, and is signed by such Battle of Britain
notables as Brian Lane DFC, Walter Lawson DFC and Squadron Leader (later
AVM)
Harry Hogan DFC (CO of 501 Squadron). The collection includes a letter
to Vokes's
parents from Wallace Cunningham DFC, written from POW camp, telegrams
concerning
Vokes's death and burial, his will, death certificate, certain letters,
his commission, medals
(1939-45 Star with Battle of Britain Bar, Aircrew Europe Star &
War Medal). These were
framed by Vokes's mother during the war together with her son's Wings.
Also included are
many photographs, including hand colored photos, portraits of Vokes
and a copy of
Brian Lane's wartime classic 'Spitfire:
The Experiences of a Fighter Pilot'. This book is signed by a number
of 19 Squadron Battle of Britain pilots,
including the late New Zealand Pilot Wing Commander Frank
Brinsden. Arthur Vokes is mentioned many times in the book.
Vokes mother in 1942 added some notes
regarding the book and a poem "The Spitfire".
Another handwritten note from Mrs
Vokes regarding the Identities of pilots
and other
19 squadron personnel in the book Spitfire.
It is also worth noting that the logbook really is a superb example,
packed with
detail, photographs and humorous cartoons.
The Vokes logbook and other items from this collection were displayed
by the
Imperial War Museum at Duxford Airfield in 1998, in a 19 Squadron exhibition
commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Spitfire being delivered
to squadron service at
that station. In 2000 the logbook, medals and other items were once
again loaned to the
Imperial War Museum for inclusion in the 60th anniversary of the Battle
of Britain
exhibition at Lambeth, 'Spitfire Summer'.
An extremely rare and historic grouping
Click below to view large scans of Logbook Pages of interest
Logbook
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Killed in Action Stamp in Logbook signed
by OC
There are many more pages similar to above
Official 1946 document releasing logbook
to family
