The fine Birthday Honours 1950 Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Great War Western Front Military Cross and Mention in Despatches, and Second World War Egypt 1941 RAF Chief Engineer’s group awarded to Air Commodore FL. Fay, C.B.E., M.C., Royal Air Force Reserve of Officers, formerly Royal Engineers, and Director of Works for the Air Ministry. Hay from Havant, Hampshire, was a pre-war architect, who was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in April 1915, and then saw service out on the Western Front from December 1915. As an officer with the 1st Pontoon Park, he was awarded the Military Cross and a Mention in Despatches for his gallant and distinguished services during the war. He then went to work for the Air Ministry as a Civil Engineer from July 1926, but was then briefly returned to uniform during the Second World War and employed as a Chief Engineer with R.A.F. Middle East Command out in Egypt during 1941, for which he came to the notice of Air Chief Marhsal Sir Arthur Longmore, who would write of Fay’s work between January and May 1941 in glowing terms, saying he ‘continued most successfully to press on with the construction of the new aerodromes and landing grounds’. Fay returned to his work with the Air Ministry from October 1942 onwards, and for his services as the Director of Works for the Air Ministry, he was appointed a Commander of the Civil Division of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in June 1950.
Group of 10: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Commander, C.B.E., 2nd type, Civil Division; Military Cross, GVR GRI cypher, unnamed as issued; 1914-1915 Star; (2.LIEUT: F.L. FAY. R.E.); British War Medal and Victory Medal with half-size Mention in Despatches Oakleaf; (CAPT. F.L. FAY.); 1939-1945 Star; Africa Star; Defence Medal; War Medal; Coronation Medal 1937. Sometime display mounted in a frame.
Condition: Good Very Fine.
Together with the recipient’s matching miniature medals representative of his breast worn awards, these also, similar to the full size awards, having been removed from a mount, re-ribboned an then display mounted with spacing between each award.
Photograph of the recipient in the uniform of an Air Commodore with the Royal Air Force. This rather creased.
Cap badges of the Royal Engineers and the Royal Air Force, these having been originally added for display purposes to the frame from which these have all been removed.
Also the backing board to the frame in which these were once housed, which has affixed to it some reduced sized photostats of his original documents, the origins of which are which are now known, however one is his Warrant for his appointment to the Order of the British Empire.
Franklin Leonard Fay was born on 18th February 1888 in Havant, Hampshire, the son of William Fay and Emma Goddard, and as of 1911 as still residing in Havant and working as an architect. Owing to the Great War, Hay was then commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the Regular Forces on 2nd April 1915, for service with the infantry, however he was then transferred to the Royal Engineers. As such he saw service out on the Western Front from 26th December 1915. Fay was promoted to temporary Lieutenant on 15th March 1916, and was then appointed to Acting Captain on 12th September 1918, and promoted to temporary Captain on 1st October 1918. Fay was awarded a Mention in Despatches for gallant and distinguished services, the award being published in the London Gazette for 23rd December 1919.
For his gallant and distinguished services during the war, he was awarded the Military Cross, the award being announced in the King’s Birthday Honours List as published in the London Gazette for 3rd June 1919. At the time that his award was earned he was shown as serving with the 1st Pontoon Park. Fay claim his campaign medals in July 1920 and June 1921 respectively, his address being given as Portsmouth.
Fay was latterly appointed to the Staff for Royal Engineers Services, as a temporary Inspector of Works, but then resigned his commission and was granted the rank of Captain on 10th November 1923. As of 1937 he was a Superintending Civil Engineer with the Air Ministry when he is confirmed as having been awarded the Coronation Medal 1937.
Fay then entered the Civil Service as a Civil Engineer with the Air Ministry from 13th July 1926, and was still employed as such, when owing to the outbreak of the Second World War he temporarily returned to uniform when he was appointed to the rank of Air Commodore with the General Duties Branch and the Royal Air Force Reserve of Officers on 14th June 1940, being then appointed to the Staff and sent out to join Middle East Command. On completion of his duty his commission as an Air Commodore was relinquished on 14th October 1942.
During this period he had service out in Egypt as the Chief Engineer, and his name was entered in the despatch of Air Chief Marhsal Sir Arthur Longmore, G.C.B., D.S.O., covering services in relation to air operations in the Middle East between 1st January 1941 and 3rd May 1941, as published belated in the London Gazette for 19th September 1945. Longmore would write of Fay’s work that he ‘continued most successfully to press on with the construction of the new aerodromes and landing grounds’.
Fay returned to his pre-war work and became the Director of Works for the Air Ministry, being appointed a Commander of the Civil Division of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, the award being announced in the King’s Birthday Honours List as published in the London Gazette for 8th June 1950.
As of 1949 he had been living in Twickenham, Middlesex, but he subsequently died on 14th September 1974, when at Worthing in East Sussex. He had been married to Olive Mary Cripps.
