A Very scarce Air Crew Europe star with France and Germany Clasp group to Lieutenant Commander (A) Swordfish Pilot Albert Guthrie. The attribution for this group is as follows both rank boards are named to the rear Lt. A Guthrie (A) one of the pair of wings is also named A. GUTHRIE The Group also comes with a rare Canadian Railway Medal that was offered by Albert to the British Museum in the 1950′s but they already had an example. Please see below for a detailed description of the medal. Later in life Albert liked to be known as Brett and was a part of the St Ives artists movement. Originally born in Barrow-in-Furness in 1916, to a Russian mother and English father, Bret Guthrie moved to Cornwall in 1926 when his father’s work took the family to Falmouth, where he enjoyed his school years before the family moved again to East London. Whilst living in Nancledra, a cycling accident in St Ives threw him quite literally, at the feet of David Leach, son of the renowned potter. This led to a life-long friendship with both father and son, as well as a job dealing with the pottery’s accounts. During his time at the Leach Pottery he also learnt about glazes, clay preparation and fired a few of his own pots. When the original kiln hearth, built by Tsurunosuke Matsubayashi in 1922 came to the end of its useful life, Guthrie and David Leach constructed a new one. At this time, Bernard Leach was away teaching at Dartington and as he and his son were so busy, Bret was tasked with experimenting with clay mixes and glazes and recording the results for the use of the pottery. Through Leach, Bret met and befriended many of the St Ives artists, Peter Lanyon, Naum Gabo, Adrian Stokes, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson etc. He married, and despite his role as a pilot in the RNVR, he survived the war unscathed and took up teaching in 1946. Bret followed a productive and satisfying career, teaching in various Cornish schools and enjoying the exciting social life of post-war St Ives. He took an active interest in archaeology and joined many important digs and his work in Cornish pre-history led to his induction as a Bard in the Cornish Gorseth in 1959. In later life, he travelled extensively and involved himself in many local community projects including the creation of the Tate St Ives. It was here at the Tate in 2001, where Bret passed away whilst invigilating. Ancestry records have given me a confirmed picture of Albert (Brett) Guthrie later in life and a interesting self penned obit. The Canadian medal with the group is a superb piece of early Canadian railway history. An Efficiency and Good Conduct Medal in Silver of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada. His son Francis Henry Trevithick, was the first locomotive Superintendent of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada F H Trevithick’s assistant was W S Mackenzie and indeed Mackenzie succeeded him as Superintendent late in 1859, a position he held till 1863, The medal is large for a wearable award being 4.5cm in diameter and weighing in at 59g. It appears to be on its original silk ribbon as it is fitted with a hanging/investiture loop. Please note the medal is very lightly edge engraved in a contemporary period style but needs a eye glass to read the inscription. Medal came in its original leather case maker marked Joseph S Wyon Chief Engraver of her Majesty’s seals 287 Regent Street London. A nice early Canadian railway historical item. Keywords FLEET AIR ARM, ROYAL NAVY, RNVR, PILOT, SWORDFISH, Squadron, torpedo bomber, lieutenant, commander, Air Crew Europe, Canadian, Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada, Railway, Ottawa, medal, medals. The item “Superb Ww2 Fleet Air Arm medal group” is in sale since Sunday, May 26, 2019. This item is in the category “Collectables\Militaria\World War II (1939-1945)\Medals/ Ribbons”. The seller is “kingsman64″ and is located in Daventry. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)
