23rd Nov, 2023 10:00
Aviation & Military History, Medals & Militaria
Battle of Britain. Wing Commander W.M. Sizer, DFC & Bar
Estimated at £20,000 - £30,000'During a period of five days in France, this officer destroyed one enemy aircraft and shared in the destruction of four others. Since the return of the squadron to this country, Flying Officer Sizer has taken part in a large number of patrols and has personally destroyed at least a further six enemy aircraft. During one patrol he was attacked and shot down by five Messerschmitt’s. Landing two miles outside La Panne, he swam across a canal and was taken to a casualty station suffering from facial wounds, and thence to England. After only two days sick leave he again participated in patrols with his squadron.'
DFC London Gazette: 11 August 1940
The Battle of France and then Battle of Britain DFC and Invasion of Sicily Second Award Bar group to Spitfire and Hurricane pilot Wing Commander Wilfred Max “Wilf” Sizer, the three-times shot-down Battle of Britain Ace who served in four campaigns during WWII and is credited for the destruction of 7 enemy aircraft and 5 shared
This remarkable group, together with its logbooks and related items, is being sold on behalf of the recipient’s family and offers a rare opportunity to acquire one of the last Battle of Britain Ace’s groups to have remained in private hands
a) Distinguished Flying Cross, G.VI.R., reverse officially dated '1940', Second Award Bar officially dated '1943'
b) 1939-1945 Star with Battle of Britain clasp (copy clasp)
c) Atlantic Star with Air Crew Europe clasp (copy clasp)
d) Africa Star with North Africa 1942-43 clasp
e) Defence and War Medals, mounted for wearing, good very fine or better; together with the recipient’s Caterpillar Club badge, gilt metal with 'ruby' eyes, the reverse engraved 'P/O. W. Sizer. Pres. By. Irving Co.', in original Irving Air Chute of Gt. Britain Ltd box of issue, and his miniature dress awards (the Atlantic Star with incorrect clasp and also including a GSM, clasp Palestine) and his original full size ribbon. Also included with the lot are a series of logbooks, comprising:
Logbook 2 – commencing 26 April 1941 – 30 October 1943
Logbook 3 – commencing 1 November 1943 – 7 January 1944
Logbook 4 – commencing 12 January 1948 – 20 March 1951
Logbook 5 – commencing 7 March 1951 – 12 December 1951
Logbook 6 - commencing 3 March 1952 – 23 October 1955
Logbook 7 – commencing 1 November 1955 – 4 December 1959
(Quantity: 7)
Wilfred Max "Wilf" Sizer (1920-2006) was born in Chelmsford and educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Chelmsford.
Sizer joined the RAF in 1938 and, after completing his training, joined 17 Squadron at Kenley and, early in 1939, moved to 213 Squadron at Wittering.
The squadron was sent to France on 17 May 1940 to support others during the Battle of France. On the 19th, Sizer shared in the destruction of two Hs126s and damaged another, and the following day he shared a Do17. On this patrol Sizer was attacked by five Me109s and was shot down. He landed two miles from La Panne and swam across a canal before being taken to a casualty clearing station with facial wounds after hitting his head on a gun sight. He swiftly returned to his unit two days later and was back in the air immediately.
213 Squadron flew constantly over the French coast during the evacuation of Dunkirk and, on 28 May, he destroyed an Me109 whilst on the 31st he shot down another Me109 and damaged yet another. He himself was shot down south of Dunkirk and made a crash landing in Hurricane P2434.
The following day Sizer attacked an He III which had started bombing the beaches at Dunkirk and sent it away with engines ablaze. Three days later his squadron was involved in a furious dog fight when German fighters were escorting a bombing formation which were preparing to bomb the evacuation convoys. Sizer attacked another Me109 and shot it down but was himself attacked from the rear. He still managed to damage another Me109, but was outnumbered and his Hurricane was hit and set alight. He crash-landed south of Dunkirk and Sizer fortunately remembered to take his parachute from the wreckage. A man on a motorcycle and side-car rescued him, but then he left his parachute in the side-car and had to go back for this precious item. He arrived in Dunkirk still clutching his parachute and started to board a destroyer but, at the last moment was told to disembark and board instead the River Clyde paddle steamer Plynlimmon. As the paddle steamer departed, the destroyer was attacked by a swarm of Stuka dive bombers which blew the ill-fated destroyer apart. When Sizer returned to 213 Squadron he found that he had been posted as “missing” from the morning flight (an emotive account written by his wife Nita in May 1940 is included with the lot).
At the start of the Battle of Britain, Sizer’s squadron was based at Exeter. German squadrons were attacking southern England, and, on 11 August 1940, Sizer destroyed a Ju88 when the squadron intercepted a large raiding force over Weymouth. The following day he shot down an Me110 which was heading towards Portland. On 15 August he shot down two Stuka’s and on 5 October damaged a Ju88. He was awarded the DFC (London Gazette: 8 November 1940).
Sizer was then posted to 58 OTU at Grangemouth as an instructor and after a series of other positions with 56/57 OTU, he joined 152 Squadron equipped with Spitfires in April 1942. It went to North Africa in November 1942 and on 25 November, he damaged an Italian Mc202 and three days later a Ju88.
Sizer was given command of 93 Squadron at Souk-el-Khemis in Tunisia from February 1943 and flew low-level sorties until the defeat of the Axis forces in Tunis, after which he was transferred to Malta to prepare for the invasion of Sicily.
On 10 July 1943, he was leading his squadron over the beaches of Southern Sicily when he damaged a Ju88; he then damaged an Me109 on the 12th and destroyed another Mc202, probably another and damaged four more Mc202s on the same day, resulting in his award to the Bar to his DFC (London Gazette: 28 September 1943).
He then remained in the Middle East as a fighter instructor and subsequently commanded a photo reconnaissance squadron in the Canal Zone.
Sizer left the RAF in 1946, but rejoined two years later when he resumed his role as fighter instructor. In 1953, he commanded 54 Squadron flying Meteor F.8 jet fighters and later the supersonic Hunter F.1.
After spending two years in Hong Kong before returning to the Air Ministry in 1961, he retired from the service two years later with the rank of Wing Commander.
Once asked if he had enjoyed his wartime experiences, Sizer replied;
Absolutely, looking back we certainly enjoyed it, in fact we enjoyed it then, because we were young you know, I mean we were only 19, 20 years old, crikey you look at them now days and they’re all doing silly things aren’t they. All the lads round here are knocking things down, driving fast cars or making a nuisance of themselves which is exactly what we were doing. Yes it was good fun, there were terrible moments and sometimes very upsetting.
Wilf Sizer, April 2005.
You can make a purchase at Dominic Winter Auctioneers by using any of the following methods:
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Commission bid: Also called an 'Absentee bid'. A member of our staff will bid on your behalf and attempt to purchase the lot as cheaply as is permitted by other bids or reserves. Commission bids can be posted, faxed or emailed to us (please remember to provide your full name and address), or you can enter a bid on our website after completing the registration process.
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Auction: Aviation & Military History, Medals & Militaria, 23rd Nov, 2023
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Dominic Winter (Auctioneers) Ltd
Conditions Of Sale And Business
Terms and Conditions of Sale
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(ii) Proceed for damages for breach of contract.
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(c) If such arrangements are not made within seven days of the notification the Auctioneer is empowered to sell the lot without reserve by auction or by private treaty and to receive from the seller the normal selling commission and special expenses.
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8. (a) Notwithstanding any other terms of these conditions, if within fourteen days of the sale the Auctioneer has received from the buyer of any lot notice in writing that in his/her view the lot is a deliberate forgery and within fourteen days after such notification the buyer returns the same to the Auctioneer in the same condition as at the time of the sale and satisfies the Auctioneer that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the lot is a deliberate forgery then the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded. "A deliberate forgery" means a lot made with intention to deceive.
(b) A buyer's claim under this condition shall be limited to any amount paid to the Auctioneer for the lot and for the purpose of this condition the buyer shall be the person to whom the original invoice was made out by the Auctioneer.
9. Lots may be removed during the sale after full settlement in accordance with 4.d. hereof.
10. All goods delivered to the Auctioneer's premises will be deemed to be delivered for sale by auction unless otherwise stated in writing and will be catalogued and sold at the Auctioneer's discretion and accepted by the Auctioneer subject to all these conditions. In the case of miscellaneous books, maps and other items, the Auctioneer reserves the right to extract and dispose of items that, in the opinion of the Auctioneer at his absolute discretion, have no saleable value and, therefore, might detract from the saleability of the rest of the lot and the Auctioneer shall incur no liability to the seller in respect of the items disposed of. By delivering the goods to the auctioneer for inclusion in his auction sales each seller acknowledges that he/she accepts and agrees to all the conditions.
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(b) The Auctioneer shall not be responsible for damage to or the loss, theft, or destruction of any goods not so insured because of the seller's written instructions whether caused by negligence or otherwise.
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12. The Auctioneer shall remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller thirty days after the date of the auction provided that the Auctioneer has received the total sum due from the buyer. In all other cases the Auctioneer will remit the proceeds of the sale to the seller within seven days of the receipt by the Auctioneer of the total sum due. The Auctioneer will not be deemed to have received the total sum due until after any funds received from the buyer have cleared. In the event of the Auctioneer exercising his right to rescind the sale his obligation to the seller hereunder lapses.
13. In the case of the seller withdrawing instructions to the Auctioneer to sell any lot or lots, the Auctioneer may charge the seller a fee of 12.5% of the Auctioneer's middle estimate of the auction price of the lot withdrawn together with Value Added Tax thereon and any expenses incurred in respect of the lot or lots.
14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.
15. The Auctioneer accepts no responsibility in connection with the commissioning of his staff to bid for any lots. Reserves, and commission bids given by telephone are accepted only at the sender's risk and must be confirmed in writing before the date of the sale. Lots will always be bought as cheaply as is allowed by other bids and such reserves as are on our books.
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17. Artist's Resale Rights ("Droit de Suite"). Lots marked with "AR" or another appropriate symbol and referenced as such in the catalogue are subject to the Artist's Resale Right law. The buyer agrees to pay the Auctioneer an amount equal to the resale royalty and the Auctioneer will pay such amount to the artist's collecting agent. Resale royalty applies where the Hammer Price is 1,000 Euro or more and the amount cannot be more than 12,500 Euro per lot.
The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 22%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 26.4% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
Live Auction Charges
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 4.95% plus VAT (5.94% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the ATG Media website (the-saleroom.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Invaluable website (invaluable.com). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
Payment (UK Buyers)
Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
Credit or Debit Card payments will not be accepted by telephone unless by prior arrangement with the auctioneers. Card payments can be made in person at our premises but must be accompanied by relevant ID confirming address details. We do not accept payments by American Express.
Payment (Overseas Buyers)
Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
