The extremely rare Great War 'Mesopotamia' D.F.C., G.S.M. 'S. Persia' pair awarded to...

The extremely rare Great War ‘Mesopotamia’ D.F.C., G.S.M. ‘S. Persia’ pair awarded to Captain A. P. Adams, 47 and 30 Squadrons, Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force, one of a handful of pilots to qualify for the ‘S. Persia’ clasp; killed in action, 6 March 1919 - posthumously mentioned in despatches, and a unique casualty to the R.A.F. for the campaign. Adams was a man of action and multiple air rescues, often under fire and almost always from inhospitable and difficult terrain. After being shot down, 31 October 1917, he was himself rescued by Frank Nuttall, M.C., D.F.C., A.F.C., ‘clinging to one wing and the fuselage’ Adams’ luck ran out when his single-seater Martinsyde Scout was shot down whilst carrying out a low-level attack on hostile tribesmen at Khun, 6 March 1919. Despite valiant attempts by another pilot of his flight to land and rescue him, the terrain was deemed too treacherous, and it quickly became apparent from Adams’ prone body that the gallant airman was dead. His body was eventually recovered five days later by friendly tribesmen Distinguished Flying Cross, G.V.R.; General Service 1918-62, 1 clasp, S. Persia, with M.I.D. oak leaves (Capt. A. P. Adams. R.A.F.) mounted for display on card, nearly extremely fine (2) £4,000-£5,000 --- D.F.C. London Gazette 1 January 1919. The following is an extract for Special Order of the Day No. 123 dated 18 November 1918: ‘Lieut. Allen Percy Adams - For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has carried out a very large number of successful long distance reconnaissances and bombing raids by day and night and has fought many combats in the air. On one occasion although his machine was badly damaged by gun fire he landed behind the enemy lines and brought back a Scout pilot who had been forced to land.’ M.I.D. London Gazette 3 February 1920, Adams, Capt. A. P. , D.F.C., 30th Sqdn., R.A.F. (Killed in action): ‘For valuable services rendered with the Bushire Force in Persia during the period from 1st April, 1918, to 31st March, 1919.’ Approximately 30 General Service Medals for ‘S. Persia’ were awarded to Royal Air Force personnel, just five aircraft of No. 30 Squadron being present in the qualifying period November 1918 to June 1919. Allen Percy Adams was born in June 1897, resided at ‘Oaklands’, Halstead, Essex and was educated at Felsted School. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps, Special Reserve in April 1916. Adams carried out training at No. 2 School of Aeronautics; with No. 4 Reserve Squadron and at Brooklands and Hythe. He was placed on the General List in July 1916, and posted for further training with 49 Squadron. Adams advanced to Flying Officer (Observer) in December 1916, and was posted for operational service with 47 Squadron in the Middle East. He receives several mentions for his service as an Observer with the Squadron in Over the Balkans and South Russia (47th Squadron), by H. A. Jones. In particular for an attack on an enemy Kite Balloon, when ‘the Bulgar showed great anger at this attack, and a considerable number of “flaming onions” were thrown up at the aeroplane.’ Adams was graded as Pilot in June 1917, and posted for operational flying with 30 Squadron (BE 2c’s) in the Middle East. The Squadron were active in Mesopotamia, with Adams in the thick of it: ‘By late 1917, the R.F.C. were beginning to enjoy air supremacy but did not always find their reconnaissance or bombing tasks could be performed without difficulty. On October 31, for instance, I Corps were about to attack on the Tigris front, and six Martinsydes, led by Lieutenant F. Nuttall [M.C., D.F.C., A.F.C. - awarded the M.C. for saving Adams], were sent to bomb Kifri aerodrome on the Diyala front as a diversionary measure. As they came into attack an enemy aircraft took off and engaged one of the BE 2c’s of the British force. The pilot, Lieutenant A. P. Adams, his aircraft heavily laden with bombs, was unable to take sufficient evasive action and received tremendous punishment. With his engine useless, he had no option but to land in an area close by some Turkish troops. Nuttall saw Adam’s predicament and ignoring the danger of the troops, flew down to rescue the other pilot. As he touched down, Adams was busy destroying his aircraft. By the time he had finished this task and had half run, half stumbled across to Nuttall, the line of retreat was cut off by Turkish troops. A few brief bursts from a machine gun soon dispersed this hazard and, with Adams clinging to one wing and the fuselage, Nuttall took off again and reached his base safely.’ (The Royal Flying Corps - A History, by G. Norris refers) Adams was appointed Temporary Lieutenant in January 1918, and advanced to Acting Captain and Flight Commander in December 1918 (whilst the relevant rolls confirm that Captain Adams’ D.F.C. and G.S.M. were forwarded to his father Colonel P. Adams, V.D. (C/O 5th Battalion, Essex volunteers) there is no record of his BWM and VM having been issued. The rubber stamps. which normally confirm issue, are absent from his Record of Service. Further the D.F.C. and G.SM. were purchased directly from his sisters - whilst their father’s medals, with some uniforms, appeared in a local auction in Halstead in the early 1970’s). The next part of Adam’s service is described in detail by the article A Death in South Persia by Wing Commander J. Routledge: ‘If the personnel of No. 30 Squadron, Royal Air Force believed that the signing of an armistice between the British and Turkish Governments as from 12 noon on October 31, 1918, meant that for the first time in four years they could relax, they were in for a shock. The squadron had been on active service in Egypt and Mesopotamia ever since its formation; its career had been a strenuous one and its percentage of casualties high. However, the cessation of hostilities against the Turks found time for new roles in Kurdistan and Northern Persia. Numerous landing grounds were selected in outlying parts of the country and progress was made in opening up the region for aviation. To their surprise, on Christmas Day 1918, orders were received for more operational work in the area of Bushire in South Persia, where a frontier war was in progress against the Qashqais and other tribes. The tribesmen to be subdued were nomadic brigands who had been giving trouble for some time, and the country of Fars was more or less a lawless state. In May 1918, Saulat, the chief of the Qashqais, had declared war against the British and the South Persian Rifles, believed to be at the instigation of German agents. The Qashqais were good fighters, and with some 30,000-45,000 men armed with modern rifles, were a formidable force. Autumn 1918 had seen the landing of Major-General J. A. Douglas’s division in Bushire with the aim to establish law and order, but the wild and mountainous country with practically no roads made for very difficult campaigning. It was felt that the R.A.F. might be the solution for bringing the operations to a speedier end. Thus it was that Captain Allen Percy Adams was ordered to take ‘C’ flight to Bushire at the beginning of January 1919. Adams had only recently been advanced to the rank of Captain on the departure to England of the previous flight commander. The award of a Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroic services with 30 Squadron had been announced on October 31, 1918 (subsequently gazetted January 1, 1919). He had twice saved downed colleagues by landing in the face of advancing Turkish forces and carrying out rescues in the most hazardous circumstances...