A very good Second World War Mediterranean Operations 1943 Coastal Command Beaufighter Pilot's 'immediate' Distinguished Flying Cross group awarded to Wing Commander H. Woolstencroft, D.F.C., Royal Air Force, who flew operaitonally with No.144 Squadron, and led a formation of eight Beaufighters against an Italian Shipping Convoy on 23 July 1943, the attack being so skilfully executed and pressed home with such determination that one merchant vessel was blown up, Woolstencroft's aircraft was creditted with hitting the lead merchant vessel amidships with a torpedo, and another was left burning whilst a destroyer and an escort vessel were also set on fire. In addition a flying boat bing shot down in the middle of the engagement. Continuing to serve in the Royal Air Force after the Second World War, he would later see service in the operations in Radfan and Aden.
Group of 7: Distinguished Flying Cross, GVI 1st type cypher, the reverse engraved ‘1943’; 1939-1945 Star; Atlantic Star; Italy Star; Defence Medal; War Medal; Campaign Service Medal 1962, 2 Clasps: Radfan, South Arabia; (WG.CDR. H. WOOLSTENCROFT. R.A.F.) Mounted loose for wear.
Condition: Mounted loose for wear, Good Very Fine
Together with the following orginal docunentation and ephemera:
Royal Air Force Pilot's Flying Log Book, inscribed to Woolstencroft, and covering the period 13 June 1939 until 22 July 1949.
Book – ‘ The Armed Rovers – Beauforts and Beaufighters over the Mediterranean by Roy Conyers Nesbit’
Pilot Officer commission document dated 1st May 1942.
Flight Lieutenant commission document dated 21st October 1948.
Copy of Record of Service.
Newspaper article confirming the award of the D.F.C.
Telegram dated 13th September 1943 congratulating Woolstencroft on the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Aircraft clearance form dated 12th June 1943
Royal Air Force – Aircraft Crew and Passenger List dated 6th June 1943
Royal Air Force Swimming Proficiency Certificate dated 21st August 1951
Copy of the D.F.C. citation
Photograph of Woolstencroft in uniform as part of a group shot.
Henry Woolstencroft was born in Burnley, Lancashire in December 1917 and was educated at Burnley Grammar School. He enlisted in the Royal Air Force as an Aircraftman 2nd Class in August 1936 and advanced to Leading Aircraftman (remustered Armourer) in June 1937. He advanced to Corporal the following year, and remustered as Pilot under training. After carrying out initial training at No. 6 Flight Training Squadron Little Rissington, Woolstencroft qualified for his ‘Wings’ in November 1939. Having advanced to Sergeant, he was posted to No.16 Operational Training Unit in May 1940 and served as a Temporary Flight Sergeant at No. 3 School of General Reconnaissance at Squires Gate from January 1941. Woolstencroft was commissioned as a Pilot Officer (on probation) in May 1942 and posted to No. 1 T.T.U. at Abbotsinch in July of that year. He would then be posted to 144 Squadron at Leuchars in September 1942, this squadron operating Hampdens and Beaufighters. The Squadron would be assigned to Coastal Command for torpedo-bombing training, and Woolstencroft would fly on anti-submarine and shipping strikes with the Squadron in and around Norway from December 1942. The Squadron converted to Beaufighters in January 1943 and continued with the same operations in and around Iceland. Woolstencroft’s Beaufighter was attacked and chased by a ME.109 whilst on a Rover patrol on 27th April 1943 and once again on 1st May 1943, his Log Book noting that he had been shot up by 109s on a missioned to Stavanger.
144 Squadron would then fully convert to Beaufighters and would tavel to North Africa in June 1943. Woolstencroft moving with the Squadron to Protville II, north of Tunis and engaged in attacks on enemy shipping in the Mediterranean as part of the Northwest Africa Coastal Air Force. The Squadron usually sent out an open formation of eight aircraft in line abreast, with four carrying torpedoes and two more at each end providing anti-flak and fighter protection. The formation extended for about a mile over the sea, and they often had to fly up to 1,250 miles on Armed Rover operations.
Woolstencroft would attack a Schooner on 23rd June 1943 and flew in several other strikes before leading a formation of eight Beaufighters on 23rd July 1943 on an Anti-Shipping Strike to the south of Rome where the Woolstencroft himself sank 1 sip, with another damaged, 1 Destroyer damaged and an Escort Vessel Set on Fire, in addition one aircraft was shot down.
For his part in this raid, Woolstencroft would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in the London Gazette of 24th September 1943, the original recommendation stating: ‘On 24th (sic) July, Flying Officer Woolstencroft was leader of a strike of eight Beaufighters of 144 Squadron. A convoy of two merchant vessels with a large escort was sighted. On instructions from Flying Officer Woolstencroft the formation immediately attacked.
The attack was so skilfully executed and pressed home with such determination that one merchant vessel was sunk and one left sinking. One destroyer was on fire as was one escort vessel, whilst in the middle of the engagement a flying boat was shot down. The other escort vessel blew up.
Flying Officer Woolstencroft has been in the Squadron twelve months and has proved himself to be a skilful and determined torpedo pilot leader.’
The Book ‘The Armed Rovers – Beauforts and Beaufighters Over the Mediterranean’ by Roy Conyers Nesbit refers:
‘Eight Beaufighters went out at 1025 hours on an ‘Armed Rover’ patrol along the east coasts of Sardinia and Corsica. They were led by Squadron Leader Gracey, four armed with torpedoes and four in the anti-flak role. While off Sardinia, less than two hours later, they encountered two M.E. 323s, six-engined transports which could carry about 130 soldiers or their equivalent cargo. Both were from the 3rd Staffel of the 1st Transportgeschwader 5, based in Sardinia. Two Beaufighters, flown by Sergeant J.M. Murray and Flying Officer J.P. Fletcher, attacked immediately and sent one of the giant transports down into the sea, in flames. It was flown by Oberfeldwebel Heinrich Boge, who lost his life, together with four of his crew. The other M.E. 323 turned towards the coast, chased by two other Beaufighters, flown by Flight Sergeant Don E. Hamar and Flying Officer J.W. King, and was shot down over land. The pilot, Oberfeldwebel Herbert Karallus, was also killed, along with two of his crew. But the Beaufighter flown by John King was shot down by a single-engined fighter. The pilot spent the rest of the war as a POW but his navigator, Flight Sergeant Robert E. Tinham, lost his life. Meanwhile, the torpedo-carrying aircraft continued and found a convoy about ten minutes later, consisting of two merchant vessels and a small escort. They attacked, one merchant ship blew up.’
Three days after these events the Squadron would return to the UK, and would resume operations from Wick by the end of October 1943, Woolstencroft served at R.A.F. Wick until January 1944, and then had a succession of postings to various O.T.U’s for the remainder of the war. Having advanced to Flight Lieutenant, he transferred to the Technical Branch in July 1947, Woolstencroft was posted to the Royal Naval Torpedo Factory at Greenock, and advanced to Squadron Leader in January 1953 then seeing service in Radfan and South Arabia. He retired as Wing Commander in 1972.
