Operation Helm WW2 Lewis Hodges LTD EDN OF 25 Hand Signed FDC

STB08  This is stunning collectors official limited Operation Helm first day cover hand signed by Lewis Hodges where the signature rests perfectly accompanying the special hand commemorative franks.  This comes with full lifetime COA as the signing has been officially certified by the publishers with full hallmarking and authenticity of the series further detailed in absolute brand new mint condition. You wont source better. This was limited to only 25 autographed and hand numbered 22 from the 25 edition on reverse. (signature is engraved in blue biro to the left side of the cover by his photo so perfectly positioned but scan does not show fully due to the blue background).

Known as "Bob" Hodges, he was commissioned into the RAF as a pilot officer in December 1938, joining Bomber Command and flying Vickers Wellesleys with No. 78 Squadron at RAF Finningley, and then moving to fly Handley Page Hampdens with No. 49 Squadron in 1940. On 4 September 1940, his aircraft was damaged in an air raid on Stettin, and he crash-landed in Brittany.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in May 1942, while commanding a flight of No. 49 Squadron, for operations including attacks on the German small battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in February 1942. He was mentioned in despatches in June 1942. Wing Commander Charles Pickard invited him to join No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron at RAF Tempsford later in 1942, commanding a flight of Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and Handley Page Halifaxes on SOE operations.[1] He became the commander of No. 161 Squadron in May 1943, and was promoted to squadron leader. [1] In addition to other operations, such as parachute drops, he landed Westland Lysanders and Lockheed Hudsons in occupied France several times, bringing Vincent Auriol and François Mitterrand back to England. Unaware of their identities at the time, the former made him a Commandeur of the Légion d'Honneur in 1950, and the latter a Grand Officier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1988.[1] For his actions with SOE, he received a Bar to his DFC in May 1943, and the Distinguished Service Order in October 1943.[2] He was also awarded the French Croix de guerre. He attended the RAF Staff College in 1944, and served with the Bomber Command operations staff. He was selected to serve in the Far East as a staff officer to Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory. However, he requested a return to active service after his younger brother was killed, and took command of No. 357 (Special Duties) Squadron at RAF Jessore near Calcutta in December 1944, flying Liberators, Dakotas and Lysanders in support of SOE's Force 136 in Burma and other resistance groups in Thailand and Malaya. Fortunately for Hodges, this meant that he did not fly to India with Leigh-Mallory: the aircraft crashed in the Alps, killing all on board. Hodges received a Bar to his DSO in October 1945 for his services in the Far East.