Wing Commander Harry Lumsden Tancred AFC
Five: Air Force Cross, 1939/45 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal and New Zealand Service Medal. Air Force Cross dated 1940. Service medals unnamed as issued.
Born in Nanango Queensland in 1908, Wng Cdr Tancred’s family soon moved to New Zealand where he was raised. When the Mau uprising occurred in Samoa (1930), Tancred enlisted as number 45 in the Samoa Military Police. It was not long before the Mau uprising had ended in a truce and Tancred departed for the UK to join the Air Force. After passing his pilots course he was posted to Egypt and Iraq. Then in 1935 he returned to New Zealand to fly for Union Airways as well as flying with the RNZAF in the lead up to the war.
When the war broke out, Wng Cdr Tancred was appointed OC of the Air Gunners & Air Observers School at Ohakea and It was in this early stage that Tancred won his Air Force Cross, distinguishing himself as an early leader in the RNZAF.
Wng Cdr Tancred went on to become the commanding Officer at Woodbourne base and also to command bases in Guadalcanal and Bougainville. It would be hard to believe that any New Zealand pilots could go through service in WW2 without coming under Wng Cdr Tancreds command at some stage and in 1979 the New Zealand Postal Service honoured him on a limited edition first Day cover.
Also included with the medals are the following;
1. A Walker & Hall Sheffield, silver plated presentation tray with inscription: ‘502 (Ulster)(Bomber) Squadron presented to Flying Officer Tancred by the Commanding Officer and Officers 502 (Ulster)(Bomber) Squadron on the occasion of his marriage February 1935’, with engraved signatures.
2. Both Commission certificates for the RAF (1932) and RNZAF 1936. Note; The NZ commission paper is in the authority of Edward VIII who abdicated
3. Letter from government house inviting Wng Cdr Tancred to accept his AFC from the Governor General dated 1942
4. Two Sterling Silver Cigarette Cases. One is a beautiful early enamel case with ‘RAF’ insignia and engraved inner ‘To Louise from Tank 25-12-34’
5. A Silver Gelatin Print of Harry Lumsden Tancred with inscription: ‘Here’s looking at you love from Tank 10-11-40’
6. Various Ephemera, Documents, Badges, Pins pertaining to Harry Lumsden Tancred: Samoa Military Police discharge certificate 1930, various Pilots and drivers licenses, sweetheart pin, “Novices Bayonet Competition Iraq 1932” 1st prize Fob, miniature medals, cloth badges and silver gelatine print of a NZ Military parade.in Woodbourne of where Wng Cdr Tancred is leading the march.
Provenance : These medals are ex the estate of George Tancred the author of "The Historical Record of Medals and Honorary Distinctions" 1891
SOLD